: Hi Dave and all,
: I've been absent for a while, but I'm back.
: I am not sure the bird mouth is the best way to go.
: Why not stack strips of about 8-10mm wide on both sides of a full
: width strip offsetting them to the outside to get the round and
: then reverse the procedure to get back to a full width strip at
: the top to cap both sides.
: You could do it in two halves. Then sand away the steps on the
: outside and inside and you will have a shaft.
: Just a thought. A lot less fiddling.
: Cheers
: JohnK

This is kind of what I did but I used more strips. I even beveled the inside edges of the strips to
form a rough internal cylinder when the strips were stacked. The actual stacking was very easy
to get the hollow shaft and the solid ends blended into the blades no matter what shape they
were cut. I copied my Werner Kalliste blade shape and ended up with a very lightweight performance
paddle that looks ten times better than my carbon paddle but maintains the same feel in the water.

--KT--