Gluing up the Blades

Here is a shot of the blade blanks clamped to the shaft. You can see that I did a little shaping of the shaft to put in a slight curve. I left it a bit proud so I could shape a slight ridge that tapers from the tip to the transition point. You can see there is a high point about 3 to 4 inches from the transition point. The ridge will taper down from here to the tip where it will be blended in with the blades.
To mark the curve, I used the same template as i used for the blades. I then cut a kerf at the deepest point. I again used the draw knive to rough the curve. I started at each end and cut to the kerf in the middle so I would not be cutting "uphill" against the grain. I then used a spoke shave to smooth it and cut to the line.


Here is the backside after I glued it up. Things are starting to take shape now...kinda looks like a paddle.

At this point, the paddle weighs about 4 1/2 pounds...YIKES!