Q: How thick should I cut the laminate strips?
A: First of all, it is my experience that combining several thin strips
into a thicker strip, aka the shaft, creates a stronger and stiffer piece of wood relative to a shaft
that is one non-laminated piece. To me, there are two reasons for this. The adhesive, whether glue or
epoxy penetrates, an admittedly small distance, into the surfaces of both laminates and creates the
bond. The second reason is there are no ‘secrets’. With wood strips, you can see knots
and other structural weaknesses, and not use them, or at least stagger them so that no two weak areas
are in line with each other. With a one piece shaft, you never really quite know what is present in
the unseen internal mass of the shaft.
oh and I like using quarter inch thick pieces for bent and straight shaft paddles and 3/16ths thick
shaft strips for double bend paddles.
Q: Is there a certain cut of wood that is better for paddle building?
A: Most wood is cut using a ‘plain sawn’ technique. This is
nothing more than the wood being cut regardless of grain and growth ring orientation. Simple slabs.
Quarter sawn wood involves more time and effort to make the cuts in a way that minimizes
warping as the wood dries by cutting the boards at a more favorable angle to the growth rings. Boards
graded as ‘vertical grain’ are in this camp and offer far less worry about warping.
I prefer vertical grain for paddle blades. No one wants a cupped blade. For the shaft I worry less about the
cut because a shaft, even a fat one, is still too narrow to offer enough surface area for cupping.
Rift sawn boards are another option within the quarter sawn camp, but I better do my homework on this
technique. I have not purchased any rift sawn boards, so my experience is minimal with this style of wood milling.
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