: Hi,

: I happen to be in the process of finishing a couple of paddles right now. I
: bought a book on paddle making which was far too much information. My
: paddles are laminated ash & redwood & mahogany. Since they are
: mostly redwood for light weight & ease of carving I am going to
: fiberglass the blades. I have seen & read about 5 techniques for tip
: reinforcement.
: 1. Strip of brass
: 2. 1/8" nylon rope & epoxy
: 3. Cut a slot & insert a hard material(Requires a jig & table saw)
: 4. Cover blade with fiberglass & trim 1/4" long. Build up epoxy at
: blade's edge
: 5. Apply a strip of kevlar

: I think that I will do #4. I included a link for that process.

On my last one I just glued a tip of mahogany with the grain at 90 degrees to the paddle, so far seems to be working fine. Used thickened epoxy to glue it on with masking tape to hold it in place, a slightly thicker glue line is better in this instance.

Most commercial wooden paddles use urethane tips that seem to hold up well.

Copper tips are pretty also usually cause more problems than they solve.

Bill H.