Soft Maple for Paddles?

Gary

Canoe Grampa
Hi I have a nice piece of 12/4 soft maple 6' long and 6" wide, with great colouring. I'm wanting to re-saw it to book match the two pieces making two paddles with identical grain pattern and colour. I've used figured and birds eye maple for paddles before but not soft maple. Will it be strong enough for paddle making?
Thanks, Gary
 

pklonowski

Unrepentant Canoeist
I think the grain is more important than the strength of the wood. If the grain is straight, it's probably worth finding out! If the grain runs out the sides too much, I'd save it for something else.
 

Benson Gray

Canoe History Enthusiast
Staff member
I expect that it will be fine if the grain is good as Paul mentioned. My favorite wood for paddles is spruce. Soft maple is both harder and stronger than that.

Benson
 

Rob Stevens

Wooden Canoes are in the Blood
I have carved many paddles from soft maple. As Benson mentioned above, it is stronger than spruce.

One thing you can do to maximize strength is make the shaft oval, with the larger dimension perpendicular to the face of the blade.
 
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Gary

Gary

Canoe Grampa
Thank you everyone, the grain is good which first attracted me to this piece of wood. I have also used spruce for paddles and I like the idea of the oval shaft.
Looks like I'll give it a go!
Gary
 
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