Paddle from a telephone pole

[jon r]

Spent yesterday making this paddle from a telephone pole. Over all im really pleased with it! The telephone pole gave just the right width!

This is what else i made! a huse pile of shavings Seems to be the story of my life lately! I always seem to be clearing up the lawn after a mad session of carving.

As you can see, the tools i used were a Buck saw, Wildlife hatchet, another larger axe, a draw knige and my Frosts Mora. Oh yea and a pencil.

It was nice to use my buck saw because thats one i made. It feels great to make your own tools and then use them to make other things!

Going for a good paddle today! The land lord is out!!

If anyone else has has made a paddle it would be great to see them so feel free to post pics!
Jon

 

[john scrivy]

looks brill looking forward to seeing the home made cannoe to go with the paddle

 

[fishfish]

looks brill looking forward to seeing the home made cannoe to go with the paddle

need a bdooly big telephone pole for that!

 

[john scrivy]

and a skip for the wood shavings

 

[mr dazzler]

Or use the shavings as fuel to fire kiln some clay pot's? The cresote in the poles would give it a bit of a kick I had planned to use telegraph poles as sole plates for an outdoor timber framed workshop (£20-30 a foot for gren oak is too much)
How did you decide on the shapes and profiles of the blade, did you look at an existing paddle or use a plan or just gues it or what? I saw a pic of an alaskan paddle (a "spare" paddle which was just the blade with a semi circular concave "groove" for a shaft to fit in and it was lashed up with seal skin or whatever. maybe caried in or above the cockpit as backup in the event of a breakage, just lash it on the end of your existing broken paddle after tapering it to fit with your knife? I thought thats a good idea, you could have an ash shaft for strength and ash naturally polishes up glossy smooth with use, but with a lighter softer blade. If it worked for the northern hunters it cant be bad I think.

http://vilda.alaska.edu/cgi-bin/get...MX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=&REC=6&DMTHUMB=0&DMROTATE=0

 

[jon r]

I went on google images to get some inspiration for shapes but in the end i just guessed it. I didnt have an existing paddle to draw around.

I did however draw my desin onto the wood with a pencil and also drew in a centre line to get things straight and symetrical.

 

[Angus Og]

Great paddle and some great work.

But you should know that some telegraph poles and power line poles use copper/chrome/arsenic composition as a preservative.

 

[jojo]

Great looking paddle, Jon. You do have to be careful with impregnated wood, the chemicals are design to kill things! Was the outside layer of the pole of a different colour when you started cutting it? It does not appear to be from the colour, so you'll live!

 

[naylor b]

wow great work

 

[sxmolloy]

Jon I tried to ring you yesterday, no wonder I couldn't get through....... Seriously though thats a very nice job. ATB....Stu

 

[jon r]

Dam balst! Are you being serious! The outer wood was dark yes! I had to cut throught that to get to the nice wood that you see on the paddle! Oh no!

Hope im gonna be ok!

I havnt been licking the paddle so i think i'll be ok! Can these chemicals be absorbed through your skin? I noticed that the wood does have a strong smell of creasote.

"copper/chrome/arsenic" you say! nou your just scaring me!

Please dont tell me i cant use my paddle!

 

[jojo]

So it was pressure treated. The chemicals are not particularly good for you, mate. But if you don't lick your paddle or your hands as you said you should be ok It seems that you have removed the outside layer anyway, so there can't too much left in the paddle. you could give the paddle 2 or 3 coat of varnish, that'll protect the wood and keep the nasties sealed if there are any left.

 

[jon r]

There was about an inch of the dark treated wood all around the outside of the wood but i removed it all because i didnt like the colour.

Next time im in town i'll get some varnish! Panic over!

 

[Matthew.Passmore]

the chemicals arent very good but unless you going to sit chewing it you should be fine, its also unlikey the chemicals have penetrated all the way through the pole too.

nice looking paddle.

 

[mr dazzler]

So whats the real crack with telegraph pole's I always thought they were treated in creosote tanks, hence you sometimes see pole's that have stood a long while with tar trickles oozing out at the base. Or did they change to arsenic/tanalised treatment's instead? Was that what they did with sleepers as well? Is tanalised wood poisonous if you burn it (fumes)?
cheers Jonathan

 

[jojo]

Tanalised Timber

Wooden products are often tanalised - impregnated under pressure with highly toxic substances such as arsenic - to protect against rot. Look for a pale green stain soaked into the outer layer, typically on roughly sawn softwood which otherwise wouldn't last any time at all outside in the wet. We advise against buying such products but in reality there are very few alternatives within the price range of most people. Due to the toxins it is advised that you don't burn tanalised timber!

Burning tanalised wood releases arsenic, a cumulative poison, into your immediate atmosphere.

I copied the above from a site, so not my words!

Creosote is no longer used in new products. There is still plenty of treated timber about and the chemicals are highly toxic, worse than the tanalised timber, which is why it's been banned.

 

[jon r]

Apparently if you burn the arsneic it gets more concerntrate so there would proberbly be enough arsneic in the ashes to kill a man! The fumes would also be highly dangerous!

 

[mr dazzler]

So if cresote is dangerous and the H&S banned it, why did they allow it to be replaced it with arsenic go figure. Is aresnic like lead (gradually acumulate's to lethal levels) I have burnt quite some large amounts of fencung off cut's, but am still here as far as I can tell, but does even tiny amounts of arsenic build up or can your body process it? Can you get mild arsenic poisoning or is it a case of one tiny hit and it kills you?

 

[jojo]

Have a look here: http://sdsd.essortment.com/arsenicpoisonin_rljn.htm

I think we should be aware of the dangers of using any sort of chemicals. Tanalising is one chemical to be aware of and most people aren't. Just looks inocuous, doesn't it. On the other hand I wouldn't loose too much sleep over it. We do get minute quantities of arsenic in food, and actually the body does need some arsenic. It's continuous exposure that is dangerous. But having a bushcraft fire by burning tanalised wood may be asking for trouble.

 

[jon r]

symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, blood in the urine, cramping muscles, hair loss, stomach pain, and more convulsions. The organs of the body that are usually affected by arsenic poisoning are the lungs, skin, kidneys, and liver. The final result of arsenic poisoning is coma or death.

Havnt experienced any of this.

Continued exposure to arsenic builds up in the system and there is an accumulated effect. The more you are exposed the more serious are the consequences.

When i started out making this paddle i never would have thought it would have links to arsneic! I shouldnt think breathing in the wood dust is too good for you if you are sanding it!