![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFc9M11yVl11u7gDRaFdxqeCMB3l0a46MW1pRjE5tcpOiQzN_znWDjilnQs9FzkUOwAdIyg22VVAI0q5oz9aviIg7n3-7dUaBU9z6DAJCOCfUSPf-LHvhImcleZk8Ul4Vx2nzifTNDMR8/s320/Laminated+Otter+02_rs.jpg)
Century Mill had planed 1 1/8th inch square strips of soft maple for me and I used one of these as the shaft. For the blades, I wanted to recycle wood cuttings from some of my other paddles rather than cutting new stock. While sawing out the Passamaquoddy Northwoods paddle out of the walnut stock a few weeks back, I had created 2 side pieces that could be used to create a blade. Problem was that the edges were had been rough-sawn and not squared so the edges would not be flush during the glueing process.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbh_3SUh8tHPM6vmbD_VzWkEN8pF5t0VCrGmd8QSypV8JD4MNmc2cec5PkNCFF-iwkq5VG9b3RnvwaYjA6Hd9psObCKP5RINd_LqRI01D8qBx_L7BUeb9VlTPVjHH85KWY3vggoLqRRE/s200/makita+planer.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrN5IBb6V0hTDFd-CpREVrcllFcSWyHAIzD-fwt-qo_feWCuvZAyfhYlrPKGa-9AbBMFD3YCk8nnGmwxr39jAGUuMchR78MdMKj0qhoeQkE-AzidOB0YHOQjjmgtma5tZfdolPWLiYcs/s320/Laminated+Otter+08_rs.jpg)
The glueing and clamping were straight forward as before. For the grip, I had other scrap pieces that were glued up to form a common "tripper style" grip. After more handsawing on the balcony, the paddle blank finally took shape and I was eager to begin shaving the blade. By this time, I was confident thant I would be able to shape it pretty quickly. What I hadn't counted on was the fact that I had glued the walnut with opposite flowing grain to the maple shaft. In effect, everytime I used the spokeshave on the blade, I would tear out one of the two woods. This made the process more time consuming because I would have to switch directions with the spokeshave quite frequently. The weather had begun to turn and snow was on the ground but working outdoors was still comfortable.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2vxnAdoiEEYR5U1yiS-nWMnhiORUMXHzKIabX68OW-JDkvkzSRAdPuB0HHN7aUP2CqoTXKemiKYhwD3Vv8Ilqp1iZsx4Vy5DqSduFB9AwvdFz_f2k2JcMTeoPvOlW46hRe3pGvcgmfk/s320/Laminated+Otter+16_rs.jpg)
After a thorough sanding, it was time to wet the grain before the final sanding and the decorating stage. Wetting the paddle at this stage gives you a peek at the actual colour tones when the paddle is finally varnished or oiled. The two toned paddle may look garish to some, but I really like the contrast. For the burning, I decorated the blade with a Blue Jay image and burned a second, native inspired Jay image on the flattened section of the grip.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAq7c59NSBiYHsB2-BOcFGsEubZFae4OZVjtY2DKcS8TSDgF9Y8p3cST754LTXVseWfGhX2Lc20wNTelZPKoeImw2egXu7S_ELMPXygsQohTM2JSKKcNhF5zMVc9meRJYMmsKbjF9wKz0/s320/Laminated+Otter+19_rs.jpg)
Wetting the blade
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGHz4oaDvu8S6PWAN8e79uDrOE38dEw7I47bsFuSoEW6FOw09C1rB3Hhyphenhyphen8hE4HcoOo6Ail4c3icYtrmuO-Xnj1qnv9Uc5fFCAVamCeUxzZVumURzRivj7xTLkCyCGYz7mWrcxo2yajGlI/s400/Laminated+Otter+23_rs.jpg)
Started the Jay burning after sketching on the blade
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL169zaUZbj48A2cDltuYINIuh6gox2YLOVrUxVX06ZHA2SnWNU0wHprWGS1naCXQ2oIKt62v9E2W89A7AVdxuSS7j7_a6n1niOVW3Raj2Pw6ktwIwEdDyC777fv9faGi1tbD-6kwtQjI/s400/Laminated+Otter+33.jpg)
The completed blade image
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjftNRuufdeJ_uf5u11ZKXf0JpL9PvV0ZqO7uLC-9nNRBYON-Iupb-8CDyCAZ6R1EdMadkqXb4Yf8Q4s7QDgrPZmJgFkwZ1uo2PZ181lrHwd-UvNCkSrnp3Fo__1V798BG86DJeBPNWUE/s400/Laminated+Otter+34.jpg)
Native Jay on the grip
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAr6V6e_80ufbR6fwP2EkBw4R74KcYwlXZ9YNxNDkuV-lRSgOhaoV2bW0LiXJeDoe1lZU5wAQ-YOEA5jQ2Rka1m1V3ZMKGG3dUwIbSBoqTsScxpH8UZJP8egw24RM4dptAMot2utuvTTM/s400/Laminated+Ottertail+Jay.jpg)
The whole paddle
May 5/08 UPDATE: This paddle has now been varnished. View it here.
![](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4rXsS2OHCvI/S7KmcXnfUQI/AAAAAAAAFVI/xHUYyjB1cWE/s800/paddle_divider.jpg)
1 comment:
great paddles I started a few years ago nothing
as good as yours. Have you ever tried staining a
pattern into your paddles ?
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