making a bent shaft laminated canoe paddle - Paperback

by Jeff Bach (Author)

Making a Bent Shaft Laminated Canoe Paddle is all about the very enjoyable process of making your own paddle. Laminating is all about using epoxy to join weak wood strips into amazingly strong paddle shafts and blades. This book walks the reader through the setup, materials, tools, and the workflow to turn out your own wood canoe paddles. Hand tools, especially a spokeshave, but also a block plane and scrapers allow for even the beginning woodworker to turn out a beautiful paddle that is every bit as functional as it is art worthy. The setup portion includes a plan and materials list for a paddle form that simplifies adding the bend to the shaft and aligning the shaft pieces. The materials portion includes discussions of shaft, handle and blade as well as epoxy for shaft and blade and fiberglass for the blade. The tool segment discusses how spokeshave, block plane, scraper and an assortment of sandpaper are frequently used, as well as other optional tools like a Japanese pull saw, an Xacto knife, and other sanding tools. The workflow of paddle making is basically the whole book. Broadly speaking there is an assembly portion of a paddle project and a shaping portion. But in the garage during the reality of making a paddle both assembly and shaping are mixed together. Sometimes it is easier to do shaping prior to assembling something else. Sometimes it is easier to skip part of the shaping bit and go e.g., use the paddle to get a better sense of length and then come back to the shop and complete the shaft and the handle. Many options exist within the workflow of paddle making. It can be a flexible process. It's a great feeling to go paddling. It's even better when you are using one of your very own hand made paddles!

Author Biography

I've been paddling and woodworking for most of my life. Each paddle project has added a bit of knowledge to the store, and that store turned into this book. Getting out on the water is one of my favorite things. Making the paddle that I use while I'm out on the water is one of the next best things. Using hand tools to turn a bunch of weak individual strips into an amazingly strong shaft and blade is a great feeling. I'm lucky enough to live in a flyover state that is blessed with abundant lakes and rivers. Getting out on the water with a paddleboard I made myself and a paddle I also made myself is hard to beat. I think you should be a paddle maker and I hope you will consider this book as one of the tools to get you going on a DIY project that turns your pile of wood into your own bent shaft laminated canoe paddle!