Timber Farm Canoe Paddle - Abstract 58"

The process of building a laminated paddle.
Special care is taken to achieve true craftsmanship matched by few.
Starting out with a 5 or 7 piece shaft, I cut off 2 pieces and glue them back on the end for the grip. A 14 deg. bend can be put in the shaft. The blade is about 6 strips re-sawed into two 1/4" thick pieces (book-matched). Any arty design that might be in the blade is done by cutting the wood through and gluing back together.
Jigs and a router are used to cut the shape to the blade and taper on the shaft. The grip is carved to its final shape by hand and eyeball. An 1/8" band of hard wood is steam bent and glued around the perimeter of the blade. Then a taper (5/16" to 3/16") is shaved from center to edge around the whole blade. 6oz fiberglass cloth is epoxied over both sides (for strength) and buried with multiple coats of epoxy so the cloth disappears.The rest of the paddle is sealed with epoxy and multiple coats of UV resistant varnish is applied. Each paddle comes with a sock. Paddles can be custom made to your spec.(length, grip size, wood species).