Power planes make for happy people. I use a power plane for the tapers as well, then follow up with a #4 1/2 smoother that's wide enough to do the entire width in one pass. The spokeshave only does the taper down then on half of each face.

I want to work with a stiffer paddle. how stiff is your hollow shaft paddle? Does it load at the beginning of the stroke? How does it compare to a WRC paddle? I like Sitka and AYC, but I like a light paddle.

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