Beavertail- Basswood

Marked out

This one came from a bit of inspiration from my childhood and seeing Murat put in on  a paddle. We use to have a cottage up on Six Mile lake, and as we grew up my parents would measure our height on the door.

This paddle is for my nephew and his mom (who loves the outdoors as well) . I made it for mothers day. I made it so that they could measure his height on the paddle and when he was old enough he could use it. After I finished I found out that Max's dad had a similar thing at his cottage, but only when the child can stand on their own are they allowed to be measured.

I used basswood because its very simple to work with. I also think a paddle should be used,  but once there's that much importance on it i don't know if they would use it. So it most likely being decorative I used the basswood.

With such nice weather outside I invested in two cheaper work horses and started to have some fun outdoor. I also picked up an electric planer to take on the brunt of the wood. I like making things with hand tools but I shattered my arm into 14 pieces in the summer and its the electric planer makes its easier on my arm.

Halfway

I slimmed down the blade, shaped the shaft and tried a new grip; a more store bought style.

I must say this is my favorite paddle when it comes to shape, weight and feel.

I finished the paddle off by adding a Max's name on the side so that he can be measured up the right of the paddle. I also didn't focus on being neat because it will keep that childhood feel to it.

I gave the paddle to Max's mom unfinished and told her to measure him and to bring it back when it needed to be finished.