First try wooden paddles

[Honolii]

I FINALLY got down to making some SUP paddles after thinking about it for the last 2 years.  This is my first time and I want to thank all of those who posted on their experiences on making them on here. I've taken every bit of advice and tips and used them with my ideas. These are my first two prototypes and will use it to refine my next ones I do.

My clamping jig. I can move the blade angle wedge to adjust for different legths, and also change it for different blade angles. The jig is upside down in this shot. Also clamping 2 shafts at a time.


I used poplar and douglas fir to make the laminated shaft. These are all trimmed and ready for handle and blade glue ups.


Blade glue up using basswood and some scrap koa I had lying around.


Koa handles all shaped and sanded.


Blade all shaped and sanded. One is 7 3/4" wide, the other is 8" wide.


The bend.


Glassing with 4 ounce glass and epoxy. One layer on both sides of the blade and on shaft up to the bend. I painted on the graphics as one is for my fiance' and the other for my nephew. The Hawaiian tattoo design is his family crest.


Finished blades. After 2 coats of epoxy, I sanded and top coated with automotive clear acrylic enamel. I haven't buffed it out yet.


Koa handle detail.


Side view double bend detail. The blade angle is a slight 8-10%.


All in all I enjoyed the process of making anything wiht my hands. I do some woodwork so I have experience working with wood. Main tools for shaping were sander, grinder with sanding disk, belt sander, small block plane, small drum sander on drill, router for handle.
The shaft has a nice flex to it that I like. I have not yet taken it out for a test. Will get back on feedback when done.
Weight was 2.2 pounds on a digital bathroom scale. I don't know how accurate that is.
Thanks for looking. Would love some feedback, advice, constructive criticism, hell, even negative criticism as I learn fomr it all.
Aloha,
Honolii

[Blane Chambers]

Awesome Honolii!    Digging it!    I love when people make their own paddles or boards.   Such a satisfying thing...

[DavidJohn]

Beautiful.. Absolutely beautiful.. Thanks for the pictures.

How did they end up weight wise..and are the shafts much thicker than your typical Kialoa size shaft?

I've been wanting a beautiful wood blade Kialoa Methane using their light and thin shaped carbon shaft.

I'd be interested to hear how that shaft shape performs.. I wonder if Kialoa will ever do a double bend shaft s u p paddle.

DJ

[Sam Pa'e]

Awesome Honolii!    Digging it!    I love when people make their own paddles or boards.   Such a satisfying thing...

Wow..........Beautiful!  I must agree........I love when people make things on their own. You'll receive much more satisfaction & pride. 

Aloha........Sam

[JimK]

AWESOME!!! I could never do that But I can appreciate the workmanship...WOW!

JimK
Extreme Windsurfing

[greatdane]

Gorgeous! 

[Blane Chambers]

Wow, Tribune Herald.   Brings back memories of living on the BI...   
 

BTW...    Eh, Honolii...   You get mean kine talent ah?!!!!   

[stoneaxe]

Beautifully done. Love the double bend and great details and graphics. Nice jig too.

Have you tried any woodburning? With a good woodburner you can get very detailed. I have a project I'm working on now that is going to have a lot of woodburning. Can't wait to share it. I have a couple paddles in the works too. I'll probably do some burning on those as well.

[DavidJohn]

Beautifully done. Love the double bend and great details and graphics. Nice jig too.

Have you tried any woodburning? With a good woodburner you can get very detailed. I have a project I'm working on now that is going to have a lot of woodburning. Can't wait to share it. I have a couple paddles in the works too. I'll probably do some burning on those as well.

Hey Stoneaxe.. What ever happened with that wood paddle that you won?.. How is it?

DJ

[hawaiian.style]

Honolii - those paddles are meeeannnnn!  the koa handles are super nice.  so what, you taking orders  ??  i'll be back for a few weeks around Christmas time... hopefully with my SUP.

Wow, Tribune Herald.   Brings back memories of living on the BI...

I was thinking the same thing!  good ol' Tribune Herald... turn the front page over so I can see the police report.  haha, nah nah!

[Honolii]

Wow, Tribune Herald.   Brings back memories of living on the BI...   
 

BTW...    Eh, Honolii...   You get mean kine talent ah?!!!!   

LOL!  Just trying, Blane, trying....
Funny, didn't even notice the Tribune Herald, it's the little details that means a lot! That observation gives me an idea on my next paddle project. LOL! See how observant people are...

