HOW TO MAKE A WOODEN PADDLE
Making an wooden paddle is fairly easy . It is possible to make them without power tools , but a saw , jigsaw , drill ( drill press ) and sander ( orbital and belt ) do make life a lot easier .
Paddles should be made from reasonable quality timber , hardwood or aircraft plywood are best .
Most designs are 12 - 15 inches long and 3 - 4 inches wide . Thickness is dependent on the type of timber , but ranges from 3/8 upwards .
Our MEMBERS AREA version of this page will have some of our paddle designs .
This is our " ARMSTRONG PLUS " paddle ( named after Mrs. Armstrong , a well known " Dominant " lady in Sydney a few years ago ) .
To make this paddle , it is first cut out from a piece of timber , using either a pattern or from pencil lines set out using a ruler , straightedge and a compass or suitably dimensioned round object . The holes are drilled with a drill bit the size of the smaller holes and then the larger holes are enlarged with a larger bit . All holes are countersunk .
The paddle is then sanded , preferably using a belt sander mounted upside down , followed by finishing sanding with a orbital sander , using progressively finer paper . The final sanding is done by hand . It is best to wash the paddle in water and let it dry prior to coating . The surface should be sealed , either by coating or oiling , this is to allow easy disinfecting after use .
A hole drilled in the handle is a convenient way to hang the paddle during the coating process . The handle may be rubber dipped as shown .
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