DIY: The 10 dollar Kayak Paddle

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for DIY: The 10 dollar Kayak Paddle

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Audy Itter - 5 years ago

Great tips - particularly the use of Gorilla Glue. I just completed my first ever canoe paddle. No glue needed as it was a single piece of red oak from an ice storm fallen tree on our property. I am also in process making a red cedar kayak paddle. Wood from fallen forest trees. The blade pieces need to be glued. You're video jump started me to getting back to this project. Thank you so much.

Michael Kim - 6 years ago

Very good job!

geebee3d - 6 years ago

Use the same techniques, but build a Greenland style paddle. Can be done with a cedar or spruce 2x4 from your favorite orange or blue store, or local lumber yard if you live near one.

Martin Heermance - 7 years ago

Nice looking paddle.

solar clapson - 7 years ago

$10 in 1929.

Aaron Hopkins - 7 years ago

nice paddle and it looks great! but it cost way more than $10.

you see I don't have any of those kinds of saws or really any of those tools. I only have very limited tools.

so to make that paddle the way you did, I would need a $300 table saw, a $300 jig saw, a $200 table router, $40 wood rasp, $40 saw horse and then the $10 for the paddle glue and maybe sand paper.... then I would probably need some stain and a sealant of some king so that would be another $30 soooo ya honestly that's not a $10 paddle is actually more like a $920 paddle. I supposed I could to the same thing with a hammer and a screwdriver but it would be horrible and take months to pull it off.
I think a lot of the people who have lots of cool power tools, forget how expensive even simple jobs would be for someone without them.

William B Tedrick - 7 years ago

I also didn't include the 40 years of learning how to do this type of woodworking either so it is more like a $40,000 dollar paddle if you consider the knowledge added value. And don't forget that the board was part of a tree that took 60 plus years to grow and all the forest management & millwork that is involved too and then a trucking company to get those boards to the lumber yard where I picked them up with my little truck that was made in Japan many years ago, put on a ship to cross the ocean passing through two previous owners before myself, using thousands of gallon of fuel that came out of the ground and processed into most of the plastics we use today including the computer I'm ranting on on...

Aaron Hopkins - 7 years ago

that would make for a great video, but it wouldn't be called a 10$ paddle either ...

Commenter Five - 7 years ago

Aaron Hopkins + you can make a paddle as functional as that one using a small bottle of wood glue, a few rocks, and some pine sap. And enough want. Find a rock showing grain. Find another rock, and hit the first one so it breaks. The resulting edge is very sharp. Use it to cut a correct size sapling, and the paddle boards. Use the rock to shape the wooden members. glue them together at the correct place. Use some rocks to provide medium clamping pressure. Find a piece of sandstone and sand the paddle to smooth and fine appearing. Find some pine sap and make some wood preservative/sealer. Your paddle will be beautimos in your, and some other's eyes. Now use the same tools and make a 50 lb draw weight long bow. Harvest a whitetail during season with a licence. Make deer hide hand grips and install on your paddle. Now you can begin your birch bark canoe, using the same rock.

Arvydas Didas - 8 years ago

Turned out great ! However it is a 10 dollar paddle, if you have all the tools and your time is free ! Safety wise - watch your fingers !!! it comes from former woodworker with two fingertips missing

William B Tedrick - 8 years ago

I've been lucky so far especially considering how I use many of my tools ;)

Enos Brahier - 8 years ago

nice work bro

Radnally - 8 years ago

Your work is very elegant. I'm not at your level of craftsmanship, but I'm inspired to make my own kayak paddle now. Thank you for helping out us DIYers.

10. comment for DIY: The 10 dollar Kayak Paddle

Dean Leeson - 8 years ago

Safety is number one in the shop. Running a table saw as you show in your video is very unsafe operations.

William B Tedrick - 8 years ago

+Dean Leeson yes it is very risky.. and that is one of the drawbacks of the DIY videos. I've been doing this for many years without injury but for anyone else to do this without those years of experience is at a greater risk as you have pointed out..

Randy QB - 9 years ago

Great video. I love Simple with great results thanks. I did some oars , not quite as pretty but fairly simple https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqDjFy8z08U

wealthy king - 9 years ago

very well made video, and paddle! how much did the paddle weigh after being sealed?

William B Tedrick - 9 years ago

+wealthy king I haven't weighed it yet.. but 3 lbs seems about right..

wealthy king - 9 years ago

So, 3-4lbs?

William B Tedrick - 9 years ago

+wealthy king It's the lightest of all the wood paddles but still heavier than most good commercial l (store bought) plastic/graphite/composite paddles. I like to make stuff more than use it! I've made a half-dozen kayak paddles and some look really nice but the store bought plastic one works best on the water..

Fred Methot - 10 years ago

Very nice.... Weight?

Wayne Pique - 10 years ago

hey Tedrick, nice woodwork. looking to put my carpentry skills on one, what's the measurements on the paddle ? Thanks

Wayne Pique - 10 years ago

Thanks for getting back to me. As I work on it I'll figure the measurements, thanks again.

William B Tedrick - 10 years ago

It's made from a 8ft 5-1/2inch wide 1 inch thick deck board. The finished length needs to be what fits your situation. I like a 7ft paddle but you may want on somewhat shorter.

drphosferrous - 10 years ago

Nice! Those homebox stores here have a kind of farmed coastal redwood that is very light and rot resistant; also hella cheap and pretty. I've made several paddles with it and none have molded or cracked yet. I'm nervous that at some point I'll find out that it's harvested from living old growth national parks or something. I hope it's ok to use.

William B Tedrick - 11 years ago

I have a take-down store-bought paddle that I will stow in the yak just in case I break my wooden one or when my arms get tired and I need the extra efficiency of a lighter paddle.

William B Tedrick - 11 years ago

Yes ash would be a good choice but costs much more then the cedar deck plank. I do believe that the cedar 5/4 deck board would be strong enough without the side boards but I tend to be hard on paddles so I wanted the extra strength. The other paddles I've made had pecan handles and cedar blades for a good combination of weight and strength. The truth is that there are several plastic-composite commercial paddles that work well and weigh less making them better for long trips.

Samuel Larson - 11 years ago

Awesome video! Do you recon the paddle would be strong enough without the side slabs on the handle if it was ash and not cedar?

Paul Battenfield - 11 years ago

Western Red Cedar for paddles is awesome. You have the only Lowes in the nation that carries 5/4 cedar. I search all across TN and found nothing. Consider your lucky.

20. comment for DIY: The 10 dollar Kayak Paddle

MrCuervo22779 - 11 years ago

Once I find the kayak I want, I think this is what I'll be making too.

MrCuervo22779 - 11 years ago

Nothing like having something that was custom made. Craftsmanship is something that most people can't appreciate much less use their own hands to make something of their own.

William B Tedrick - 11 years ago

This ain't for everyone for sure.. my labor is free to me ;)

William B Tedrick - 11 years ago

I know you can't wash the stuff off your fingers! Paint brush cleaner breaks it down but it still has to wear off your skin ;)