Voyager- Ash (Part 1)

Rough blank edges need sanding

Hey Everyone,

So i have been working on stuff.  Its just been at a slower pace, because life gotten busy. I have been working on a Voyager paddle made of Ash. Ash is very strong but a little on the heavy side.

With each paddle i've been making , i'm constantly trying to improve on my skill. For this one i am really trying to make it as light as possible but still getting a perfect balance of strength and lightweight.  I just dont want push to far and create a paddle that will snap under pressure. I am also trying to develops that small ridge in the centre of the blade where the shaft meets the blade. I dont have a convexed spokeshave, so i may use a dowel and sand paper to get that look.

Ridge in the neck of the blade

I also wanted to really take my time with this paddle, its easy when you start to see them take shape to skip a few details or cut corners. Its those thing though that tend to make them extremely special and to skip them takes away from the details.

I also have started to speed up shaping the grip by using the bandsaw to remove large amount of wood at once. I typically use a rasp and spokeshave to do the grip.  With power tools though you can ruin all your work and the paddle with the smallest slip. Its a bit of a risk but if you pay careful attention it can save a decent amount of time, then a little work with hand tools and your done.

Current state starting to look good 

I have a few ideas on the art work and finishing but not sure which one is best. I also was thinking about putting a resin tip on this one. Even though Ash is hard, i like the ability to push off rocks and such without concern of ruin the paddle or wood.

Thanks for reading and as soon as i kick this nasty cold/ flu/ whatever i have, ill get back o work on it !

Paul

Cutting board !

Best layout

Hi all !

Sarah and I recent bought a house, so I thought I would take a few scraps of wood that have been laying around and make a cutting board .

Pre Oil

I used hard maple , walnut , curly maple and paduk . There hardwoods so that the knife won't ruin them to bad . I've been told wood cutting boards aren't the best because of salmonella, but I just wanted a small project .

I lined it all up so that I had the patten that looked the best . I think this turned out pretty good . I then planned the edges so that they would fit together well, without any gaps .

I glued them all using some good glue and clamped all the wood together.

I then planned all the wood down to an even thickness . I rounded the corners with the disc sander and took the edges off so they were just slightly rounded .

Finished product 

I took some badgers hemp oil ( food grade) and covered the board . I did a few layer and that the cutting board !

Super easy project just wish I had a better saw for ripping stock wood . Then I could have made it into a checkerboard pattern.

Thanks for reading !

Paul