DavidJohn,
The paddles came out at 2.2 pounds on a digital bathroom scale. It feels light for a wood paddle.
I measured my Kialoa Nalu shaft and compared to mine after the glassing and finish coating.  The Kialoa is 1.057 x 1.260.  Mine came out to 1.087 x 1.285.  So just slightly bigger. If I didn't glass it, it would be about the same. I rounded the corners with a router and 1/2" round over, so it is about as ovalized as the Kialoa as the unfinished laminated shaft is thicker than it is wider. Very comfortable grip. I think I might not go with the glass on the shaft for the next one, depends how flexy this one is when I try it.

Thanks to everybody on the good words. I'm just one of those guys who look at something and think, "I can make that, and maybe do it better."  I'm from the backwards engineering shool of thought, scrutinize something and figure out how they did it.
I've always been the kind of guy who would make something if I can, instead of buying it.
Typical DIY kind of guy, that's why I get inspired by Sam's, Blane's and everybody else posts where they go ahead and just do it! I'm not in it to do any production work, just for the enjoyment and self gratification that I can do it. Even if it's a disaster I'm happy I tried and can laugh at myself. Beleive me, I've had my disasters! LOL!
I want to try making my own SUP, but waiting until I get a house and a dedicated shop as I'm renting right now. I actually want to build one of those hollow wood SUP, use it, than hang it up as an art piece.

Stoneaxe, yes I too was also wondering about the paddle you won. I entered the next month, May, and as of yet, now winner has been announced nor a new topic had been post, sans no June contest. Wonder if Kalaoa are still producing?

I'll post updates on the performance and adjustments I'll make on up coming paddles.
Aloha,
Honolii

[Honolii]

Beautifully done. Love the double bend and great details and graphics. Nice jig too.

Have you tried any woodburning? With a good woodburner you can get very detailed. I have a project I'm working on now that is going to have a lot of woodburning. Can't wait to share it. I have a couple paddles in the works too. I'll probably do some burning on those as well.

Stoneaxe,
First of all, I'm glad you are doing great braddah! That's a hurdle to overcome.
Second of all, you are part of my inspiration to want to do this as I followed your paddle projects from the beginning.  Your whale paddle, the pyrographic woodburning one, was beautiful! Yes, I'm thinking of getting one of those pyro burning machines in the future. Being these are my first paddles, I did not want to put too much into it as they are prototypes. As I get more into it, than I will put in more of my art work.

Honolii

[Xleps]

Awsome Paddles!! Nice work!!!

[stoneaxe]

DJ...Still don't have it yet. Odie hurt his hand and fell behind with his building...I told him to worry about paying customers 1st. Should be here sometime soon.

Honolii...thanks bro...I feel pretty lucky...this hasn't been too bad compared to what many folks face.
My 1st paddles looked nice but were way too heavy...these look great...very refined...not like prototypes at all. Good idea about how much effort you put in the early ones though...I snapped #3 the 2nd time I used it. Glad I didn't put a lot of graphics on it...

[Honolii]

Okay, went out for my first session with this paddle and.. I am Happy with how it performs and came out. Surf was small 1 feet, but fun.

Observations:
- Shaft size very comforatble and compares with my Kialoa Nalu.
- Double bend makes a difference on wrist position comfort, also handle position when switching sides, it's closer to your face.
- Shaft flex is not as flexy as my Kialoa, but not hella stiff like my Nexxt carbon paddle that came with my Southpoint Bonga SUP.  It is right in between.
- blade shape and size is right on par to what i wanted. Not too grabby, controlable on the turns.  I did not put any deihdral on the back face of the blade as I beleive technique is the key to not making your blade wander. My blade paddled true, no wander.
- Dang! I forgot what a shaft without grip feels like. The hard way! LOL! My second wave I was stroking hard for, my hand slipped and I almost face planted on the board.
- Handle shape is purrrrrfect.
-Weight is not so bad. I surfed for an hour and it just felt like using my NEXXT paddle.  Didn't really notice it really. I know I will when I go back to my Kialoa and go "Whoa! Some light eh dis buggah!"

Refinement:
- Moving shaft bend more toward the center of the shaft, right before grip area.
- Adding about 2 degrees to the blade angle.
- Not glassing the shaft to try to make it a wee bit more flexible and shave weight.
- Shaving down the thickness of the blade more to try to shave weight. I know I can go down more because the blade already felt solid with it's thickness before I even glassed it.

Other than those subtle changes, the paddle turned out better than I expected and I would be just as happy with it even without any changes. I just want to see how much I can push to refine it.

Aloha,
Honolii

"