Paddle blades or floats

[Mike Mayhew]

Hi all, what would I give for some red gum timber. Any of my Ausi friends could get me some as I wish to make the Floats on ADELAIDE as real as possible I have heard so much about this timber that I feel I must get some. When I make the ADELAIDE'S barge I should fit it out with branches or logs of red Gum. Any expenses will be met.
Re Cedar wood. Soak in epoxy resin and wipe off with a rag allow to dry and it will be as hard as steel.{west epoxy}
Derek this request may be down you street. let me know what you or others can do.
Best regards to all my Paddleduck friends. Waverley Mike.
Waverley Models. 20B Moor Lane, Clevedon. North Somerset. BS21 6ES England. www.waverleymodels.co.uk

[Paulrjordan]

Hi Mike:

What do you use to thin two-part epoxy to get it into a "soakable"
consistency ?

PJ
Victoria, BC, Canada

[Leighton]

PJ/Mike,
If you are talking about wooden venetian blind slat (25mm,35mm,46mm
or 60mm) be careful what you do with it. The slat when you get it is
usually either coated with polyurathane or the like or oiled (teak
oil).
I have played around with these wooden slats for some time now,
using them for all sorts of projects to say nothing of cutting them
down to repair different size blinds.
Make sure you sand them well back to the orignal timber or you will
have problems as stated in a previous posting.
Cut the end off a slat first. This will show you how far the surface
application has soaked in before you start to sand.
The best part of a cedar blind to use is the fascia plate. This
usually 60mm wide and covers the headrail (The box at the top of the
blind) This plate is usually anything up to 5mm thick. It can be run
through a belt or drum sander to clean off the surface.
Hope this helps
Leighton
PS.
To soak the timber in resin we found leaving out the powder (West
system)and rubbing it in with a rag worked well. Rather messy
though.

[Derek Warner]

Hi all - I visited an old timber merchant who now does nothing but teach wood working/cabinet making skills
to doctors & lawyers etc - told him of my vision to build a model paddler & asked advice re my thoughts
on timber selections & ended up using the following

keel plate, bow sprit & stern post = his recommendation of Tassie oak
planking = as agreed cedar - cut down from 3/8" random groove [Canadian old growth = fine grain]
paddle floats = no agreement, Australian red gum is relatively new growth & therefore = course grained
so a 1/2" wide paddle float would have had say three or fourth growth rings only over that height and in
small sections and thicknesses would be prone to splitting - Canadian old growth cedar has say ten
growth lines for the same height

Leighton is forwarding some imitation wood strips and if it is rigid enough I plan to use it - if rigidity is a
problem I still have some WEST System left over from frame to keel joints & will use that

Do any other Australian PD's have experience with scaling sizes of red gum?? - Derek

[Dai Powell]

Hi there Derek,
> Come on Aussie come on, Whats the matter with good
old Jarrah? I know its not all that grand as a "load bearing" timber
in buildings (side loading) but in the dimensions needed for floats
on a model paddler how terribly strong does it have to be? if you
get some good old growth Jarrah from W.A. you should be ok or try
around the "Good Sammys stores" for some old Jarrah furniture pieces
you'd get enough to last for life for a few bucks, Anyhow best of
luck and have a happy new year...............Dai Powell

[Leighton]

Derek,
Do you have access to scaling the timber? E.g. a person with a
thicknesser to dress the timber down to the required size?
Maybe the type of timber you are looking for is a NZ native called
Matai. The growth rings are similar to old Canadian Cedar. Mainly it
was used for door sills on exterior doors. It is very hard and hence
hard wearing. If you like you can let me know the thickness you
require I'll run some and send it over with the plastic fantastic.
Leighton