Double Blade Paddle Shaft

[swampwood]

Need your inputs on what to use for the shaft of a double bladed paddle?
I built the blades but am trying to decide on the best material to use for the shaft.
Thought about carbon fiber, fiberglass or wood.
Leaning toward carbon fiber tape and wrapping it around a 1" pipe for the mold ??????????
The blades are asymmetrical and made using cypress strips with fiberglass on both sides.
Thanks, Swampwood

 

[seedtick]

mandrels i've seen for winding have been smooth and polished so the finished product slips off easily

might be better off finding a polished shaft, like a pump shaft, of the proper diameter so your mold release won't have to work so hard

another option would be to wind around a disposable core, like a cardboard tube

 

[Kayak Jack]

Swampwood. My advice is that you will not want the shaft to be round; you will want it to be oval to fit inside your grip. Hold your left hand out in front of you with the thumb and forefinger apart at a comfortable position for you. Look at the space between thumb and forefinger. It isn't round. Make your shaft the shape into which it will fit - don't reshape your grip to fit the shaft.

It won't make much difference for the first little while. After an hour you will DEFINITELY know the difference. At the end of a paddling day you will write and send me money in thanks. (I'll send address later.)

 

[swampwood]

Like the cardboard mold idea, Seedtick.
Also like the the oval shape for the hands, Kayak Jack.
Do you think a single wrap of the carbon fiber tape with the edges overlapping will be strong enough ?

 

[seedtick]

don't know how many wraps you need but i believe that one isn't nearly enough

most filament windings are highly engineered to make the most use of the stength of materials in combination with fiber orientation.

Fiber orientation ranges from 90 degrees (perpendicular to the shaft) to 45 degrees or more. Typically they're wound like a helix - visualize a spool of nylon twine

here's a website that gives instructions on building a paddle using 5.8 oz plain weave fabric - and he uses four layers of fabric

http://www.rollordrown.com/kayak/gstick.html

 

[gbinga]

How about wrapping a thin layer of fabric onto a very light weight aluminum tube (like a shower curtain rod, for instance) and just leaving the aluminum in place?

Doesn't solve the problem of making an oval cross section, though. Hmm...

 

[Jimmy W]

Have a look at this; http://www.epoxyworks.com/26/pdf/Building_composite_tubes.pdf

 

[Kayak Jack]

Jimmy, you are a font of information.

 

[swampwood]

Thanks for the info guys.
Jimmy W, Appreciate the link. That explains what I was wanting to do.

 

[tx river rat]

If you want a oval shaft carve it out of foam then cover with plastic wrap lay up your shaft . when completed stand on end pour gasoline or laqure thinner into shaft . it will melt the foam leaving you with a hollow shaft, basically the lost wax molding process.
Ron

 

[gbinga]

If you want a oval shaft carve it out of foam then cover with plastic wrap lay up your shaft . when completed stand on end pour gasoline or laqure thinner into shaft . it will melt the foam leaving you with a hollow shaft, basically the lost wax molding process.
Ron

Brilliant. You could mold a lot of things that way. Have you actually done that, Ron?

GB

 

[tx river rat]

Yes I have done some projects that way . It works pretty well.
Ron

 

[Kayak Jack]

I'll bet that dissolved foam is a snotty mess, isn't it? Do the operation over one of those disposable aluminum foil roaster pans? And, without smoking, too. (Mommy! Mommy! Se the funny man run and wave his arms!)

 

[tx river rat]

Jack
It really isnt to bad, por in the gas first and keep adding untill it melts thrue, then clean up with lacquer thinner.
Ron

 

[gbinga]

What kind of tools are useful when carving the styrofoam? I'm guessing there are some options out there... I've read before that styrofoam is or was used for making patterns in foundries.

 

[tx river rat]

They make a file c alled a sureform looks like a cheese grater ,works pretty good.
Ron

 

[Kayak Jack]

I've noticed that Sureforms do a nice job on knuckles too. :wink:

 

[swampwood]

Like the idea of the carbon fiber sock material from the site Jimmy W posted.
I am thinking of making the center 3 feet (or so) of the shaft oval and the rest round.
I like all the ideas, just trying to figure out how to make it work.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Swampwood, as you paddle with a double ender, you will learn to not always hold it symmetrically, with the same amount of paddle hanging out of each hand. Paddling with a longer end on, say, the left side will gently edge you to your right, or counteract a drift. I sometimes have a hold of the end of a blade in one hand, and the other grips the shaft wherever is lands.

Upshot of all that is, you may want the oval grip full length of the handle. You never know where you will be gripping.