Oars on the lathe???

[william biba]

Posted in boat building but i guess those guys are still hibernating. Anyway So I says to myself, Self why not make a set of oars and save. Now I need some input. has any one made oars on the lathe and what problems did you encounter along the way. Here is my idea. I have a lot of poplar that I milled from trees lost during hurricane sandy. seems like a good stable wood and I can get clear pieces. these are milled to 1 1/4" thick. I was thinking of ripping them to 2' strips and gluing two together with a 1/4" strip of oak in the middle for added strength. than glue additional pieces on the fat end to make the oar shape. I can cut the rough shape with the band saw and rig up the lathe with a flying tail stock, ( I made that up because I haven't figured it out yet):confused:, of some kind to turn the handles and grip. any ideas on that would help. Then I think I can shape the paddle end with the hand planner. So what do you think and don't worry about being gentle I can take it.

[Brian Kent]

How long is the total oar when it is done?
Do you have experience putting the paddle part on the handle? Will those be one piece?
The few times I have used an oar, the flat handle end blended into the round part, and then into the flat paddle. I can picture doing the long middle section on a lathe, including the flat end of the handle. I would not want to have the whole paddle on the lathe, though it is possible.
So what is the total length when you are done?

edit: I have looked briefly at oar-making plans. My thought is to make a 3-layer handle with the middle layer being the same thickness as the paddle. Glue the layers together only as far as the handle will extend. Where the paddle begins and where the grip is, do not glue the middle layer. Maybe duct tape it on the ends. Shape the handle on the lathe. Remove the duct tape and the center layer where the grip and paddle will be. Insert flat wood for the grip and paddle. Glue in place and shape the lathed round shaft to blend in to the flats. That way there is consistent long grain on those outer layers from one end to the other. I am looking at possibilities and thinking about strength. I am not speaking from experience.

[william biba]

These are oars for a row boat 284556 not to be confused with paddles, like for a canoe, it would be all glued the three main pieces would go from the handle grip all the way to the end of the blade then additional pieces would be glued on the blade end to achieve the required width. the grip end would be at the head stock and the blade end would be attached to my aforementioned "flying tail stock" . What I was thinking was to secure the lathe from moving and then building a frame either off the wall, behind the lathe, or from the floor, to support the blade end of the oar. maybe with some kind of a pin drilled into the blade of the oar.

[charlie knighton]

I would not want to use popular.......

[william biba]

why not? it seems to be quite strong and stable

[Dave Paine]

A very interesting project. I have read of people having external tool rests for a lathe, but I have not seen an external tailstock.

I think you would need a bed which is long enough. An external tailstock will be difficult to get it aligned and keep it aligned.

I have seen videos of a poor mans lathe. A frame which supports a router. A template of the shape which the router moves along. The router has a long straight bit.

The work piece is rotated either by hand or some method. In this case the router is doing the cutting, so the rotation can be slow.

I would add the piece for the paddle end after shaping the rest of the oar. The oar end is perhaps best shaped with a combination of hand planes and spokeshaves.

[charlie knighton]

popular dowels are light weight compared to others......when you have the distastefull task of buying caskets, popular is also the light weight and least $$$$, its not as rot resistant as something like pecan........Sitka spruce or douglas fir are some of the woods you might look into

[william biba]

Thanks for the input charlie, Well rot is not an issue. They will be finished and stored when not in use. and the last time I looked there are not a lot of free pecan trees here in NY. Sorry but I still don't see the down side of poplar. my first choice would be sitka spruce they have used that for ages for spars and masts on boats. Of course I would need to sell the boat in order to afford the oar wood and that kinda defeats the purpose. anyone got an opinion on wood choice

[Joerg Mueller]

There used to be a company in my home town called Smoker Oar And Paddle that was respected as a top brand. As I recall most of their oars were made of Ash. probably much stronger than Poplar. Hate to see you go to all the effort of this project only to find yourself rowing in circles when one breaks.

