resurrecting the oars

The old pair of 30 year old Sitka spruce oars was really beat up and the leathers are in the wrong spot to protect them from the effects of a lot of rowing.  So, it was time to strip them, back to bare wood or replace them.  I got several quotes for replacement and it was going to run upwards of $200 to replace them.  Therefore, there was no other option. 

I had to fix the crack in one blade so I applied a layer of glass to each blade on both sides to prevent water penetration and add strenght to this much abused section of the oars.  Then went about trying to remove the old oar leathers.  These were 1/4" pieces of rawhide that were apparently epoxied in place, and at some point appeared to have served as a dog chew toy.  Getting them off was an incredible challenge.  I tried cutting them off resulting in poking a hole in my wrist with the filet knife.  Then tried sanding them off with the orbital sander and wound up burning a hole in the pad.  (Will contact Craftsman for a replacement)  No avail.  Next I tried filing them off with rasps.  Still no progress.  then in the process of applying the 6" disc grinder to them, of which I tore the sheet right off the grinder, I noticed the secret.  HEAT! 

I ran to the basement to retrieve the heat gun out of dormancy, and going back to the filet knife once again was able to get these suckers off with a little elbow grease and time (15 minutes).  Then a final sanding. 

The oars were then hung by the handles and thoroughly saturated with varnish.  they will get sanded tomorrow and then a second coating of varnigh to be followed by new leathers being sewed on. 

Finding suitable leather was a challenge as well and I finally found some at my local fabric shop that caters to people who really sew things up from scratch.  they actually had full cowhide pieces as well. 

This was a nice way to spend a hot, and humid day in the Northeast US where it was 100 degrees today.  Too damned hot to go out in the boat.  I still am not sure I saved any money as I now need to get a new pad for the sander and replace a lot of torn up sandpaper.  Hopefully, someone will benefit from this experience other than myself.

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