Lets make some paddles

[Boatman53]

Beautiful paddles Patrick.
Looks like a nice set of curve templates too.
Jim

 

[Patrick Corry]

The Osage Orange is looking intriguing. Not wide enough for a single board paddle and besides, there's very little straight grain. When splitting to make it manageable for the bandsaw it curved significantly as shown here. However, that curved grain will match the curve of a paddle blade nicely in a book match arrangement.


Look at the color of the sawdust!

Glenn, to answer your earlier question... I just use my phone- a relatively old iPhone 8. Results are hit or miss frankly. Sometimes focus is not so good, other times outstanding. I don't know why..

 

[Jmharrick]

The Osage Orange is looking intriguing. Not wide enough for a single board paddle and besides, there's very little straight grain. When splitting to make it manageable for the bandsaw it curved significantly as shown here. However, that curved grain will match the curve of a paddle blade nicely in a book match arrangement.
View attachment 144413

Look at the color of the sawdust!View attachment 144414

Glenn, to answer your earlier question... I just use my phone- a relatively old iPhone 8. Results are hit or miss frankly. Sometimes focus is not so good, other times outstanding. I don't know why..

I am in the process of making a bow out of Osage. The yellow is quite vibrant. The wood will darken over time and eventually become a dark brown. I’m curious to see how this paddle turns out.

 

[Punkinhead]

I used to buy lumber from a guy with a band saw mill who did all the floors in his house in Osage Orange. It's absolutely gorgeous with vibrant colors and will no doubt wear like iron. I can't imagine how many cutters got dulled milling all that flooring.

 

[Patrick Corry]

Here's a little progress.
Unfortunately, I can't spend much time out in the barn; between the cold and caring for my currently unwell wife, I don't get much done in any one session.

The woodworking is complete, and now... a first coat of 50/50 varnish/thinner to seal the grain. The grips will be oiled and shafts & blades varnished.

 

[Cruiser]

really nice grain on the wood, that takes a good eye

 

[Boatman53]

Beautiful paddles you got there Pat.
Jim

 

[Tsuga8]

Gorgeous work, really enjoying this thread!

I'm looking forward to attempting my first paddle when I can find the time and workspace. I've been contemplating what lumber to use, and you previously added sycamore to my list of potentials, Patrick.

I've been playing around with scavenged green logs as well. A bit of 4" diameter maple that I was shaping into gluts for splitting out logs (I don't have a bandsaw capable of resawing) actually showed some interesting rays, a bit like the sycamore but not as striking (they are in the same family biologically).

I tried bringing home a VERY heavy ash log (7ft x 12in) but despite help from @Cheeseandbeans I don't think I can get a length of clear wood for a solid paddle out of it - too much twisting, knots, etc. So I'll be curious to see if you can get anything usable from the osage orange log.

 

[Patrick Corry]

So I'll be curious to see if you can get anything usable from the osage orange log.

Thanks for your compliment! Don't forget, it's the quarter sawn Sycamore that exhibits that figure when you cut across the medullary rays. I don't have any flat sawn Sycamore to compare the figure with, so I don't know how that would look.

With regard to the Osage... in the piece that I picked up off the road and subsequently split, there's a significant amount of twist as well as knots, and other defects. In the attached pictures I re-sawed two pieces from a 1/4 split of the piece, then laid them out to see how the book match would look; they are great on one side but unfortunately the other side of one piece revealed two hidden knots. I'll keep experimenting... there's still 16' of the tree off the road but it's on state park land where we're not supposed to take any wood. I think the best option is to claim I'm just a good citizen clearing the roadway within the roadway setback; so... you know... it's a public safety thing, right?

 

[Tsuga8]

Yeah, that ash log I snagged was definitely a traffic hazard being in the right of way/shoulder.

Regarding your osage orange, I've heard some say that knots like that can be filled with epoxy. Seems like if it were right next to a shaft it could be ok structurally, but I imagine they'd be a real pain during carving. Also, to date I'm almost entirely an armchair woodworker, so I'd take your judgment over mine!

 

[Punkinhead]

Thanks for your compliment! Don't forget, it's the quarter sawn Sycamore that exhibits that figure when you cut across the medullary rays. I don't have any flat sawn Sycamore to compare the figure with, so I don't know how that would look.

Years ago I bought a pile of sycamore and used the flat sawn and knotty stuff to make shop cabinets. The grain is kind of interesting, but looks nothing like the quartersawn stuff. Below is a picture. The stiles & rails are flatsawn sycamore and the panels are red oak. Unfortunately they warped horribly. The sawyer always did a great job drying (mostly air drying) and out of thousands of board feet I bought from him this is the only stuff that ever warped. I can't blame it on the wood species since it's the only sycamore I ever bought. Could have just been a tree with a lot of internal stresses.

 

[ppine]

It helps to have a paddle with a design you like in front you while shaping the grip.
I have only made a few paddles, but they are prized possessions. I am going out to the shed today to bring in my favorite paddle so I can look at it next to Dad's old Trapper Nelson.

 

[Alan Gage]

it's the quarter sawn Sycamore that exhibits that figure when you cut across the medullary rays. I don't have any flat sawn Sycamore to compare the figure with, so I don't know how that would look.

Unfortunately they warped horribly. The sawyer always did a great job drying (mostly air drying) and out of thousands of board feet I bought from him this is the only stuff that ever warped. I can't blame it on the wood species since it's the only sycamore I ever bought. Could have just been a tree with a lot of internal stresses.

Being in the midwest I've never sawn sycamore but I was active on a sawmill forum and sycamore was notorious for warping and twisting during sawing and drying unless it was quarter sawn.

Most sawyers considered it worthless as flatsawn lumber. Not only because it warped but because it was bland and there was little to no demand. But when properly quarter sawn it's very attractive, much more stable, and there is a good market for it.

Alan

 

[Punkinhead]

Unfortunately even the quartersawn boards from this batch warped and one of my book matched panels split. I probably have about 50 board feet of it left but I'm afraid to use it. I might joint & plane some for a paddle and let it sit for the three months I'll be in Florida this winter. If it's somewhat flat when I get back I'll use it for a paddle.

 

[Cruiser]

That almost looks like a shrinkage split ... did you have a moisture content measurement at the start?

 

[Punkinhead]

That almost looks like a shrinkage split ... did you have a moisture content measurement at the start?

Yes, back at that time I'd check everything with a meter unless it had been in my shop for a long time. I think maybe the stiles and rails warped and locked the panel so it couldn't float with seasonal moisture changes. Or maybe there was just a lot of stress in that board.

I'll prep some panels and if they aren't warped by spring I'll make a paddle. If they warp the remainder of the lumber will go to the burn pile.