Re: [Paddlewise] paddle cutting

David said:

<snip>

I couldn't find a DeWalt, would a Makita do?

Uh, thanks for the link David. But between you and Charles, this is
getting king of silly. What kind of mushrooms is Charles dehydrating and
eating, anyway?

I would like to say on a serious note to folks who break their paddles,
that if the blades are still in good shape, it is relatively easy to
make a new paddle up. I usually cut the shaft down to about 8 inches
from the ferrule, until I can see where the paddle end (male end that
glues into the shaft) is just visible. I then sneak up to this point,
cutting carefully. After doing both ends, I then can slit the length of
the remaining shaft (usually about 6 inches. I use a "V" grove chisel
and a small, narrow kerf saw. You may need to do a bit od chiseling and
breaking away from the glue joint, but eventually you will expose the
paddle "tang". It helps if it is a different color. With a bit of filing
and sanding, the two paddle blades are ready to insert into a new shaft,
which are usually available from the paddle manufacturer (may take some
connections). All is not lost when you break you paddle. If I break a
shaft, I usually replace it with a stronger one. The antidote to paddle
breakage is called finesse, but that is apparently an area I need to
develop and work on :-)

DL

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