Finding WRC
WRC is becoming harder to find every year. The only old growth WRC left in the USA is on PNW Reservations and not being clear cut. Our National forests were blitzed with clear cutting a couple of decades ago. Western Canada is presently clear cutting their National forests and when that’s gone there will be little quality old growth WRC available. Buy some good 4 x 4 stock now for your future use. When ready to use it, split it on a bandsaw into two boards with vertical grain.
For those living in New England, Liberty Cedar, in RI, has good quality WRC. The box stores near me (CT) don’t stock it any more, and the remaining independent lumber yards (fewer every year) are hit and miss.
Dave
What about redwood?
Too brittle and splintery? Too rare and expensive?
The only reason I ask is that I have some nice leftover VG stock from some deck furniture I made nearly 20 years ago. Specifically, an almost perfect 8’ 4X4. I also have some “playground grade” Port Orford cedar 4X4’s nearly as nice that I’ve been saving for the right project.
Made
a dozen or so paddles using various amounts of redwood several years ago. I incorporated it as a laminate with white ash center spine mostly. It doesn’t work quite as nice as spruce or WRC. chips a little more than WRC and way more than spruce. Looks nice.
I now mostly use carbon fiber and worry more about the expense and what weave to use in the matrix.
In the future with good wood becoming harder and harder to find. I believe we will be seeing more carbon paddles and less wood ones. Wood is very nice to look at, but isn’t as durable as the carbon.
Carbon paddles can also be made with a sharper edge for a cleaner catch. The downside for the home builder is not just expense of the fabric…but also the cost of the resin and the fixtures to make it all happen in a predictable manner and a repeatable manner.
there is much more profit in making a wood paddle than in making a carbon paddle because of the expense of the materials (to date) and the time element of curing and different processes which need to be done in steps and at precise times in the making.
With good wood becoming rare, the cost of good wood will eventually increase so that it may not be as advantageous to use for experimenting and people will have to resort to either knotty wood for the experiments or just end up buying a carbon one. It will be sad day…wood is very pretty (and is a joy to work)and as long as it’s treated well in the using, lasts a significant amount of time.
Best Wishes
Roy
sad day indeed
when we can’t find good wood to make a paddle. But remember again that this is based on what we want now. Wood was chosen for paddles based on their strength and not necessarily their weight for those that really used them for survival/hunting. After all they had to get them home in some pretty nasty conditions sometimes.
I made a fir paddle once. It actually paddled very nicely and the weight was not that noticeable while paddling. picking it up and carrying it around showed a significant difference but it was interesting (at least to me) that it wasn’t that big of a deal in and on the water.
Paul
Paul