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Comment by Dave P on December 19, 2010 at 7:56am

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. It's starting to make sense now!

Dave

Comment by mlwebb on December 18, 2010 at 10:27am

re taper - both, the photo above is before tapering. I'll see if I have another photo or two. My oars are slightly over 2" at the loom, 2" at the oarlock, tapering to  1 1/2" at the neck. The blades taper down to about 3/4 at the end, and probably could be thinner.

re glue - I used System3 T-88 epoxy (which I like a lot). I'll bet even Titebond III would work.

re grain direction - theoretically aligning the flat grain with the blade flat will give you a more flexible oar, approx 90 deg to the blade a stiffer oar (which I did, roughly). My wood was quite straight grained (with some waves), I gave up trying to match (with the grain/against the grain) for planing).

I went with a glued up blank based on comments by Ray Heater on spruce oars - he liked a full 2" at the oarlock, and the rough 8/4 spruce available to me would have finished out at 1 3/4. If I were making ash or fir oars I would probably skip the lamination, and be happy with 1 3/4 at the oarlock. In theory the laminated oar should be stronger.  I had a portable planer and portable table saw to work with -all my big tools are in storage :( .  You should be able to do fine with just a table saw and a good blade if you establish a straight edge - epoxy is pretty forgiving in glue joints :)

 

Comment by Dave P on December 18, 2010 at 8:39am

PS

In all the research I have been just looking at, there is talk about taper. Now is that in the shaft or in the blade?

Comment by Dave P on December 18, 2010 at 8:08am

What glue did you use? Did you worry about the grain direction in all the pieces? Do you think the laminated blade makes it stronger or twist less (warp)? Any tips on how to get that first straight square shaft. Planner, or just good wood and table saw?

You have made this look so easy! I am just getting ready to start on mine, epically since I have seen yours. Thanks