Tuesday 29 January 2013

The first planes of 2013

And the last few from 2012.

Last year ended on a high note with the bullnose planes and everything just kept rolling along.

One of the bullnose plane has a figured Rosewood wedge. This was the only ‘Norris’ pattern bullnose in the bunch.










The other is part of a larger matching set of planes all infilled with dark Desert Ironwood burl.








The set of planes has 3 smoothers in three different sizes, a XSNo.4ss, SNo.4ss and a No.4ss. The XSNo.4ss is 5-1/2" long, with a 1-1/2" wide blade and a 52.5 degree bed angle.
















The SNo.4ss is 6-1/2" long, with a 1-3/4" wide blade and a 52.5 degree bed angle.











The No.4ss is 7-1/2" long, with a 2" wide blade and a 52.5 degree bed angle.









I took these photos during a particularly cold and snowy part of the week. The balcony ledge was covered in snow and ice and I was not able to get all 4 planes lined up to take a family photo - so I took a few on the bench inside.



















There was another Pink Ivory filled K7 late last year. I have made 4 of them now and I hope to be able to work with Pink Ivory again - it is an amazing material.











On a personal note, I have also been working on our dining table during my ‘spare’ time - on weekends and over the Christmas holiday. It has been a very fun project thus far - full of great challenges. Here are a few photos of the base mock-up made from construction grade Spruce 2x8’s. The top is 1/2" MDF. These were taken quite a while ago - I am now doing the final sanding on the walnut base. Thankfully - sanding the base is way faster than sanding one of the chairs... let alone 6 of them. The first 2 grits of sand paper are done... 3 to go.








15 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

The Pink Ivory K7 is quite possibly my favourite now. What an incredible piece of work.

29 January 2013 at 09:40  
Blogger Chris Bame said...

Nice family of planes Konrad. Love the Desert Ironwood
I really like the Norris Bullnose plane I think the ogee shape works for me better than the double hump.
Great stuff as always !!!

29 January 2013 at 11:57  
Anonymous John DeBoom said...

Will pink ivory stay pink? Or will it fade or turn brown eventually? Great looking planes though, all of them!

29 January 2013 at 19:31  
Blogger mckenzie said...

Konrad,

The table base is going to amazing. I'm excited to see it.

Tyler

30 January 2013 at 11:42  
Anonymous robert said...

Konrad:

I have an honest question - as opposed to a snarky one. Why do you - a guy who makes phenomenal smoothing planes - use sandpaper for finishing his dining room table?

Best regards,

Robert

31 January 2013 at 16:48  
Blogger Konrad said...

Thanks David. The Pink Ivory is not for everyone, but personally - I love it.

cheers,
Konrad

31 January 2013 at 19:49  
Blogger Konrad said...

Hi Chris,

thanks for the comments. I wish I had a few more of these bullnose castings. Not that I would be in a rush to do another batch.... but it would be nice to have a few for 'later'.

Cheers,
konrad

31 January 2013 at 19:50  
Blogger Konrad said...

Hi John,

Good question. It will loose some of the pink color, but mine has not gone brown at all - just a darker, less vibrant pink. It still looks wicked, but not quite as shocking as fresh cut pink Ivory.

Cheers,
Konrad

31 January 2013 at 19:51  
Blogger Konrad said...

Thanks Tyler - glad someone noticed it:) I put the first coat of finish on it the other night - what a transformation! I will post photos soon. How about an update from your end?

Cheers,
Konrad

31 January 2013 at 19:52  
Blogger Konrad said...

Hi Robert,

A fair question - I was struck by it as well several times during the process. The truth is, the transitions in the curves are just too tight to get a plane in there without getting facets. I love facets, but not on this table or the chairs. I feel like they need very smooth transitions and a plane just won't do it. The irony is not lost on me though: )

cheers,
Konrad

PS - the top will be handplaned... it will be flat.

31 January 2013 at 19:54  
Anonymous robert said...

Konrad:

As one of my sons says: "Irony - isn't that the opposite of wrinkly?"

Robert

1 February 2013 at 15:15  
Blogger Jamie said...

The Pink Ivory is beautiful, great plane...and I love your table, really cool shape.

all the best

Jamie

2 February 2013 at 18:08  
Blogger Jamie said...

Hi Konrad,

The Pink Ivory looks beautiful, what a wonderful plane...and your table is great..

Jamie

2 February 2013 at 18:12  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lovely planes and the table is coming along well.

8 February 2013 at 16:33  
Blogger Carl Jara said...

hey Konrad, those bullnose planes are just amazing!
And congrats on a fine cover shot for Lee Valley's February catalog, I recognized your chairs in a heartbeat!

19 February 2013 at 21:06  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home