Planes instead of Jointer

[Peter Quadarella]

I am relatively new to woodworking and am planning on moving from exterior furniture and shop cabinetry to interior furniture soon. As such, I have been building out my shop a little. I will be purchasing a planer soon and would like to do without the jointer if possible and am investigating the idea of replacing the functions of a jointer with hand planes.

Other than a set of chisels, which I've only used a handful of times, I have no significant hand tool experience. Can someone help with a few questions?

1. What type of hand plane(s?) would be best to purchase as a replacement for the functions a power jointer normally do? That is, face and edge jointing I guess. I am assuming a Jointer plane, but having no experience I figured I'd ask.
2. Is there really a lot to learning how to use a plane to flatten a board, or would I be able to have reasonable success within my first couple tries? It seems like a simple enough concept.
3. Anyone have any opinions of the planes here? http://www.blumtool.com/pages/benchplanes.html They have piqued my interest.

Thanks for any advice you can share.

[Jason Beam]

While my neander experience is very limited, i can say for sure that there is one thing you will have to learn before you can expect to see much in regards to your 2nd question. When I got into planes and learning to use them, it completely and profoundly changed my impression of what it means to be sharp. I had a foggy idea to begin with, but I know folks who went in with the "I think I know what sharp is.." only to discover they're about 10% of what they really need.

You want good results with #2, you need two things: A well tuned plane and a truly sharp blade. Those two things will stand in the way of even the most dedicated newbie. Once you tackle sharp, tuning up a plane can pretty much be a laundry list of things to check and/or adjust. Then all that's left is the learnin' and the only way to get to learnin' is to get to planin' :)

[Peter Quadarella]

I do know a little bit about sharpening. I've read Mr. Lee's book on the topic and have sharpened my chisels a bit (also some initial work on carving gouges). I use waterstones and honing compound and have had good success so far.

I'm not sure what you mean about tuning though. Hopefully it's not much more than I would need to do with a power jointer regarding setup...?

[Steven Wilson]

1. What type of hand plane(s?) would be best to purchase as a replacement for the functions a power jointer normally do? That is, face and edge jointing I guess. I am assuming a Jointer plane, but having no experience I figured I'd ask.
2. Is there really a lot to learning how to use a plane to flatten a board, or would I be able to have reasonable success within my first couple tries? It seems like a simple enough concept.
3. Anyone have any opinions of the planes here?

1) A jointer plane (i.e. Bailey #7) is the general one to pull out for stock prep. If you just need to clean up an edge on a small board then you can scale back accordingly (i.e. use a #4). The Stanley #7 is most often used but a #8 (larger) or #6 (smaller) can be used with equal effect. To get a dead on square edge also look at a Stanley #386 jointer fence to add to a jointer plane. Old ones can be a bit pricey, IIRC LV makes a modern one thats a good price. I have been using powered jointers for awhile but still have a nice SW Stanley #7 setup with a #386 fence to do edge jointing when needed (quick & easy).

2) If you have a powered planer then you only need to face joint a board enough to make it through the powered planer. In this case you use various planes to knockoff the high spots so the board can go through the planer. The first planer pass should be a skip plane so the rollers aren't pressing down on the board too much. By working down the high spots with hand planes (scrub, #7, whatever) and maybe shimming the low spots you can easily prep the board so that the planer can make the other side flat. Then you flip the board over so that the newly made flat face acts as a reference when the other side is planed. This is pretty easy to figure out and doesn't take much finese. On the other hand if you want to face joint a board and then thickness plane by hand then you have to worry about technique and you'll end up using the #7 and #8 a lot to get the faces nice and flat.

3) no.

[Pedro Reyes]

Peter,

Welcome.

What Jason mentions about sharpness, is true and very important. There is as much information on how to sharpen and what sharp "really" is as there is friendly controversy around the subject. So if you are truly devoted to learning the Neander way, I'm sure you'll learn to keep your tools sharp.

