Second video in the oar building series. I like to shape my oar handles at the beginning of the process because it’s easier to do when the shaft is still square and it saves me from the potential horror of a poorly shaped handle on a beautiful finished oar. Handles can be a bit tricky so it’s just nice to get it out of the way at the beginning.
By cutting the lower portion of the loom square on a table saw I get clean surfaces for laminating on the ash blades, but also a perfectly square neck which is a good starting point for making oars that flex evenly.
Just like with my Greenland paddles my overall process is fairly power tool intensive. I do this because while most beginners can bootstrap into the learning curve on a chisel or a block plane on their first day, most people using a draw knife or a jack plane for the first time will just end up ruining the work piece. I’ve also found that if you exhaust people doing the rough work they don’t usually have the stamina left to focus on the detail work potentially leading to a clunky finished oar or paddle.
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