[william biba]

Baseball bats and oars good choice still not available in NY but that company was it in Oregon? an oar company there makes them from Doug fir and ash hummm? (home depot 2x6) still need more input on the (Flying Tail stock)

[Paul Williams]

I would think you could make one set of oars with a spoke shave in the time it would take you to build the set up necessary to do it on your lathe. I have made paddles that way but not oars. I would also vote to stay away from poplar because of strength and rot. My personal choice would be a white oak center or complete shaft, and cedar, redwood, or similar light water resistant wood for the blade. Regardless it is an interesting project. Let us know what you end up with for a lathe setup if you go that route.

[Dale Miner]

I would think you could make one set of oars with a spoke shave in the time it would take you to build the set up necessary to do it on your lathe. I have made paddles that way but not oars. I would also vote to stay away from poplar because of strength and rot. My personal choice would be a white oak center or complete shaft, and cedar, redwood, or similar light water resistant wood for the blade. Regardless it is an interesting project. Let us know what you end up with for a lathe setup if you go that route.

I agree. A bandsawing to rough shape, a drawknife and spokeshave for the handle and shaft, tablesaw the blade to thin the edges, and a bit of power sanding. Trying to turn something that long and slender will require at least two spindle steady rests, and even then vibration will be a serious issue.

Poplar should work OK, although there might be woods with a bit more strength available. Since an oar is carried in the yoke near the balance point, it doesn't seem as weight would be an issue. I'm not sure that a glue joint in something that will see repeated water saturation is a good idea. While waterproof glue will resist the water, the differential expansion of the various pieces of wood may make the joint fail.

[william biba]

That would be good for one set but I want to make a bunch so I need production I have a couple of felled white oak trees I could mill up but clear cedar and redwood are real expensive.

[Harry Robinette]

Flying tail stock I have NOT done this but my Uncle put a laser pen in his head stock and alined it to the tail center, then removed the tail stock and the laser showed on the wall. He took a piece of hard wood drill a hole to fit his center tightly and mounter it to the wall where the laser mark was made. He added 26" to his old craftsman lathe to make some tall bed post.
And yes as far as I know he never showed and other sign of losing he mind.

[william biba]

Actually about 60% of the oar is outside of the boat plus the blade of course. I have a pair of red oak oars now and after a while I am wishing I had balsa oars. Do you think on a 78" oar once I design my (flying tail stock) on the blade end I could turn at slow speed a 1 1/2" section in the middle of the oar and then install one steady rest there to turn the rest? With the glue issue I think if I use epoxy for glue up and all the wood is properly dried then when complete the oar is either spar varnished or epoxied it should be ok. Whats your take on that?

[william biba]

Flying tail stock I have NOT done this but my Uncle put a laser pen in his head stock and alined it to the tail center, then removed the tail stock and the laser showed on the wall. He took a piece of hard wood drill a hole to fit his center tightly and mounter it to the wall where the laser mark was made. He added 26" to his old craftsman lathe to make some tall bed post.
And yes as far as I know he never showed and other sign of losing he mind.
Now were talkin' Your uncle sounds like my kind a guy. I am sure his bedpost was larger in diameter then my oars so I need to come up with the steady rest solution.
WERE COOKING WITH OIL NOW BOYS!

[Paul Williams]

I don't think glue in the blade section is a problem. Almost all paddles are made that way. I think your problem is going to be maintaining alignment of the centers and the steady rests. This will require either a sturdy frame the full length, or mounting individual pieces to a concrete slab or steel beam. I am still of the opinion that it would be easier and possibly faster to do it without the lathe. Using a table saw to cut the main shaft into an octagon doesn't leave a lot of finish carving to make it round. I have a spoke shave with a curved sole and blade that would do that fairly quickly. You could also make one of those pencil sharpener style planes and finish it off with that.

[robert baccus]

You guys with the heavy duty steel steady support might run it all the way out as far as possible and chuck the long piece in a longnose chuck. It leaves a lot of wood unsupported but a well balanced piece might be turned this way. Leave a good chuck grab on both ends so it could be reversed. Or go buy a paddle. White ash is a premier oar wood being strong and sortalight.