Choosing lumber for a paddle

white cedar

Curious about Wooden Canoes
Hi: I am going to be choosing a few 5/4 planks to build some paddles. I'm curious what type of "sawing" should I look for. Would quarter sawn be a good choice? Or, should I look for another orientation? The lumber is white ash and cherry.
Thank You!
 
I typically use flat sawn, but quarter sawn can work. The problem that you might (might) have with it is the grain doesn't have as much strength with that orientation, as it does with the flat sawn. For a quarter sawn paddle, I'll leave the blade a bit thicker (heavier) to adjust for this. Your mileage may vary.
 
For what it’s worth, in my small collection of non-laminated paddles, five made by well-regarded individual paddle makers,five factory made, and one that I made, all are flat-sawn except one, which is rift sawn. None is quarter-sawn. In my experience, quarter-sawn is pretty unusual, and flat sawn is the norm.
 
Last edited:
For tool handles, look for grain parallel to the forces you apply. For example, I learned to keep the label on a baseball bat pointed straight up. Bats are labelled so, with the label up, the grain faces the ball and the wood is less likely to fail. However, although the wood is stronger parallel to the grain, wood splits most easily along the annual rings. Therefore the thin blade would easily break along the annual rings if the oar blank is quarter sawn (the annual rings perpendicular to the face of the board). The shaft is thicker, so can take the stress of having the grain perpendicular to the forces. That's a good reason for the shaft to be oval in cross section with the thickest width to the front and back. You can save some weight but still have enough strength for an extra strong stroke. If I built laminated paddles, the shaft would have grain facing the bow and stern while the grain of the blade was perpendicular to the shaft grain and would face the side of the canoe.
 
It won't matter as much in cherry but in ash you would be begging for a split blade with quarter sawn. I use perfectly plane sawn and if you line the paddle up perfectly with the center if the tree you can get a grain pattern like this.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0493_2.jpg
    IMG_0493_2.jpg
    20.3 KB · Views: 932
Last edited:

my small collection of non-laminated paddles, five made by well-regarded individual paddle makers,five factory made, and one that I made


Sorry Greg, had to seize on that (as i'm always defending yet another paddle purchase, though still under 20 - just barely), whats your total count? sounded like lots more laminated etc....
 

my small collection of non-laminated paddles, five made by well-regarded individual paddle makers,five factory made, and one that I made


. .. whats your total count? sounded like lots more laminated etc....

I was working off the top of my head the other night, and was off a bit in my count. The hand-made include two north woods-style paddles by Alexandra Conover Bennett (one painted by Jerry Stelmok) (ash), a north woods style by Dale Tobey (maple), and a Wabanaki style by Steve Cayard (maple), one made by Caleb Davis (Cherry), one I carved under Caleb's tutelage at Assembly (cherry), and two whose maker is unknown (spruce). The factory-made include two by Old Town (ash), one by White Canoe.(ash), and two of unknown make (ash). All are from flat-sawn lumber, except one of the cherry paddles is rift-sawn. sub-total - 13

I have five laminated paddles, three by Grey Owl (one of walnut and basswood, two of basswood -- all three plastic tipped), a bent-shaft paddle, maker unknown (looks like spruce shaft and basswood blade), and a double-bladed by Bending Branches (not sure of the wood). sub-total - 5

One Grey Owl and the Bending Branches have shafts with the grain perpendicular to the flat-sawn blades. The two basswood Grey Owls and the bent shaft have flat-sawn blades and the grain in the shafts is oriented the same as that in the blades.

The total of 18 does not include the first paddle I owned, and still have, a plastic and aluminum Mohawk, nor does it include four or five plastic and aluminum Old Town kayak paddles. Also not in the count is a pair of Shaw & Tenney oars -- spruce, flat-sawn -- for use when I get the Dan Neal rowing canoe or the Henry Packard wood/canvas rowboat restored. And also not counted are the two sassafras boards waiting to be carved into paddles.

The collection is a family project, a joint effort, some attributable to Deborah as user or purchaser. Two were commissioned by Deborah as gifts to me, and three others of the hand-made paddles were bought at fund-raisers -- a good way to justify buying such things.

The Grey Owl walnut/basswood started the collection; it was my first wood paddle nearly 35 years ago, still used once in a while, and the Alexandra Conover Bennett north woods style (65th birthday present) is my usual user.
 
I use perfectly plane sawn and if you line the paddle up perfectly with the center if the tree you can get a grain pattern like this.

I had the same question about cut selection. So I'm looking for a plain cut near the center? Do you have a photo example from the end of the board?
 
Last edited:
Actually the closer to the center of the log you get the close it comes to being Quarter sawn. you want plane sawn close to the outside of the log. I'll try to get photos later.
When I was talking about lining up the paddle with the center of the tree it was so the grain pattern on either side of the central spline of the blade matches. For example in this photo the 2nd. blade from the top is the ideal I am shooting for and the bottom one less so. It's just an aesthetic choice, not structural.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0503.jpg
    IMG_0503.jpg
    49.3 KB · Views: 748
Thanks I think I understand. That makes sense too you want grain to run through the whole paddle for mere strength. How about strip paddles? Would that be the same idea?
 
Grain patterns

Here are a couple photos that I think will explain. The first is plane sawn which is what I am after. It is from a smaller diameter sassafras tree. If it were a larger diameter tree the rings wouldn't curve as much and run almost parallel to the face of the board all the way across. The second is a piece of perfectly quarter-sawn oak. the rings run perpendicular to the face of the board and on a thin paddle blade you can see how east it would be to split. I assume the same would hold true for the grain orientation for strip paddle but I only make single board paddles so I'll let someone else answer that.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1798.jpg
    IMG_1798.jpg
    45.5 KB · Views: 816
  • IMG_1800.jpg
    IMG_1800.jpg
    37.1 KB · Views: 828
Last edited:
Thankyou very much hopfuley I will have some photos up in the next month or so.
 
Back
Top