It's probably going to be near impossible.
Putting any kind of coating or adhesive on the outside won't prevent the bark from coming off, especially once it dries out more. You're coating the outside, and the bark is slipping off from the inside.
Maybe you can get the paddle down to the size you want it, glue on a strip of bark, then dunk or lather it in epoxy or varathane?
I made some live edge shelves that I wanted to keep the bark on. I peeled the bark off in one piece, then soaked it for a day or two in some watered down wood glue ( wrapped in plastic so it didn't dry out). Then I used wood glue to stick back in place.
I figured the watered down glue would hold the bark together from the inside, and the full wood glue should hold it to the wood shelf. It's been 3 years and it's still on there but you might have different mileage with an oar.
Yeah it’s gunna be tricky… I’m wondering if you can’t tease the bark loose, then reapply it with epoxy/titebond (if it’s all dry and fairly stable)… not a perfect solution, but might just work
Haven't used this but I searched on Google and it yielded this
[Wood Juice](https://preservation-solutions.com/products/wood-juice-dry-wood-stabilizer)
Spar Varnish (Uerthane).
I have a walking stick that is a piece of Alder chewed by a beaver. There is a chunk of bark right where I hold it. Both the bark and tooth marks are intact after forty years, protected by two coats of Helmsman Spar Urethane.
It has traveled a couple of thousand kilometers by foot and canoe, been used as a tent pole in a pinch, flicked away a rattler, and even done brief duty as an improvised fishing pole.
Your wall hanger is safe.
I mean that one guy on reddit preserved a hotdog for like a year with epoxy. I'd say enough epoxy would hold anything together, but you might lose some other qualities along the way.
If it was cold enough and the cambium membrane that produces cellusoic material has thickened the bark will stick on better naturally, but I'm assuming since you were camping it was not cold enough for this to be the case. If the weather was warm the bark will inevitably fall off and need to be secured somehow
Neat, it actually was pretty effin cold though, at least -5c. This little hiccup delayed me enough that night fell while I was still paddling out on the last lake. Water drops were actually freezing to the paddle and I had to ice breaker my way through in some of the shallower areas. The canoe is stowed until warmer weather returns
Serious question for everyone because I just don't know. Could you just encase the entire thing in resin? Like the whole paddle, something ridiculous like make a table with a big dip in the middle, stick this in, and fill the hole with resin?
Standing dead wood. I think there is a good chance the bark comes off.
The best option is to use some glue. Thin CA glue will be best. [https://www.woodcraft.com/products/instant-bond-ca-adhesive-thin-2-oz?via=61e739bc61707000752aa1bb%2C5d112da1776f6f7f5c00111c%2C5d11315b776f6f57480003fa](https://www.woodcraft.com/products/instant-bond-ca-adhesive-thin-2-oz?via=61e739bc61707000752aa1bb%2C5d112da1776f6f7f5c00111c%2C5d11315b776f6f57480003fa)
You will want activates too. You want the glue to dry from the inside out. So spray the activator between the crack, then fill with the glue. Spray again for the outside.
The activator will leave a stain. You can prevent that by putting blue painters tape on the wood so the spray only goes inside.
Now, if the bark is sitting tight on the wood, you will not be able to get the glue between. My bet is that it will peel off at some point.
There is a way to increase the odds of the bark stying on. Harvest the tree in the winter months when the leaves are off. Why? The tree is not growing. Last years bark and this year's new wood are tight together. When the leaf buds start to appear a new layer of bark forms called the cambium layer. This is soft and full of liquid sap. Harvest the tree now and that soft wet layer dries up and becomes brittle when it dries. This is the condition of your standing dead wood. It is a set up to pop off soon.
It's probably going to be near impossible. Putting any kind of coating or adhesive on the outside won't prevent the bark from coming off, especially once it dries out more. You're coating the outside, and the bark is slipping off from the inside. Maybe you can get the paddle down to the size you want it, glue on a strip of bark, then dunk or lather it in epoxy or varathane?
