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Thread: New plane

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Ottawa, On
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    955

    New plane

    ...No.... not from us (yet)....but one I ordered a couple of years ago. No pics - as I don't have it yet.....but will post when it shows up.

    What really makes this plane special is the story (besides being an excellent plane). It's made by Konrad Sauer, and is a 1 1/2 wide infill shoulder plane. The story is really about the infill....

    Alexander Muir was three years old when he emigrated from Scotland, to Toronto Ontario in 1833. He grew up in the Toronto area, and went to Queens College in Kingston ON (now Queens University) and returned to Toronto where he was a teacher, songwriter, poet, and soldier in the The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. He fought at the battle of Ridgeway shortly before our confederation - the first action for an all-Canadian military unit.

    In 1867 - the year of confederation, he wrote "the Maple Leaf Forever", inspired by a large maple tree on his street, in front of Maple Cottage. For many years, the song was considered to be the unofficial national anthem of Canada: "O Canada" was not written until 1880, and only adopted as our official national anthem in 1980.

    In July of 2013 - a windstorm took out the maple tree that was the inspiration for for Muir. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...n_toronto.html The wood was harvested, and used to make culturally significant objects, such as the the Speakers podium for Toronto City Council, the Gavel for the Supreme Court of Canada, and the Maple Leaf Guitars (an electric, and an acoustic) custodianship of which are awarded annually to Canadian musicians. The first custodians (2016) were Colin Cripps of Blue Rodeo (acoustic) and Paul Langlois of the Tragically Hip (electric).

    So, Konrad was able to get his hands on a chunk of wood from the tree (I believe from one of the Guitarmakers ). He had the maple dyed red (of course!) - and that's what the infills of the two bookmatched shoulder planes he made are from.

    Even though silver maple wood is not so prized (that's being charitable) - the finished product is spectacular - red with a white stripe running through the wedge and infill....

    Hopefully - he'll post his work to his website, as I will only have one of the planes. The pair should really been seen together to appreciate the mastery involved with Konrad's work....

    Can't wait for the box to arrive!

    Cheers -

    Rob
    Last edited by Rob Lee; 09-22-2020 at 10:16 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    330
    Please keep us informed and post a picture of the plane when it arrives. I'm sure that it will be a pleasure to own/use. -Howard

  3. #3
    Looking forward to the pix Rob.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Nova Scotia, Canada
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    That’s a great story! I’m looking forward to the pictures.

  5. #5
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    One sure doesn't learn about the Fenian Raiders in American schools, I had to Google the battle.
    Nostalgia isn't what it used to be

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Rob knows how to plant a seed and harvest it when the product is released.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Northern California
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    I’m surprised that Joni Mitchell and Neil Young were not the initial honorary custodians of the respective Maple Leaf Guitars. But I’m a dinosaur, so what do I know.

  8. #8
    Cool story, Rob!
    Konrad has already posted a bunch of pics of these planes on his Instagram feed. Just look up Sauer and Steiner on the app.
    "For me, chairs and chairmaking are a means to an end. My real goal is to spend my days in a quiet, dustless shop doing hand work on an object that is beautiful, useful and fun to make." --Peter Galbert

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    Michiana
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    A nice photo essay on the planes here: http://sauerandsteiner.blogspot.com/
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Luter View Post
    A nice photo essay on the planes here: http://sauerandsteiner.blogspot.com/
    Thanks for posting this Rob. An interesting slice of history with an amazing end.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
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    Strathmore, Alberta, Canada
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stephen Rosenthal View Post
    I’m surprised that Joni Mitchell and Neil Young were not the initial honorary custodians of the respective Maple Leaf Guitars. But I’m a dinosaur, so what do I know.

    Apologies for the following statement if it high jacks the thread but Neil Young is persona non grata in some (western) parts of the great country of Canada...😳!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Les Groeller View Post
    Apologies for the following statement if it high jacks the thread but Neil Young is persona non grata in some (western) parts of the great country of Canada...😳!
    Just a hunch, but I believe the Maple Leaf Guitars are awarded for musical contributions, not political stances.

  13. #13
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    Dec 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Lee View Post
    Even though silver maple wood is not so prized (that's being charitable) - the finished product is spectacular - red with a white stripe running through the wedge and infill....

    Hopefully - he'll post his work to his website, as I will only have one of the planes. The pair should really been seen together to appreciate the mastery involved with Konrad's work....

    Can't wait for the box to arrive!

    Cheers -

    Rob
    We're "dyeing" to see it in action.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
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    Perth, Australia
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Matthews View Post
    We're "dyeing" to see it in action.
    <groan>

    Rob, perhaps we may see some red handles appearing on Veritas Planes to commemorate Canada Day?

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Provo, UT
    Posts
    390
    That is a great story and I can't wait to see the planes.

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