How a marine propeller pattern is made

[ChefCarl]

This is a link from a wood working site that I found to be of interest and I hope that you do also.

http://industrialshapeandform.com/blog/blogs/index.php/2009/05/15/how-a-marine-propeller-pattern-is-made (http://industrialshapeandform.com/blog/blogs/index.php/2009/05/15/how-a-marine-propeller-pattern-is-made)
Now how many of you are going to make your own props?
And no, I have no idea who these people are, just an interesting site to share.

[The Bigfella]

Interesting, isn't it. I saw some of these patterns for sale on ebay recently

[David G]

Quite interesting.

[Ross M]

Excellent post!

Ross

[Woxbox]

Fascinating, and far more traditional than I would have suspected:

Shaping
Now that it’s all glued up and starting to look like a propeller, we can start shaping the wood. The steps in the wood need to be taken down to make a smooth surface. Tools used for this can include everything from and axe, to a belt sander. You can start with an axe near the root of the blade to get the bulky wood down quickly. From there, tools are used in order of precision. It can typically go as follows:
Axe – Draw Knife – Power Plane – Angle Grinder – Spoke Shave – Block Plane – Sand Paper.

[willmarsh3]

About the whole process...

I was wondering how they get 4 or 5 blades out of one pattern like this? I'm guessing they make 5 pie shaped moulds and then assemble them together.

I read a little bit about creating the mould and casting the prop here: http://preview.tinyurl.com/nba4l7

[S B]

From computer to axe,with a little sandpaper, thought by now they would have all gone C N C. Good to see.