Brand new Oars
Since I already have all the tools I went for the home-made product. I found very nice instructions and plans in the book "Building Catherine" from Richard Kolin.The finished product
It took a lot less time than I initially thought. They are still missing the leather but 1st I need to apply 2 more layers of clear coat.
Layering 2 types of wood
Since I still had some teak I though layering it with some other material could be nice. I went to the lumber yard and while they did not have spruce or fir there was a pile of alder. It is very light and easy to shape AND cheap....
Gorilla.... glue
Yet again: Gorilla glue will hold the layers together. At least I have enough clamps by now (thanks to Mr. Hiltz) for every 2 inches over 8 feet.
Basic Shape
The building plans explain very easy how to go about this. I planed the rough pieces square. Then shaped the paddle curve next on a bench top band saw on all 6 pieces.
Glued paddles
Now the 2 oars start to look like oars. To match the curvature of the paddles I created a template from 1/8 ply then traced all 6 pieces.
Ready for shaping
After gluing I leveled the shape with the belt sander. Now we get to use the planer and start shaping.
Marking the shape
The book nicely explains how to mark the shape. With these lines on it I simply removed the material from edge to edge. 1st with the electric hand planer then the rest with a rough belt sander.
Finishing touch
To finish up I used the random orbital sander. Since alder is so soft I found that 120 grit paper was leaving the least amount of circle scratches. Later I used 220 and then hand sanded with 320.