rejuvinating an old wooden paddle

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:33 am

My natahala is cut and while I mull over what kind of epoxy to use on the tee grip (suggestions welcome thou I have some jpweld at hand) I have new project.
Ive picked up a wooden Kober monschau that nees some love.

there are some dry flakey sections that I started sanding away and the metal tip is a betnarley and worn thru on the corners.
the side edges of the blade are pretty good but has a couple of spots where whatever outer coating is gone and has a little soft wood.

now I could just paddle it as is and continue with the decay, or sand some sections and coat it with the can of clear polyurethene I have in the basement but, I'm open to suggestions.

the rivetted metal on the tip is on its last leg as well.

ezwater · Post by **ezwater** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 5:23 am

I would probably strip it and then protect the wood from further damage with West epoxy. West does not level nicely like varnish, so more sanding is needed afterward. Then some varnish with UV absorbing ingredients will protect the epoxy.

If you think the metal tip is shot, you will have to drill out the rivets and get the metal off before you strip off the varnish. I have never restored a metal tip like that.... I don't know what sort of rivets to look for or how to use them. It depends partly on whether you want the paddle to look "authentic" and original, or if you just want a tip that works. I have tipped a couple of paddles with extruded aluminum channel I found that just happened to fit. But just as often, I have done a glass tip. Probably not as protective as metal, but you can see and fix damage.

Others will have ideas, possibly better.

Sir Adam · Post by **Sir Adam** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 2:41 am

Knowing that it is a WW paddle I would sand the blade down and lay up a few layers of S glass over it. Use WEST Systems epoxy, and figure out whether you want the wood to be "yellow" or not (normal West systems will be a bit yellow for a finish, they have a special hardner that does not yellow, but is more expensive). Sand afterwards lightly to level (wear a respirator!) as EZWater mentioned, and then a few light coats of Spar varnish to protect it. There is a great deal of information on wooden canoes and finishing them off that will directly relate to your project.

I would encourage you to refinish it NOW before it decays further though - I'm redoing an old canoe, and if the previous owner(s) had just kept it dry or patched it there would be far less rot that needs replacement. If I was smart I'd actually scrap the boat instead, but I'm using it to refine my technique and learn on before moving on to building a flatwater wood canoe from scratch (plugs are one things...a finished canoe something slightly different!).

I'm not sure what to use for rivets, but if you poke around at your hardware store you'll likely find something that will work well, if you want to be authentic.

Otherwise, I'd use dynel for the tip (rope), as it is amazingly durable. That's just me though!

Good luck!

ezwater · Post by **ezwater** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:50 am

I'd hold the S-glass to one layer, except down near the tip. And S-glass may not wet out clear. If you want to show off that mahogany veneer cross-grain, you may want to use E-glass which wets out clear.

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:15 am

Ive never done glass. And Id actually like to keep the stencils on the blade. the face is in good shape. I think its an olympic commemoritive paddle. Plus it was formerly owned by a local former Olympic paddler and has her tag on it. Will glass let that show thru?

If I go with West epoxy is there diffrent kinds? Theres a store kinda local that carries it, and I dont want to get wrong stuff.

I drilled the old rivets out and have fashoned a new tip out of aluminum flat stock, doesnt look too bad for on hand stuff.

should I worry about over-sanding in the rivet holes?