Sometimes a clean slate, like a basswood paddle blade, is the perfect substrate for a non-traditional final finish. In my experience, printed cotton fabric provides the matrix of absorbent material that epoxy wants to saturate and bond with. All these paddles are years old now and are withstanding the test of time quite well. For many paddlers, tradition and performance are the motivation behind choosing … Continue reading Color on Wood
Some days are unexpectedly better than anticipated. This day was one of them. Perfect clear cool water, lots of birds singing their joy of living, and a quiet stretch of my favorite paddling place. Also my kid. My wife and I both tried to get time with each kid outside and doing something. Strange, but most of my days were outside on the water. Hopefully, … Continue reading Fall Day Slow River = Perfect
I don’t know much about photography, but I do know that every morning and evening there is a few skinny minutes when the light is ‘just right’. It’s magic light. Really it’s light from a natural source at a low angle so there are few shadows. But I like ‘magic light’ better. I think this lighting voodoo gets stronger as the days get shorter in … Continue reading a Splash of Magic
Our latest little adventure to Lake Wazeecha, saw a custom built walnut paddle makes its debut. As with nearly all other woods, walnut can be just right for a paddleboard paddle. While some suggest that walnut is too heavy, I push back just a bit and suggest that weight belongs in a performance-oriented work world – not the leisurely world of having fun on the … Continue reading walnut gets wet
I think wood makes for some beautiful paddles. Wood has heart. It has character. It has soul. Looking at it, you can just about see the story it is telling you. Here’s the story: It’s gorgeous stuff, at least to my eyes. While it is hard not to be a good bit upset at how North American virgin redwood was treated back in the day, … Continue reading a Redwood Custom Paddle
It may not rise to the level of peanut butter and chocolate, but pine and cotton work just fine as paddle blades. My so-called ‘creative side’ favors the machine made paisley in all its many colors and patterns. My eye also likes the wild patterns found in nature, in this case a pair of bookmatched knots and the surprising revelation of ‘birds eye’ upon slicing … Continue reading Birds Eye and Paisley Paddles
(or Wood is just plain gorgeous!) The longer I keep my hands in the game of wood working, the more I come to see wood in its limitless forms as my favorite palette. The picture above contains four simple examples and one of my favorite all time examples of beautiful surprises in the most unexpected (maybe common?) places. I like to eat dessert first, so … Continue reading Shaft Strip Design Ideas
Three things at once in the above image: 1.) I trimmed the plain weave, four ounce fiberglass cloth as closely as I could to the edge of the blade. This is important because if too much cloth is left overhanging the edge, the epoxy ‘flows’ out along this fiber and hardens. This adds enough weight and stiffness at just the right time and in exactly … Continue reading Paddle Blade – tape, trim, and level
A fine summer day. The kids are home and the water called. Off we went to the Wisconsin River for a simple day trip. Put in at the Sauk City bridge. Take out at Honey Creek at the base of the amazing Ferry Bluff. Paddle boards are flexible beasties. You can stand. Or sit. Which means you can use a long paddle. Or a short … Continue reading Short Paddle Long Board
It is the middle of the season that most people are out paddling. Which is what we did over the July 4th weekend. Summer is also a time for projects in the garage. So – back the car out, find your tools and build a paddle! It takes some wood, a few tools, and a bit of time, but building your own paddle is entirely … Continue reading Building a SUP paddle
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