: During house renos last year we pulled out a bunch of Douglas-fir 2 X 4
: studs. These were milled in ~1972 and are tight grained which means quite
: heavy. I saved these thinking I might come up with a suitable project in
: the future.

: GP's that I have fondled in the past have been quite light. Will I find this
: tight grained wood too heavy after paddling a carbon Euro paddle?

It's really a personal opinion on what is "too heavy". Compared to the oars for a rowboat or a scull, a kayak paddle is quite light.

You might want to estimate about what a paddle made from this 2x4 (or any other 2x4, for that matter) might weigh. You'll remove 2/3 of the wood by the loom, and anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of the wood along the blades. What you are left with should be around 1/3rd the weight of your original 2x4. So weigh that Douglas fir 2x4. Shortening the thing from 8 feet (96 inches) will reduce the weight, too.

You can go lighter with a strong wood by making the blade thinner or narrower.

I don't know how thin you want to go in your efforts to reduce weight, but if you reduce the thickness of the blade too much you might try salvaging your work by coating both sides of the blades with a reinforcing layer of fiberglass cloth (4 ounce should do) and epoxy or polyester resin. I have an archery bow which is made of very thin hardwood laminated (covered) with a layer of fiberglass on the front and back. It is very light, and incredibly strong. I'm fairly sure the 'fiberglass' is a polyester resin mix. The blades on hockey sticks are similarly fiberglass reinforced. Those, however, have to contend with hitting much harder water than a kayak paddle should encounter.

PGJ