Thread: Paddle Station-A Work In Progress

Look for the swiveling clasps by the rope or wire rope sections. I'm thinking of the type you'd put at the end of a leash.

MacGuyver would be proud of you!!

Originally Posted by roughkype

That is damn clever! Great thinking.

Did you varnish or otherwise seal the wood? The side against the door will experience different humidity than the side with the leather on it, and they may cup on you over time.

You could put another piece of leather or felt on the back side of each board, which would take care of the sealing problem, then replace the hinges with swiveling clasps and you'd double your potential stropping surfaces.

What are you using to attach the felt or leather to the wood?

Who are you bs'ing? There ain't no humidity in Colorado.... If there is, it was imported!

The OP is in Jersey City, and I moved to Colorado from Iowa, so I can still remember humidity. Actually, it's so dry here on the western slope that my paddle strop is cupped from drying out.

When I built books, it was important to do the same thing to each side of the cover boards--if you glued paper to the outside, you had to glue paper to the inside as well, so that the board would experience the same wetting/drying/exposure to humidity on each face. Otherwise the book's covers would warp. That made me alert to structures that are going to experience different conditions on their different faces.

Well isn't that just a little too weird for words.
I started this little project by looking for some lumber for a paddle strop. Got a piece of the oak from HD and the leather from the garment district in NYC. As I got started, the project took on a life of it's own which is why I called it a work in progress. At one point I was looking for swivel hasps so that I could use both sides of the paddle. That proved more difficult than I expected so I went with simple hinges. But in the first prototype of the paddle I indeed put leather on both sides of the paddle and tried to smooth the grain out with 800k sandpaper. When the simple hinges went on, I used the unsanded side out.
As for the humidity and this is where it gets weird, I also grew up in Iowa and also got the hell out. 95% humidity and 99 degrees for weeks at a time is great for corn but tough on us animals. Just like the sub-zero weather for weeks at a time is tough on folks. 9 months of winter and 3 months of bad sledding. That being said, while I appreciate the concern about cupping due to the weather, I stand by my belief is more of an issue with bookbinding than with red oak.

Too funny. I actually want to move back to Iowa, after a few years in the high desert. You do summarize the seasons pretty well.

Is red oak what they built barrels from, or was that white oak?

Best wishes

What's wrong with a 4 sided paddle strop?

Never having used one, I wouldn't presume to say that anything is wrong with them. For me, however, this solution fit my living quarters better than having a loose newell post taking up space in a tiny bathroom.

Adapt, modify and overcome.

White oak has a very tight grain and is used for barrels and exterior use. Red oak is used for flooring, furniture, etc.

Before deciding to move back I would suggest two visits, one in August and one in January. I did RAGBRAI twice in July. It's so hot and humid during the ride that one of the polite questions you can ask a friend or an acquaintance is "have you peed today?" Because if you haven't, you're close to dehydration and bonking.

The reveal.
I added a box on top with nine slots that are lined with felt. Weep holes are hidden on the bottom for ventilation. A couple of coats of urethane. Leather got a little seepage of urethane on the right side, of course, so that will be replaced but I have some fresh on order.

Once the layout was done then it was just a case cutting the material to size and assembling. It also helps to have friends in a television network carpentry shop so things got cut to the correct size and squareness.

In terms of any additions I could see adding another wall mounted box above it that matches the one below. At that point, it will be an 18 razor rotation. Should be enough. That or something is going to have to go in order to make room.