: I've made many laminated paddles but always went with narrow
: "vertical" strips. I've toyed with the idea of taking
: two 3/4" boards and laminating them horizontally to make up
: the needed thickness. But I've never thought of/seen the idea of
: ripping an existing board into two strips and putting them back
: together. I'm curious to know how much an increase in strength
: this will see. Then there's the matter of making sure that
: you've got a good join between the boards - both for strength
: and aesthetic reasons.

There is no real increase in strength...from what I understand it prevents warping is all. I like the idea of laminating thin strips together...that could make a very pretty stick. Now I know what to do for my next set of sticks. As for the join, it went perfectly. I slathered on enough epoxy in the middle to get a solid joint...I could tell this from the shaping work I did...there were no gaps between the pieces.

: When I build, the first thing I do is mark and plane the taper of
: the blades. I use an electric plane to make the cuts for the
: taper - it's fast and accurate if you're careful. Then I
: mark/cut the round tip. Followed by marking the loom and blades
: and planing with block planes.

: But in the end, we all end up at the same place - a finished
: paddle.

Yep! Mine has a few minor flaws that one final sanding can easily cure.

: I have one question, though. Is your loom really 1 1/2" wide -
: as per your markings? If so, it will be 1 1/2" x 1
: 1/2" which, unless your friend is a giant, may be a bit
: thick. I'm 6'3" with fairly big hands and my looms are
: always 1 1/4 x 1 1/2. They're built in both solid and hollowed
: loom and I've had no problems with lack of stiffness. Removing
: that extra bit on the loom will make a BIG difference in overall
: weight.

I thought about that but I believe the guy who is gonna get this gift paddle is tall and probably has big hands. I may flatten it out more for comfort...official dimensions are very close to 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 after sanding...

: Another thing that many people overlook is the thinness of the
: blade edges. I taper mine down to about 1/8". This makes
: for a very quiet entry of the paddle into the water - instead of
: the tell-tale thunk (splash) - thunk (splash) of a thick bladed
: paddle.

That was one issue I thought about. The guy who is gonna get this gift does not have tools to repair broken edges and he will be paddling on the ocean with pretty rocky beaches. I decided to leave the ends thick for banging...this is assuming he doesn't just hang the paddle on the wall for decoration...it will be covered with wood burned art

: As it's been said, paddling building can be addictive. I always try
: to come up with new ideas to make the build process even more
: interesting. All my laminated paddles have a hollow loom - which
: reduces weight but, thus far, has not negatively affected
: strength/flex. I like to try different tips - hardwood, epoxy
: coated, plastic tipped. My last project saw a paddle with a
: black tip - I used truck bed liner and it's holding up great.

: Reading your post and looking at your pictures makes me want to go
: build another paddle. But I'll hold off for now as I have a set
: of plans for the Black Pearl on the way!!!

I am already planning my next sticks...I am definitely gonna do some extra laminating work...this should be really interesting. Also, if I produce thinner blades, I think I will add a tough epoxy/cabosil tip to each blade end otherwise I will grind the sticks into toothpick splinters in no time.

Robert N Pruden