Hand Engraved Ron Brese is finished!

[Layne Zuelke]

Well I started on this plane several months ago. It's one of the most ambitious projects to come out of the Southern Custom Engraving shop yet. This is a Ron Brese smoother, about Stanley 4 1/2 size. It was a tough cookie to engrave as the body is stainless steel and hard steel at that. My client really let me take the reigns on this job and those are the ones that usually come out the best. He did request the Badger and the Isotria plant in the inserts. This is definitely the most detailed engraving I've done on a plane to date. It was worth all the time, effort and broken graver points I put into it. Hope y'all enjoy!263803 (http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa343/LayneZuelke/IMG_2848.jpg)263804 (http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa343/LayneZuelke/IMG_2845.jpg)263805Sorry for the weird way this posted. I'm a tool guy, not a computer geek!

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I think that it is now art rather than a tool. You do really nice work. Well, I suppose a Ron Brese started almost as art, nice plane.

How much time did it take you to do this?

[Jim Koepke]

Beautiful, but I would be a little torn about using it as a plane.

jtk

[Layne Zuelke]

This one took around 25 hours of cutting. In addition to 4 hours or so of Sketching. I'm sure there are a few more hours in there that I'm not counting but I'd be scared to know the truth. A job like this I usually stretch out. One, it's easier in smaller chunks, two, my right arm cant take the pressure of more than 4 hours at the engraving bench. Tendonitis, arthritis, and just plane getting old hurts!

[David Barnett]

It was worth all the time, effort and broken graver points I put into it.

...who happens to do a little engraving on the side," Lynton McKenzie used to say about himself. Any stainless is tough and some of it's so hard it's almost not worth it—my wrists, fingers and shoulder are too old for that—but then someone comes along and does something of this caliber. Inspiring.

As I recall from Engraver's Cafe, this was your first animal project and your client was understandably thrilled. Home run! The expression is spot on and alive. You definitely didn't need the dots, and the scroll work is so relaxed, uncrowded, unforced and unaffected you'd never know it was stainless. Everything works and works well. Nothing looks unrelated and the flow is lovely.

I'm a coward, these days—rarely steel, just silver and gold, stonesetting, lettering or texturing under basse taille—so nothing but admiration from me. So refreshing to see a talented engraver truly enhance a plane rather than mangle one—something I've seen far too often these last few years.

[Tony Shea]

Incredible job. I know nothing about engraving, but def think of stainless as being almost impossible to get such smooth flowing lines with. That is wonderful stuff and thanks for posting.

[Mark Baldwin III]

That's pretty. I really like the overall design.

[Bryan Ericson]

Beautiful, but I would be a little torn about using it as a plane.

Agreed on that. It's so stunning, I'm not sure I would ever let it touch my workbench. I would hate to even get a fingerprint on it!

[Doug Ladendorf]

Layne, I just love your work. This is simply stunning. Thanks for sharing.

[george wilson]

Very beautiful work!! I was a friend of Lynton's.

[don wilwol]

that's great. A engraved Ron Brese. It's even beyond my bucket list.

[Dale Murray]

Stunning.

(I was required to add words to my original post, these are the words).

[David Barnett]

Very beautiful work!! I was a friend of Lynton's.

George, you never cease to amaze and impress me.

[Chris Vandiver]

I really like the use of the Isotria plant(small whorled pogonia), which is a rare orchid. Beautiful work!

[Layne Zuelke]

Thanks for all the kind words and especially the quote from Lynton. I have friends who worked with him but alas I started my career after he had passed and never had the pleasure. I really appreciate a critique from another engraver. Lets me know I'm on the right path as it were. Now maybe I'll get back to a nice Lie Nielsen or something. My elbow is yelling "no more!" every time I look at the pics.

[Terry Beadle]

Speechless....beauty !

[george wilson]

Did you PUSH engrave the plane? From your comments about your elbow,I think you must have. In that case,it is even more of an accomplishment!! I only can hammer engrave. If I tried to push a tool,it'd skitter all over the place.

[Leigh Betsch]

Beautiful. That's something I'll never be able to do. Very very nice.

[Winton Applegate]

Perfection !
Couldn't be better.
Really enjoyed seeing your work.
I'm one critical bastard and haven't said that about anything for quite a long while.
since I got one of Old Street Tools hand planes was the last time. See, I can count the times on my fingers.

[Layne Zuelke]

George, To answer your question. No. I don't use push gravers for this type of work. I did use one for the Badger and much of the Isotria but the steel is just too tough to push by hand. A common misconception about the air assisted tools is that they do all the heavy lifting for you as it were. In tough metals like this, I'm still using a lot of hand and pressure to keep the all the angles correct. I'm actually pushing quite a bit as the graver would really just dig in and bounce with the air only. I work for short stretches to keep the elbow from giving out. I can cut gold or mild steel for 8 hours at a stretch but even that causes muscle fatigue not to mention my poor poor eyes!