: SO... I've been mulling it for a while. And I have Bryan N's book
: on carving a GP. Because this is my first try - I'd like to pull
: this off as cheaply as possible. So - what wood could I get for
: this?

: And, what's the bare minimum tools-wise to be able to do this
: realistically? My dad has a band saw that I can cut the blank
: down with. However, I don't own a block plane or spokeshave or
: draw knife (though, the spokeshave & draw knives scare me
: just looking at them).

: Thoughts? Opinions? Witty commentary (yeah- I know, RTFM)?

: -Doug
Congrats on getting your daughter out in a kayak!
Building paddles is easy, esp if you have a bandsaw.
Cheap wood depends where you live, but Western Red Cedar is just dandy. Other options are Redwood, spruce, basswood, sassafras, cypress, doug fir, pine - generally any softwood, the lighter the better. Look for a long enough section with no knots and tight vertical grain. With a kid's paddle, there's no need to get fancy, really.
Here's a link to Tom Yost's paddle making guide: http://yostwerks.com/GPIntro.html Click "next page' to navigate.
Make hers about as high as she can reach, and the loom a little wider than her shoulder span. Again, it's not rocket science - close will be good enough.

Bandsaw, is great. A cheap block plane, and/or a sander is all you'll really need after the bandsaw.

Good luck!