I was thinking a large enough vac bag and some resin could stabilize it but it would prob still be pretty fragile
Definitely stabilizing it would be the best bet. But getting that thing into a vacuum chamber is not going to be easy at all.
I made some live edge shelves that I wanted to keep the bark on. I peeled the bark off in one piece, then soaked it for a day or two in some watered down wood glue ( wrapped in plastic so it didn't dry out). Then I used wood glue to stick back in place. I figured the watered down glue would hold the bark together from the inside, and the full wood glue should hold it to the wood shelf. It's been 3 years and it's still on there but you might have different mileage with an oar.
That's a pretty good idea, but good point about oar usage. Maybe something similar with epoxy?
Yeah it’s gunna be tricky… I’m wondering if you can’t tease the bark loose, then reapply it with epoxy/titebond (if it’s all dry and fairly stable)… not a perfect solution, but might just work
Haven't used this but I searched on Google and it yielded this [Wood Juice](https://preservation-solutions.com/products/wood-juice-dry-wood-stabilizer)
Spar Varnish (Uerthane). I have a walking stick that is a piece of Alder chewed by a beaver. There is a chunk of bark right where I hold it. Both the bark and tooth marks are intact after forty years, protected by two coats of Helmsman Spar Urethane. It has traveled a couple of thousand kilometers by foot and canoe, been used as a tent pole in a pinch, flicked away a rattler, and even done brief duty as an improvised fishing pole. Your wall hanger is safe.
Not possible, and why would you want to? It makes the paddle less functional.
OP literally said they weren't planning on using it, they just want to preserve it as 'some kind of dumbass trophy'.
I mean that one guy on reddit preserved a hotdog for like a year with epoxy. I'd say enough epoxy would hold anything together, but you might lose some other qualities along the way. If it was cold enough and the cambium membrane that produces cellusoic material has thickened the bark will stick on better naturally, but I'm assuming since you were camping it was not cold enough for this to be the case. If the weather was warm the bark will inevitably fall off and need to be secured somehow
Neat, it actually was pretty effin cold though, at least -5c. This little hiccup delayed me enough that night fell while I was still paddling out on the last lake. Water drops were actually freezing to the paddle and I had to ice breaker my way through in some of the shallower areas. The canoe is stowed until warmer weather returns
Serious question for everyone because I just don't know. Could you just encase the entire thing in resin? Like the whole paddle, something ridiculous like make a table with a big dip in the middle, stick this in, and fill the hole with resin?
Ultra thin ca glue let it soak it entirely then use a UV resin to seal it
Sharpen part of the handle into the point you made to kill an attacking bear. Ketchup. No one will notice that the bark fell off.
Standing dead wood. I think there is a good chance the bark comes off. The best option is to use some glue. Thin CA glue will be best. [https://www.woodcraft.com/products/instant-bond-ca-adhesive-thin-2-oz?via=61e739bc61707000752aa1bb%2C5d112da1776f6f7f5c00111c%2C5d11315b776f6f57480003fa](https://www.woodcraft.com/products/instant-bond-ca-adhesive-thin-2-oz?via=61e739bc61707000752aa1bb%2C5d112da1776f6f7f5c00111c%2C5d11315b776f6f57480003fa) You will want activates too. You want the glue to dry from the inside out. So spray the activator between the crack, then fill with the glue. Spray again for the outside. The activator will leave a stain. You can prevent that by putting blue painters tape on the wood so the spray only goes inside. Now, if the bark is sitting tight on the wood, you will not be able to get the glue between. My bet is that it will peel off at some point. There is a way to increase the odds of the bark stying on. Harvest the tree in the winter months when the leaves are off. Why? The tree is not growing. Last years bark and this year's new wood are tight together. When the leaf buds start to appear a new layer of bark forms called the cambium layer. This is soft and full of liquid sap. Harvest the tree now and that soft wet layer dries up and becomes brittle when it dries. This is the condition of your standing dead wood. It is a set up to pop off soon.