> Last month I started to shape an 8' 2x8 into a kayak paddle. . . The work is > slow going with the hand tools I have been using, a spokeshave, a block
> plane, and a shurform plane.

Whittling a paddle from a solid piece of lumber seems to me to be an elegant way to produce sawdust and wood chips. You are throwing out more than you are keeping. However, elsewhere on this BBS is a story by another paddle carver (George Ellis), so I guess this is a more common way to do things than I had expected. The story can be found at:

www.guillemot-kayaks.com/Building/GreenlandPaddle.html

> If anyone has created a paddle from a single piece of wood, I
> would be interested in hearing the tools you used.

Ellis goes into a nice description of the tools he uses. Check it out.

> Even if you haven't built a paddle, I would welcome suggestions.

You should be able to get 2 paddles from that 8 foot piece of 2x8. Maybe 3. Lets get the size of the board right, first. Since we are talking hardwood, those might be the actual measurements: a full 2 inches thick and 8 inches wide. If you were dealing with pine the size you gave would be `nominal' and the board would be closer to 1 1/2 by 7 1/2. the following assumes you`ll be using the smaller size. If you are fortunate to have a larger piece, you'll have to juggle the numbers for yourself.

Im going to assume that you want a paddle roughly 8 feet long and with blades 7 1/2 to 8 inches wide, about 2 feet long, and up to 3/8 inch thick. I'll also assume you want the diameter of the shaft to be about 1 1/2 inches.

Commit that plank to the saw. Rip it into 4 pieces. Make three of those strips a little over 1 1/2 inches wide -- maybe 1 5/8. Allowing for 1/8 inch for the kerf, by cutting off three strips you will be removing 5.25 inches from that board. That will leave you a 2.25 inch wide piece.

The three narrow pieces will be used for the handles of three paddles. Basically you'll just have to round the edges off of them, a rather quick job with a hand plane, drawknife, or spokeshave. I've done similar rounding with a belt sander and a coarse sanding belt. My father liked to use a table saw to cut off the corners, and turn the piece into an octagon before rounding it further, and of course, if you have a lathe which can handle stock 8 feet long you can use that. In short, there are a lot of ways to round it down to size. Don't do it yet, though.

Take that strip of 1.5 by 2.25 material. Cut it into 4 pieces that are just a bit under 2 feet long. You are going to use these for making the blades of your paddles. If you flip each block on edge so you can rip it into 2 pieces that are a bit less than 3/4 inch thick ( they will also be 2.25 wide and 2 feet long) you'll have material for the blades for two paddles. (For the third paddle you'll have to use some other wood, or, rip those boards into three pieces that are slightly thicker than 3/8 inch and still 2.25 inches wide and 2 feet long.) You are going to glue the edges of these paddle blades to the flat sides of the long pieces you are using for handles. Sandwiching the 1.5 inch handle between two 2.25 wide pieces will make the blades 6 inches wide. If you want paddles with the blades 90 degrees opposed, this is easy to do with the still square stock for the handle. If you want an angle of less than that, you have a couple of options. Lets say you want the blades 70 degrees apart. Set your saw to cut at a 10 degree angle, or use a plane, and gently remove some stock from one long edge of each of the 4 thin blade pieces. This will give you pieces that look like this (exagerated view)

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! ! ---------------- ! ! ------------- ! -- / ! x ! / -- ! -------------- ! ! ---------------

! !

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When you glue these beveled edges to the square stock, the blades will NOT be squarely perpendicular. Do the same thing on the other end, being careful in your alignment, and your blades will be 70 degrees apart. You have twisted them 10 degrees off of 90 at each end. If you want the angle to be 80 degrees, then your taper would be a measly 5 degees ( or half of the difference between 90 and what you want.) To get the blades to align. Find the center of your handle ( marked with an x) and align the blade with a straightedge so that the centerline of each piece is in line with it. If you want the blades to not be straight in line with the handle, but slightly angled, then you can make those adjustments before gluing If your saw left a rough edge, lightly plane or sand the area of the handle where the blade pieces are to be attached. Get the area even and smooth, then use epoxy to attach the blade pieces to the handles. Clamp until everything sets up.

You may want a wider blade. You can get this by adding other strips of wood.

Any left over cedar from building that kayak? Add it to the sandwich. The more you add, the wider the blade. Adding a 1 inch wide strip of cheap pine to each side would make each blade 8 inches wide. Run it through your saw to get it to the same thickness as the rest of the blade material.

After all the resin has cured, get a plane and shape the ends of the paddle where the handle ( shaft) and the blade meet. Then round off the center part. To reinforce the blade, cover it with a layer of fiberglass cloth. If you dont want to cover the entire blade with fiberglass ( which can make it thicker than you may want) just use a 3 to 4 inch wide strip of glass centered over handle and the joints with the blade pieces. Sand to feather the edge into the remaining wood of the blade.

If you just cut two handles from that 7.5 inch wide plank the remainder will be about 4 inches wide. Ripping that for blades will give you enough material for blades 9.5 inches wide. You'll get two paddles instead of three, and not need additional wood.

Hope this is of some use to you.

Paul Jacobson