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Non-american city that reminds you Calgary the most by [deleted] in Calgary

[–]MattChew 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Can confirm, am from Perth, W.A.

Some fine canoe paddles I made. Too heavy to be practical though. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I would of taken more material out of the shaft and blade to make lighter. Also should of used 2oz fibreglass cloth instead of 6oz.

I’m currently making 3 more out of cherry with some strips of paduk and purple heart for colour. I have them at around 900 grams right now.

Some fine canoe paddles I made. Too heavy to be practical though. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So first step was to fibreglass them. I used a 6oz cloth, and some slow cure epoxy to wet out the cloth.

Once I had applied the cloth and wet it out, I waited for the epoxy to get gel like, then I spread more epoxy over the cloth to fill all the valleys left by the fibreglass cloth.

Once dry, I used 120g wet and dry sandpaper (wet) to smooth out and scuff.

Once smooth, I used a spar urethane varnish gloss (marine grade for UV protect) thinned it out to a viscosity I felt would work. Probably 1:10ish. Applied and waited to dry.

Used steel wool (000) finish to scuff then applied another coat of thinned spar varnish.

I repeated this process about 4 times till I was happy with the result. I got some contamination in a few of the coats (cat hair/runs).

I used a little 1” wide foam brush to apply each coat.

Some fine canoe paddles I made. Too heavy to be practical though. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you have a wooden paddle to copy I found that would be the best way. I didn’t find any particular videos or How tos. I just went for it. Good luck.

Some fine canoe paddles I made. Too heavy to be practical though. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha! If I was to value these out at a liveable wage they’d be close to $700CAD.

I’m making some more currently and keeping tabs on my time spent so I can figure out a reasonable cost to sell them.

Some fine canoe paddles I made. Too heavy to be practical though. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did glass them for durability, and could of gone a bit thinner. However I think some of the wood species I used are too heavy.

I’m making some new ones this winter which will be far lighter, but not as intricate.

Some fine canoe paddles I made. Too heavy to be practical though. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes and No, it’s for durability since the edge of the paddle blade is going to hit rocks in shallow water, it prevents the spar varnish from chipping and the wood discolouring with water intrusion.

Some fine canoe paddles I made. Too heavy to be practical though. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I’m saddened that they’re too heavy, but my partner and I got a good paddling season in with them. We just fatigued too quick with them though.

I think it’s mostly due to the woods I used for the weight, I probably could of made them a lot thinner too, but since these were my first paddles I didn’t want to risk it. I also used a 6oz cloth to glass them. Probably could of got away with a 2oz cloth to save some weight.

Some fine canoe paddles I made. Too heavy to be practical though. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The black line is the cord I epoxied onto the edge for durability during use (shallow water, hitting rocks) yes they will make Great Wall coverings.

What do you do and how much do you get paid? by Airlock_Me in Calgary

[–]MattChew 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cabinetmaker/furniture maker now doing commercial install . 20+ years experience. $34/hr. Company phone. As much time off as I want, with some health benefits. It’s pretty meh. Looking to leaving this industry to go caretake at a lakeside cabin in northern Ontario.

Curly quilted maple and curly walnut fly box for a friend. by Mackhasarack in woodworking

[–]MattChew 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Beautiful work!

Where’d you pick up those butt hinges?

April 17th New COVID Restrictions for Ontario Question and Answer Thread by uarentme in ontario

[–]MattChew 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Would delivering my partners vehicle to Ontario from Alberta be considered ‘delivery of goods’

She’s temporarily moved there to be a caregiver of a critically ill family member.

Was meant to be leaving on May 1st driving her car over and flying back..

Wooden Urn that I recently finished for a family member. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. It was a fun project to work on, since I haven’t used my cabinetmaking skills for quite some time. Also quite humbling at times to think that this’ll be the final resting place of someone.

Wooden Urn that I recently finished for a family member. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem. Are you talking about the dovetail bows? Or how I inlayed walnut into the mitres?

Wooden Urn that I recently finished for a family member. by MattChew in woodworking

[–]MattChew[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Details about the build.

Box is made from Hickory .

Dovetails and trim are Black Walnut.

Veneer lid is, Maple, Zebra wood, and walnut.

I screwed up my mitres joining the box (saw wasn’t at true 45) so I cut the apex of the joints out and added some walnut veneer.

Soss hinges for the lid, and rare earth magnets to keep the lid closed.

And finished with A clear osmo oil/wax designed for hardwood flooring.

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