I'm planning on experimenting with making a few sets of oars on a router lathe. I'd like to make a set that are solid ash and strong for whitewater. Traditional finish and shape. I'd then like to make a set of oars in the same shape with laminated construction similar to the whitewater kayak paddles I have owned over the years. These will likely have a sassafrass center, ash plates on the outside of the shaft for strength and flex, then a lighter weight blade out of aspen, basswood, yellow cedar or the like with a tougher wood on the sides like mahogany, cherry. The tips get a hardwood veneer. The blades get a 6oz covering, then mucho dynel. The kayak paddle builder makes it look tight and pretty. Ill most like go the sawyer route of just wrap it over and try to make the edge look tight. Then I wanna make a set of light spruce oars with more kayak style spoon blades for fishing here on the snake.

I've managed to find a decent source for most of the wood at the slc macbeaths. They have ash in many thicknesses. I also can get Sitka spruce in 8/4 from the same source. I can get it all shipped to me on their weekly delivery for a $45 drop charge. Not too bad. They are out of yellow cedar but I think I can cobble together a few nice short pieces of random wood for blades locally. The problem is finding 10' long lengths of sassafrass for the shafts. On the east coast it's common, but out west it's a bit harder to come by. I could probably get away with 4/4 as the center piece of a loom but if I'm going thru all the trouble to get it, I'd rather find some thicker like 8/4 for shaft center strips. I prob won't need a very wide board in 8/4 to just do center strips, but I would ideally like to find some wider 8/4 or 12/4 to make a set of one piece oars, but I'm open to making a lightly laminated mostly one piece oar out of 8/4 where I laminate plates up by the oarlock end to make up the extra width. These could be ash for strength or a differant wood in a lighter oar.

I've made some calls but trying to ship boards from the east coast for one set of oars is cost prohibitive. I've found getting anything to wyoming is tough, but if you don't want to get totally gouged on shipping you need to order from places in the Rockies or on the west coast. Problem is I haven't found many places out west that carry the stuff. Anybody know a source? Hopefully one that ships? It doesn't sound like macbeaths can help me, and shipping from the east coast is too expensive. Lookin for any options in the region.
Chris