: Here is my trick.

: The narrow width of the paddle shaft should be slightly bigger than
: the ferrule. Whittle the shoulder on the shaft and the shaft to
: fit the ferrule with a little side wiggle and taper the shaft at
: the shoulder to roughly match the diameter of the ferrule. Loose
: fit all of the parts and align the paddle shafts with the shaft
: vertical. Then wrap masking tape around the bottom ferrule, half
: on the ferrule and half on the shaft. Carefully take the top
: half of the paddle off by separating the ferrule halves. The
: tape should hold the alignment of the ferrule half and seal the
: crack between the ferrule and the shaft. The shaft should be
: well recessed into the ferrule on either paddle half. Since the
: ferrule is currently pointing up, pour epoxy into the ferrule so
: it just covers the end cut of the shaft wood. Some of the epoxy
: will settle or soak into the wood so fill again after it sets so
: the end cut is totally covered and sealed. Now repeat for the
: second paddle half. You have to be careful with the wet epoxy so
: not to get any on the mating surfaces of the ferrule. Just to be
: safe, I squirt the epoxy down a tube when the machined ferrule
: surface is on the inside. When you have done both halves the
: wood will be sealed water tight, the shaft will be straight, the
: feather will be right and without any offending screw heads.

My paddles are all one piece, so I don't have to worry about this :)

Bill H.