: I'm even more confused now. :-)

: I think maybe we're talking about two different steps. The book says to
: taper the shafts before gluing the paddle blade halves on, and points out
: that this step is cosmetic and optional. Later on he talks about "rough
: cutting the ends," where you cut the ends of the shaft to correspond
: with
: the scoop of the blade. Then, finally when you're "grinding the
: blade"
: I think is where you carve the shaft back so that on the back face it merges
: with the blade surface about half way down.

: I think the idea of this cosmetic tapering is that when you look at the
: face of the finished paddle blade the shaft (which forms the center stripe
: in the lamination) gets narrower at the tip.

: But now I'm still confused because the book says "the faces that show
: the glue line ... is the face you will glue the blades on." but Steve
: says, "The glue line that you mention should show, if you laminated
: the shaft, on the face of the paddle along with the lines of the paddle
: lamination." Maybe the answer is that it doesn't really matter.

: Chris
Chris,
After reading everything that has been posted in this thread, I reviewed the book/my method, there is a disparity. The way Nick shows the shaft lamination, pg167, in the book, is not how things ended up for me. I made the same size block, but the glue line ran in the long dimension, so when I glued on the blade halves, that glue line showed. After I scarfed the shaft together, I layed out the tapers based on everything facing the correct way when in use.
I reccommended that you show that glue line, only because that's how it came out for me. This must mean that it could be a matter of not mattering, or, I had some dumb luck.
Sorry for any added confusion that this may have caused you. I started that paddle two years ago, got away from it to build the Guillemot, and just finished it. I guess the particulars got lost in the sauce.
Steve