: I made my first paddle from WRC. Bought a nice straight grain 2x8 and ripped
: it in two, I have a blank for a future GP. I got ripped off though - the
: price for that board locally was embarrassing. Let's just say that I have
: a $40 plus labor greenland paddle.

: I just bought two new blanks today - 1x4 sassafras. I'm planning to make GP's
: from them, and I will laminate the center section to make the grip and
: shaft thick enough.

: Sassafras is actually a hardwood, grain is similar to oak or ash, but the
: weight is much less. The weight is between cedar and pine, and I hope the
: finished product will be durable and light. I'm seriously considering
: cutting a 1/2" slot down the center of the shaft to lighten the
: paddle. The laminations would cover this, and the shaft should be just
: about as rigid as a solid piece of wood.

: I used tung oil for my first paddle, and of course did not wait for it to dry
: before using it. It has a kind of strange odor, but that faded with time.

I've done paddles from spruce and cedar, cedar is easy to carve and relatively cheap. The bigger Menards stores btw have lots of 2 by stock in WRC, I just buy what I can find that has a section that's clear and the grain is ok, pretty cheap.

Sitka Spruce for me is the ideal but it's certainly not inexpensive, it is strong and light weight. This year I'm gonna try spruce paddle shafts with WRC blades.

(I better stop coming up with new projects, getting to be a really busy year at this rate )

Bill H.