: Lowes didn't carry jack planes, so I grabbed a Stanley hand saw. I
: drew the flat face cuts on the board, then drew a secondary line
: 1/4" in to make the cut more forgiving, figuring I would
: just plane it down.

: Slow, slow work. Going to try to find a place to do the other three
: with a table saw or something, because it's going to take
: forever this way.

: Also found out the jigsaw I had access to for the second cuts is
: too short for the 1.5" thickness of the 2 x 4, so I'll have
: to use the saber saw or find something else.

: On the upside, I figured there was a better than average chance I'd
: wreck the wood somehow, and that didn't happen. And got lots of
: practice using a 6" block plane.

Btw, it doesn't really take forever, it's just when you first start it seems like it does :)

The GP carving class I have taught takes 4 sessions of about 3 hours each after cutting out the basic shape to finish a paddle, usually these are first time woodworkers doing this. The more experience woodworkers get it done much faster, but it still takes a fair number of hours to do this. Don't get in a rush, just enjoy the process :)

Bill H.