1st paddle (AKA a Paddle from Scrap?) plus a wood glue discussion

Oops. Definitely sounds like I should have used epoxy but that's ok. If it comes apart I'll start a paddle repair thread (or use its oil-soaked carcass for a cooking fire... probably an in-game decision on that one)

I used titebond three for the first time with all the paddle builds for my woodworking class. It has become my new favorite glue. When the poly gorilla glue came out, I bought into the hype and used it for paddles and scarfing gunwales. Over time, I have come to regret my usage of it. I have had a couple of scarf joints fail, and some of the glue joints on paddles have split.

Previous to the gorilla glue, I always used thickened epoxy for important glue joints. It was great, and I can't recall it failing. However, if titebond 3 has a good lifespan, it will now be my preferred choice. It is cheap, relative to epoxy, and easy to use. Also, for someone who has been around a lot of epoxy and is developing sensitivity to it, it's nice to not have to deal with that either.

memaquay said:

I used titebond three for the first time with all the paddle builds for my woodworking class. It has become my new favorite glue.

Click to expand...

I have used titebond III on many canoe gunnel scarfs also and even some canoe paddle repairs, it’s worked well for me.

memaquay said:

I used titebond three for the first time with all the paddle builds for my woodworking class. It has become my new favorite glue.

Click to expand...

Another big Titebond III fan here. It has a longer working time, lower working temperature, and better water resistance than similar water soluble wood glues. It's my go to unless I need extended open time, gap filling ability (poor joints) or lubricity (tight joints, complicated assemblies) in which case I use epoxy.

I've been picking at this project off & on and thought I was about done... I shaped the laminated paddle into an ottertail and carved it as I did the Aspen paddle, using the spindle sander to true the blank to the offset lines & shape the grip, then applying the angle grinder to rough out the blade and, finally, smoothed the blade with the spoke shave, a small block plane and sandpaper.



I worked on the grip and handle of the Cherry beavertail but felt like I was going to have to shorten the blade by a couple of inches to make it work. My confidence in my ability to make a usable (and maybe even aesthetically pleasing) paddle was growing anyway so I decided to use the Cherry beavertail as a pattern to lay out the paddle that I really wanted: a Sassafras beavertail.

I had a couple of pieces of 5/4 Sassafras so I laid out the paddle using the grip & shaft from the Aspen paddle and the blade of the (too short) Cherry, simply tracing around them and blending them together at the throat. The Sassafras wasn't a particularly straight board but the 5/4 thickness allowed be to lay out the paddle in a way that I could take some of the warp out



One advantage of the Oak core in the laminated paddle is that the Oak resists sanding much better than Sassafras and I wound up thinning the throat of the paddle enough that there way a lot of flex in that area. Enough, in fact, that I was worried about it snapping on me so I epoxied some 4 oz e-glass around that area of the paddle to reinforce it.



Sorry that's blurry but I wanted to show that I didn't attempt to shape the glass patch much, I just wet it out & wrapped it around then flipped it over and did the same to the other side (patch above the paddle in the above picture) and this is what it looked like after & was done.



I wound up not using the paint brush and, really, not needing the tape. I'm relatively optimistic that it will hold and I was pleased that I would have 3 new blade shapes to try out. That should have been the end of it except that I cannot resist kicking around small sawmills and I happened to wander into one around Mount Union, PA who seems to specialize in weird woods. I picked up a few more 1x8x 8ft Sassafras and also 3 1x8x 8ft Catalpa, which I have been hunting for some time now.

The Catalpa was incredibly light and, unless my math is wrong, that 1x8x 8ft board should be 3/4 of a cubic foot. In that case, I may be building a Catalpa stripper soon as all 3 of those 1x8s weigh 12 lbs each. That would translate to 18 lbs / cubic ft which is considerably lighter than Wood Database's figures.

As it was, I couldn't resist carving a piece of it into a paddle and, as the Sassafras was, seemingly, the most likely to break, I traced the outline onto the Catalpa 1x8 and started carving. I won't bore you with all the details of construction but I made sure I left it thicker in the throat. I also left a little more in the blade as I found that it planed & sanded unbelievably easy and I'm a bit worried about strength. One mill that I had checked previously said that he usually just threw Catalpa in with the Sassafras as "nobody can tell the difference". I find that a bit hard to believe as, yes, the appearance is probably indistinguishable but it is certainly much softer to work and the wonderful Sassafras smell is lacking.

Anyway, this is what I wound up with.



I'm hoping to oil all 4 paddles tomorrow and I'll post weights & measurements after they're dry.

The oil that I'd purchased was Watco Teak oil and I applied it to both sides of all 4 paddles until they remained visibly wet. I allowed them to sit 30 minutes, recoated and wiped it all dry 15 minutes after that. Even after wiping all I could, they still seemed a little tacky but, by the next evening, they looked and felt great.

I repeated the whole process about a week later but the paddles didn't seem to absorb any more of the oil so, in the future, I'll do the initial application and do another before storage or when they start to look dry.

Incidentally, treating all 4 paddles twice took about 1 pint of the Watco. I might have been able to use less (I slopped it on pretty heavy) but, realistically, that's only $2.50(US) per paddle so, not bad IMO.



From left to right above:
Aspen (my own design) Overall length 57", Blade: 20" to throat, 7 1/2" wide, weight: 1# 15oz
Cherry/Oak Ottertail Overall length 62 3/8", Blade: 26" to throat, average 5 1/4" wide, weight: 1# 9oz
Sassafras Beavertail Overall length 63", Blade: 25" to throat, 6 1/2" wide, weight: 1# 9oz
Catalpa Beavertail Overall length 63 1/4", Blade: 25" to throat, 6 5/8" wide, weight: 2# 1oz
Carlisle Economy Overall length 60 1/2", Blade: 17" to throat, 7 1/2" wide, weight: 1# 14oz

I included the Carlisle because it's been my primary paddle for past trips. I'm thinking I might want to thin the Catalpa paddle a little more to lighten it but that may have to wait until I see if it survives the July trip. I think I'll take all 4 with me this summer. Even though all are unproven, I guess only one needs to survive until I see the truck.

OK, I recently returned from field testing all 4 of these paddles. I definitely preferred the beavertails and, in particular, the Sassafras as it was the lighter of the two (remember that I had left the Catalpa thicker throughout because I was concerned that the Sassafras was thin enough to compromise its strength).

The ottertail was quieter and seemed to move the boat adequately and I liked the feel of the Cherry but it just didn't seem to move the boat as easily as the beavertails. I did often grab it when the water got really shallow as it seemed to work well horizontally.

The b*st*rdized Aspen paddle moved water well & wasn't terribly heavy either but it was the one that I'd done to worst job of shaping the grip so I tended not to use it all that much. There was one time when I felt the need for speed and it performed admirably in that situation.

A teaser for the upcoming trip report: not all 4 made it to the last portage.

I sense a smudge fire coming on.

I guess I didn’t think about it when you posted the paddle family portrait, but the ottertail is the same length as the beaver with smaller surface area overall; so it should be expected that it would move the boat less/ move less water. My ottertail blades are half again as long as my “standard” shaped paddles. And yes they are also quieter.

I’m in for the one less story!