Piling on to the prior shaft strip entry, the image above illustrates another option for building a unique paddle shaft. This is a redwood paddle, except for the first strip which is some sort of cedar. That first strip in this stack, the one the blade pieces attach to is wider than the strips above it. Under my hand, at the top of the blade, that ‘extra’ width is tapered down to match the width of the shaft strips above it. As you can see, the second strip is also wider relative to the strips on top of it, before it too, is tapered down to match the strips above it. That second strip also has a snout that I ran out by itself, while the strips above it are ‘flatironed’ (my term; I don’t know if an ‘official’ term exists), rather than my usual stair stepping.
This requires a bit of extra setup. That first piece is not going to fit in a ‘one size fits all’ form, so you’ll have to adjust the form to accommodate the wider end of that first strip.
I really like this look. The kits I sell come with strips that are already cut to one uniform width, but they don’t have to be that way. Also, the wider shaft strip takes the place of accent strips between the blade and the shaft.
Finally, be sure and consider this extra ~ half inch of width when it comes to the overall width of the blade.
paddles kits boards 