7 Attachment(s)
DIY pasted balsa paddles in Oz
G’day all,
thought I would share this little project from last week
I bit info heavy maybe but here we Go
I decided to add a pasted Balsa paddle strop to my honing & stropping line up to possibly help smooth out some of my harsher edges.
So I decided if I am making myself one I might as well make one for my nephew also at the same time for up keep of his Str8's also
to reduce clutter i chose to make them double sided with 0.3µ Chrox & 0.1µ Ferrox pastes
All materials are locally sourced in Australia to save on postage etc. as much as possible
Paddle:
Base is 65mm x 12mm Tassie Oak - about $25 for 1.2m from Bunning’s
Balsa was 75mm x 3mm - about $5 for 0.9m from Bunning’s
PVA Glue - Bunning’s $5
Pastes:
Kremmer pigments from Art Spectrum in Melbourne
100g bag of each 0.3µ Chrox & 0.1µ Ferrox powder - $30 delivered
Singer sewing machine oil 100ml - $4 Woolies
Covers:
2 sheets of A4 embossed card - free from work
so materials covered the following:
2 off paddles 330mm long over all (13") with enough left over for a nice long leather paddle or 2 more 8" balsa strops with no handles
4 off Balsa pads 220mm (8 1/2") with no left overs
enough paste for a hundred strops
1 cover per sheet
So I cut the Tassie oak to length & cut out the grip with my coping saw, I was a bit rough hand sawing the curves but the file & sand paper hides most of it well.
once clean up I glued the Balsa to the Oak with a even coating of PVA glue & clamped them between some larger planks I had & left them over night to dry
once all dry I trimmed & sanded the balsa to match the base sides
then lapped flat with the 600, 800 & 1200 paper on glass as I do my hones.
sealed the exposed Tassie oak with a couple of coats of a bees wax polish (leather sealer) I have used on many a wood project to water proof it.
For the paste I put about half a teaspoon max of powder in a small tub then mixed an even amount of the oil with it until it had a toothpaste type consistency
I dipped the tip of my glove covered finger in the paste & applied it to the balsa, I did about 6-8 spots with the tip of my finger on the balsa then spread it all over with my finger then palm of my hand came out like oil based paint.
now half of this was still on my hands when finished & still got half of the batch left.
changed to new gloves & repeated with the other paste other side
hung them in the shed & left to dry overnight - checked next night & still wet
3 days later still wet to touch (was a wet week so could add to it), so I used a paper towel to remove the remaining excess paste which wasn't much but it goes a long way.
left overnight again & all was good to go.
Made the covers using the same basic principles as the Razor case inside sleeves only larger.
So total cost was around $70 for all materials bought, not to bad I think for 2 pasted double sided balsa paddle strops (plus spares) in my hand in Australia.
made a small jar of each paste for the nephew for up keep of the strop should last a life time as he only has 2 blades.
Unfortunately I gave the Nephews to him before I took any photos of the pair together & forgot to take the action in progress shots also (this might be a good thing after my sawing efforts).
but here are some photos of my finished paddle for reference.
Attachment 168607Attachment 168608Attachment 168609Attachment 168610Attachment 168611Attachment 168612Attachment 168613
next is to try make a paste crayon with some of the powder for better storage, travelability & ease of application & spreading the powders on other substances like a polishing pads?