My wife asked me to make my Father In Law a canoe paddle. She asked for one that looked like my kayaks with lots of different wood in it. So I scraped around the shop and came up with some interesting wood combinations. I used Walnut, maple and cedar for the shaft. After that was glued up I started gluing on more hardwood for the blade. The blade is from the center out walnut, maple veneer, purpleheart, more maple veneer,mahogany, curly maple and cherry on the edges. I then glued purpleheart and maple veneer on the end. Everything was glued with epoxy then shaped, sanded to finish and followed with 3 coats of marine spar varnish. I glued curly maple on the shaft for a traditional handle. He hasn't gotten it yet his 71st birthday is coming soon. I hope he will use it and not just hang it up on the wall.

Moral of the story is don't be afraid to try something new it may be worth it in the end.

Paddle safe,
Clayton Plunkett