That said, even with a sharp set of planes, "four-squaring" rough lumber is no cakewalk. Not long ago I dimensioned some small (I repeat small) panels for the sides of a bookcase, these were of the so called "soft" maple (can't stress those freaking quotations enough) and I had to work at it (I'm talking "make sure my sweat does not get the wood too wet")

My recommendation is that you first learn to use a handplane, fettle, tune, sharpen, hone, plane, etc. Make sure that you can take a full width shaving the whole length. Four squaring lumber assumes you can plane well. Flattening a board uses those skills as well as learning how to use winding sticks, checking with straight edges among other things. Learning the basics was one of best experiences I've had, it was fun and extremely rewarding. I think the hardest part was in the tuning of the plane. Those who still remember the sound of a smooth stroke with a nice full width shaving spilling to the floor for the first time, won't let me lie.


I would start with a #5 or #4. I'm not going to recommmend you buy a nice Lie Nielsen or Veritas, or that you buy an old Stanley, because there is a long thread on this and I will get yelled at either way.
All those work great, I have at least one of each and the difference is in the time it takes to get them to work nicely. The Lie Nielsen and the Veritas showed me what a great plane can do, the Stanleys taught me so much about how one is tuned and for that I have a special attachment to them. I have zero experience with the planes on your link, but they sure look nice, I would like to hear anyone's comment on them.

Hope this helps. Short answer is "learning to do it is not that difficult and plenty fun, actually dimensioning lumber the old way is hard work"

/p

[Michael Faurot]

Other than a set of chisels, which I've only used a handful of times, I have no significant hand tool experience. Can someone help with a few questions?
....
Thanks for any advice you can share.

This won't answer any of your specific questions, but something else to consider, before you head down this path, is that you're going to need a decent bench. Without a good bench to secure your work, even the best made plane that's sharp and tuned up will be effectively useless.

[Peter Quadarella]

I think I should be ok in the bench department soon.

I want to clarify my goal here. I'm not heading down the neander path just yet, I just want to do what Steven describes in his answer to #2. That is, flatten the board enough to finish it with the power planer. Thanks for the details on how this is done Steven.

That said, it sounds like I could start with something rougher like a scrub planer. Or should I just use the jointer plane anyway - it will take a little longer but be easier to find the high spots?

[Tom Saurer]

I know that this is the hand tool forum, but can I suggest making a sled to flatten your timber using your power planer? For the past couple years I've flattened boards using a #8, a jack, and a scrub plane. It works, but it takes me a fair amount of time to do each board. I would rather spend that time doing other things, so I'm going to be building a torsion box sled to go through my planer.

If this is something you want to do, I would suggest a larger plane (#7 or #8 size) and a smoother or jack. You'll also need something to sharpen them with, winding sticks to measure twist, and a workable area to plane the board.

I don't have any links handy, but I know that there are many tutorials on the Internet about doing this.

[Peter Quadarella]

Thanks Tom, I am thinking about using a sled but wanted to explore using a plane for fun and to give me a reason to try out hand tools to see how it was to use them. I will search around for some tutorial links, thanks for the suggestion.

[Mark Stutz]

Peter,
What you have in mind is certainly possible. Not to belabor the point, though some familiarity with hand planes is helpful, and sharpening is critical. I know I'm not the only one whose definition of sharp has changed several times.

I would suggest Rob Cosman's video, "Rough to Ready" to give an idea of what you're trying to acccomplish. Since you will be thicknessing with the tailed tools, all you need of the bearing surface to be flat so that the rollers don't distort the board. I do this all the time. A scrub is helpful if there is a lot of twist. Winding sticks are critical as is a straight edge...Iusually use the side/corner of my #8 for this. Start with shorter boards to get the feel for what you're doing, but it isn't that difficult, just takes some practice.

Mark

[Marcus Ward]

Even Krenov (I'm reading his journal again) said he wished he had a power jointer to save time squaring up stock. It is a simple enough concept but actually doing it is another matter entirely and it takes time although it is very satisfying to be able to do.

