What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (Full Version)

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YourhandMyAss -> What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/8/2008 7:17:31 PM)

I don't want it to be super expensive wood, but I do want it to be sturdy enough to hold up to a good ass whacking. It also needs to probably be readily availible at home depot stores, and not special order or something.


I'll be using stickers and modge podge and stuff to decorate the painted paddles,  Your basic craft paint then a glossy sealer.




ThatDaveGuy69 -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/8/2008 8:19:08 PM)

Pine should be OK nased on the the finish you've described.
If you have a Menard's nearby I know they offer oak, ash, and poplar in the various widths & lengths.

Enjoy!

~Dave



popeye1250 -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/8/2008 8:21:07 PM)

Oak.



YourhandMyAss -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/8/2008 8:30:01 PM)

I don't think we do, we have a homedepot, and a lowes and  maybe one or two other big name chains.
quote:

ORIGINAL: ThatDaveGuy69

Pine should be OK nased on the the finish you've described.
If you have a Menard's nearby I know they offer oak, ash, and poplar in the various widths & lengths.

Enjoy!

~Dave




YourhandMyAss -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/8/2008 8:31:38 PM)

And how thick do I was this oak or pine?



igor2003 -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/8/2008 9:34:34 PM)

Depending on the overall size of the paddles pine will probably work as long as it is well seasoned with no defects like cupping, twisting, and splitting.  Most of your hardwoods will be more durable, but woods like oak, ash, and maple have a beautiful grain that is a shame to paint over, and that makes them more expensive.  A less desirable hardwood simply because of the less attractive grain is alder, and therefore is less expensive.  Alder is the wood that i think is most often used by furnature manufacturers for the framework for most sofas, rockers, etc.

As far as thickness of the paddle, most of the wood you will find will come in a 3/4 inch thickness unless it is special ordered so unless you have the equipment to cut down larger pieces to whatever size you want I would recommend going with 3/4 inch for the thickness, then adjust the "weight" of the paddle by adjusting length and width.  If you have access to a surface plane or a power plane and good sander (or a joiner if your paddle isn't too wide) you could probably go down to 1/2 inch and still have a good paddle, especially with hardwood.

Since it is going to be painted you might want to look into a good cabinet grade of plywood which can be bought in varying thicknesses and the cross-grain of the plywood will make it more durable and flexable than most kinds of regular wood.  It might take a little more work cutting and preparing the edges but may be worth it in the long run.



BLGirl -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/8/2008 10:59:20 PM)

Obviously a man who knows his wood! [;)]
 
Grinning,
BLGirl



windchymes -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/9/2008 5:24:56 AM)

If you live near a college town, contact the fraternities there.  They've been designing and beating each other with paddles for decades, if not longer.

Any frat guys here?



wulfgarw -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/9/2008 8:42:04 AM)

Not a frat guy here, but I like to remind folks that using a thicker stock of wood will make it 'thuddier' and a thinner stock will make it 'stingier'.

Pine should be fine for your use, and because pine in a lighter softwood, the handles should probably be wider.  But may I also reccomend  a 1/2" poplar, it's a dense, fine grain hardwood, and should take a paint or stain nicely, provided it was sanded down butter smooth first.  Should be available at you local Lowes or Dom Depot. 

This reminds me, I still wanna make that steel paddle...



UncleNasty -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/9/2008 8:57:37 AM)

If Dungeon Depot, er, um, Home Depot is your option their selection of hardwoods is  limited to red oak and poplar.

Of those two choices I would opt for poplar. It is stable, takes finish or paint well, durable, semi-difuse porous. In the realm of hard woods it is relatively soft, but as an ass is about the hardest thing a paddle will encounter that won't be much of an issue.

Red oak is prone to splitting, splintering and is ring porous. It has rather large pores which can be laborious to either sand smooth or fill in sufficiently with finish or grain filler. This creates a difficulty in cleaning thoroughly, and as such can present a bit of a health hazard. Not a big one, but it is there. I stay away from red oak mostly because of the splitting issue, and of the commercially available hard woods it is perhaps the most prone for this.

I prefer using cherry, walnut or maple for my furniture and accesories and finish them in furniture grade clear finishes. All have beauty, are durable, are semi difuse porous or difuse porous, mill and sand fairly well.

If you're having trouble locating whatever wood you prefer you might try stopping into some local cabinet or furniture shops. Likely they will have scrap stock around in a variety of species and may be willing to either give you a few pieces, or sell them to you at a price not to high. If you're wanting a thinner paddle (thinner than typical 13/16 or 3/4 stock) they would probably run it through their planer for you. A half dozen donuts might go a long way to greasing the bearings of negotiations with them, LOL.

Uncle Nasty



hizgeorgiapeach -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/9/2008 9:06:53 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: UncleNasty
If you're wanting a thinner paddle (thinner than typical 13/16 or 3/4 stock) they would probably run it through their planer for you. A half dozen donuts might go a long way to greasing the bearings of negotiations with them, LOL.

Uncle Nasty
  

Here speaks the voice of experience LMAO



YourhandMyAss -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/9/2008 10:16:58 AM)

I stumbled across a website selling wood paddles, that are exactly that fraternity style paddles, or greek style.
quote:

ORIGINAL: windchymes

If you live near a college town, contact the fraternities there.  They've been designing and beating each other with paddles for decades, if not longer.

Any frat guys here?



YourhandMyAss -> RE: What kind of wood should I use for making a paddle that will be painted decorated and sealed? (11/9/2008 1:52:47 PM)

What about spruce wood? Kyacking paddles are made out of it, or is that expensive?



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