Wednesday 10 December 2014

2 spare XSNo.4’s - Ziricote & Desert Ironwood


I have a bit of a confession to make.

I enjoy making spare planes more than I thought I would. Don’t get me wrong - I love making custom planes, but there is something rewarding about walking to the shelves of roughed out parts, pulling a few down, and seeing what the possibilities are. I was surprised at how much I liked the naval brass with Ziricote and decided to continue exploring. This time, another Ziricote set with some sapwood on the corner, and a Desert Ironwood set that has been sitting for a very long time. This was an orphan set in that it was all that remained from a larger piece of Desert Ironwood.

Both planes are identical in spec - 5-1/2" long, with a 1-9/16" wide, high carbon steel blade and a 52.5 degree bed angle. Naval brass sides, lever cap and screw with an 01 tool steel sole.









The flash of sapwood on the rear infill reminds me of the painted flames you would see on a hotrod - the three little white tails are my favourite part. It was tricky during shaping not to loose them in the process.




The Ziricote XSNo.4 is $1,750.00 Cdn + actual shipping costs.





For an orphan set, this one turned out wonderfully. There is an incredibly bright golden spot inside the front bun - you can see it below. That same spot also appears in the rear infill, but was hard to capture in a photograph (trust me - I tried!).









The Desert Ironwood XSNo.4 is $1,800.00 Cdn + actual shipping costs.

Feel free to send me an email if you are interested in either of these planes. konrad@sauerandsteiner.com






3 Comments:

Blogger Richard Wile said...

Konrad,

Sapwood by design, hmmmm. Seems you have completely gone to the dark side!!

Sorry!

Rich

10 December 2014 at 18:08  
Blogger Konrad said...

What is it that Vader said to Luke... "you underestimate the power of the dark side?"

cheers,
k

10 December 2014 at 19:49  
Blogger Kevin Brehon said...

Given that you were once considering plastic as an infill material sapwood hardly casts a shadow!

13 December 2014 at 10:47  

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Monday 1 December 2014

Trio in Desert Ironwood



This was a really, really fun set to make. A K5, K6 and K7 - all Desert Ironwood burl. There isn’t too much I can add beyond the photos  - other than the technical specs.

The K5 is 5-1/2" long, with a 1-1/2" wide V11 blade, bedded at 52.5 degrees.








The K6 is 6-1/4" long with a 1-5/8" wide, high carbon steel blade and a 52.5 degree bed angle.








The K7 is 7" long with a 1-3/4" wide, V11 blade, and a 52.5 degree bed angle.











Ok. Maybe I can add a little bit. It is always fun to work on a set like this in one shot - all 3 planes at the same time. I try to maintain a very consistent look to all my work, but given the nature of handwork, I know there are little variations and evolutions from one plane to the next. Little things like subtle changes to chamfers, or the roundness or flatness to the top of a front pad, the level of polish on the lever cap... you get the idea.





When I can work on 3 planes at a time, I like to work on them so that one stage is repeated from one plane to the next to the next. Shaping the chamfers one after the other for example. It feels like I am really only filing one large set of chamfers - and subtle muscle memory changes transfer from one plane to the next insuring consistency. Blaring music (or the CBC) certainly helps keep the energy and focus level up, and I think it makes for an even more cohesive family of planes.

11 Comments:

Blogger Bob said...

Sweet....wishing Santa would bring them to my house. :)

2 December 2014 at 06:43  
Blogger Richard Wile said...

Nice set Konrad, still amazes me how stunning that wood is. Hopefully the owner/user will appreciate the consistent feel when moving from one to another in use.

2 December 2014 at 06:54  
Blogger Unknown said...

The wood in that K6 is…
I don't even know! If the camera can catch it, the real deal must be just incredible! Another amazing job Kon.

2 December 2014 at 20:23  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, they look amazing. I can tell you that they do look and feel even better in the flesh. Thanks so much Konrad. I feel lucky to be the custodian of these.

3 December 2014 at 04:35  
Blogger nbreidinger said...

I love the sunburst look on the rear bun of the K6. Absolutely stunning. Looks more like a precious gem than wood. Beautiful work as always.

3 December 2014 at 13:05  
Blogger Konrad said...

Hi Bob - arrangements with Santa can always be arranged :)

cheers,
konrad

3 December 2014 at 20:28  
Blogger Konrad said...

Thanks Richard.

The planes just arrived today, and I know they will be used very well and appreciated.

cheers,
konrad

3 December 2014 at 20:29  
Blogger Konrad said...

Thanks Brad,

Yeah - that K6 rear infill was particularly crazy! In sunlight it looks like it is on fire - Desert Ironwood is pretty incredible stuff.

cheers,
konrad

3 December 2014 at 20:31  
Blogger Konrad said...

Thanks Natejb,

I hadn't thought of it as a sunburst before - but now that you mention it, I totally see it. Wouldn't it be cool if you could find a piece big enough for a natural 'burst' on a guitar? It would likely weigh an additional 3lbs though.

cheers,
konrad

3 December 2014 at 20:32  
Anonymous Chris M said...

Love your planes. Absolutely drool worthy. Thank you for posting lots of pics of these functional works of art. Very few things in this world are both useful and beautiful.

I've been following your post for a couple of years. But I read in your previous post that you were running out of topics. How about one that describes the skills you learned to be able to make these and how you learned them. Like peening etc. I'd be interested to know how you got here to making these great planes.

3 December 2014 at 22:12  
Anonymous Peter Franks said...

Konrad - these are possibly the most beautiful things ever made! Congratulations.

5 December 2014 at 11:40  

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