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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/12/2012 in all areas
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I JUST FINISHED MAKING MY 10 FOOT OARS FOR OUR CS20. I started by cutting down a 2 x 12 x 16 foot piece of old growth douglas fir. I cut off 2 lenghts at 1 1/2 wide ( it is as you know is 1 1/2 thick). I cut 10' 2" off of the lengths which left me with two pieces about 6' long. I cut two 33 " pieces from one of the left over cutoffs, selecting the best grain with no defects. Fortunately these are very tight grained and the grain is pretty clear and straight. With the three pieces, one long at 10' 2", two about 33 " this would have made the blade blanks 4 1/2" wide which I felt was too narrow. I took addional pieces of 3/4 thick fir from some (again old growth tight grained) 1 x 6 x 6' and cut them down to a width of 1 1/2 strips and made 4 - 33 inch blanks to widen the blades by an additional 1 1/2 inches. I dry fit these all together with obiously the 10' piece for the center, a 3/4" fir strip next for each side of the center strip and then the two 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" - 33" pieces on the outside. I used thicked epoxy to put them together and clamped the heck out of them as best I could and as flat as I could (they looked aweful as heck but So what). The weather was warm enough for the epoxy to set and after a few days I brought them into the house to cure for a few more days. They looked like a pair of 1880 style flat boat rudder oars. I left them alone and pondered and pondered and pondered. I looked at all of the web sites listed above and I also went to boating stores and places like Academy Sports, wherever I could find long oars. I took a bunch of measurements and came up with a hybradized idea. (I HOPE THEY WORK). I finally cut off the excess length so the blanks at the blade end were square using my table saw, yes I had helpers holding the long pieces (looms?), final length was 10' 1/8 " . I took my blanks and marked the centerline on the top and bottom surfaces, and then on the sides of the blank of the oar blades. I then measured from where the tops of the blades were glued to the oar shafts down 9" and drew a line across the blade blanks (side to side) and continued marking the line all the way around the blade blank. I drew another line from where the side pieces where glued to the shaft to the outer edges of the blank where it was marked at 9", with a dark heavy line. I cut off the top of the blade blank just outside the indicated lined angle with a hand jig saw to make the blanks look oar like, leaving about 1/8" outside the lines. So I had two chunks of glued together pieces of wood that looked very much like 10' long CLUNKY oars, the whole Loom and blade blank being 1 x 1/2 thick. I then turned the blade blanks on edge and remarked the edge centerlines on both oar blanks. Once the centerlines were marked all the way to the end tip of what would become the oar, I marked off a point at 3/8" on each side of the centerline at the tip of the oar blade on the side of the blank. I went to what would be the angle cutoff point toward the top of the blade blank at 9" from the loom (oar shaft) where the line was made around the blade blank and drew heavy line marks on all four sides (remember we gots two oar blades). From the edge where they are 1 x 1/2" thick at the 9" mark, down to my marks I made at the bottom of the blade, 3/8" inch off center at the tip of the blade. I hope all this makes sense. Looking at the blade sides, the marked lines look like you are making a giant tapered potato masher. Starting at 9" inches down the blade blank, (where we have the line drawn around the entire blade and at the end of the tapered cut, (at the outer edge of the blade this is and will remain for a time at 1 1/2' thick, the upper side mark starts here at the outer edge). The drawn lines run down the edge (side of the blade) to the points previously marked at 3/8" off center at the tip of the blade blank. Looks like you are making a giant wedge. I drew cross lines across the top and bottom surfaces of the blades (what will be the big flat parts) every three inches as reminders to myself to pay attention not to get into the side marked wedge lines when I began to plane these chunks of wood down to shape. Now that I had the line marked on the side of the blanks, I marked, quite heavily with a ball point pen, the centerline of each blade surface. These lines run from 1' above the top of the blade blank (on the loom {long stick part of the blade}) at the centerline of the blades to be (the parts that would become the flat working surface) all the way down to the tip (bottom) of the blade. I did not want these marks to disappear during the inital ind intermeadiate efforts of planning and shaping. Once successfully marked with all appropriate lines, (angle and dangles), I clamped each oar blank down and planned the the blades down staying outside the lines (as best I could) and ended up with two, pretty good looking oars that needed a bunch of sanding. I started with a hand powered planer and then quickly moved to a hand planer. The blade surfaces should come to a peak down the blade surface centerlines to a nice taper from the 9" mark all the way down to the end tips of the blades. It is IMPORTANT to keep outside all marked lines because the blade obviously tapers from the 9" mark near the top of the blade, to the tip of the blade on the flat surface, but it also tapers from the 9" mark on the side of the blade centerline to the tapered down 3/8" points marked on each of the side edges. (TAKE YOUR TIME). It sounds more difficult than it really is, take your time, pay attention to your lines marks and meaured (3 times at least before you plane or cut). The end result will Kinda looked like a broad sword with a flat tip, hope ya'll can picture that. At this point I had ( and you should have) two "oars" 10 foot long that looked like oars in the rough, properly tapered on the blade sides and surface At 9" down from the from the looms, 1 x 1/2 inches tapered down to a 3/4 inch thick at the blade tip (3/8" off each side of centerline). Now I say get artistic and peacefully sand and shape to the finished shape. I took about two days measuring and checking blade shape tip to top and they are 3/16th's on teh side edges, the blades are 5/78 wide from the 9" marks to the tips and taper from 1 1/2 inch at 6" or so from the looms (? Handle thingy long part) down to 5/8" centerline at the tip and 3/16th on the sides (edges) at the 9" point to the tip. THEY LOOK COOL and I made them and I hope they work. Heck if not, I'll try something else and have confidence that I can do it better.1 point
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