Creating a wooden paddle was a spontaneous project. It all started with a visit to a local timber yard where I picked up a piece of wood. I’m not entirely sure of the type of wood I used, but I suspect it was a soft wood. This ambiguity set the tone for the entire project—an adventure marked by trial and error.
Getting Started
With the wood in hand, I dove headfirst into crafting the paddle. I must admit, I didn’t spend nearly enough time researching the process beforehand. This lack of preparation led to several challenges along the way, but it also made the experience more educational.
The Challenges of Drilling Holes
One of the most significant hurdles I encountered was drilling the holes. My goal was to create four evenly spaced holes in the paddle. We own plenty of paddles, but none with holes, and I was curious about how much harder it would bite with the lack of air resistance.
We used a standard drill bit designed for circular holes. However, the process was far from straightforward. The inside of the holes splintered badly, and it took a lot of effort to make them look presentable and, more importantly, safe. Since the paddle would be used on people, ensuring there were no splinters was crucial. Additionally, we had huge trouble working out the math for where exactly we should place the holes. Again we probably should have given this more thought before driving straight in with an attitude of “well, how wrong can we get it, really?”.
In hindsight, I think we should have drilled halfway through from one side, flipped the paddle over, and then drilled the rest of the way from the other side. I’m not entirely sure if this technique would have prevented the splintering or if the issue was due to the wood grain itself. Either way, it’s a lesson learned for future projects.
Smoothing and Finishing
After the holes were drilled, we moved on to sanding. We started with rough sanding to smooth out the general shape and edges, then switched to fine sanding to give it a polished finish. To complete the paddle, we applied a matte varnish.
The Final Product
Despite the challenges, the finished paddle turned out quite well. It imparts quite the punch, making it a fun addition to our collection. While the project was successful overall, I’m eager to try again with a bit more research and preparation next time. Maybe a hardwood? More holes? Some spikes?