[Grant Lasson]

Peter,

I'm in the middle of a fairly large project during which I've needed to dimension 16 20" wide panels of varying lengths. I've learned quite a bit. I tried to do it all with a Jointer and a Jack. Very hard. Took a very long time. Muscles were sore. Relatively easy to get one flat side. Much harder to get the second side fully parallel to the first. I added the scrub plane and had a revelation.

You only need to get the boards flat enough to ride without tipping or deflecting during their trip through the planer. The scrub gets this job done quickly. The wood finish will be rough/ugly but let the planer clean it up for you. Not really a neander solution but I'm a lot closer to a "hybrid" anyway.

In my opinion, the scrub can be faster and more efficient that face planing on a jointer.

[Peter Quadarella]

Thanks Grant. Scrub planes are relatively inexpensive (compared to the other stuff), even for a LN or LV, so it might be worth giving that a try.

[Pedro Reyes]

OK, I see posts implying or even explicitly stating that a planer can flatten a board.

Correct me if I am wrong because I don't have either a jointer (tailed kind) or a planner.

But... as far as I know to joint boards with a planner you need some sort of made up jig... otherwise if you put in a bowed board you'll get a nicely bowed board of consistent thickness, but not a flat one.

So unless I am reading this wrong, to me saying that "kinda knocking the high spots" or "just get it thin enough to go through the planner" won't guarantee a flat board.

I'm I wrong? I am honestly curious. Now if what was said was that before putting it through the planner one needs to guarantee a plane on one face, then yes a planer can finish this off into 4square, at least that´s what I´ve read.

/p

[Marcus Ward]

A great plane for flattening planes is a stanley #31 (transitional) jointer plane with the iron ground with a camber, not as cambered as a scrub plan, but more than you would normally. I have a #40 and a #31 set up this way and I'll reach for the #31 every time. It' does an incredible job. They can be found dirt cheap all over, and possibly in Patrick Leach's firewood pile.

A power planer can flatten, sometimes. It won't take out bow or twist but I have successfully removed cup from 8/4 walnut with mine. You have to have a piece of lumber thick enough to not be flatened by the rollers when it goes through, or make one of those ridiculous sleds.

Or use a big scrub plane. ;)

[Randy Klein]

So unless I am reading this wrong, to me saying that "kinda knocking the high spots" or "just get it thin enough to go through the planner" won't guarantee a flat board.

Without going back and checking, and instead relying on memory alone, I believe those comments were for hand planes and not the powered planer. Using hand planes (scrub) to make a board relatively flat and stable before sending through the powered planer is a good method.

[Mark Roderick]

This is a great topic. I wish more woodworkers had the experience of flattening a board with handplanes. It's not rocket science, and the reason for doing it is not to induce some mystical zen-like experience. It's fast, it eliminates the need for a powered jointer, and it frees you from the width limitations of the powered jointer.

Start with "winding sticks," which are just two sticks (or pieces of metal) about 20 inches long, that must be flat. Put your board on the bench and lay one stick across each end. Then stand 10 feet away and look at the sticks in cross-section. That shows the twist in the board.

Then take a reasonably flat straightedge and lay it on the board end-to-end. That shows you the bow in the board.

Then take any old straightedge and lay it across the board edge-to-edge. That shows you the cupping.

I use either two or three different planes, depending how much wood I need to take off.

If the stock is really, badly out of flat, I start with a scrub plane, which has a radically-radiused blade and takes off huge amounts of wood. I rarely have to use the scrub plane.

The next plane down the line is a low-angle jack plane with a serrated blade. After that is a jointer plane. For most boards, I use those two planes in combination. First a few passes with the serrated blade, then a few passes with the jointer plane.

After a few passes, check the winding sticks again. You'll be amazed how quickly the board becomes flat.

I usually correct the twist first, then the bow end-to-end, then any cupping from edge-to-edge.

Once the board is flat on one side - it just has to be flat, not pretty or smooth - I put it through my planer with that side down. Most portable planers these days are at least 12 or 13 inches wide, so I've never run into a width limitation.

If you start with sharp planes there's really nothing to it. You can flatten a board that's six feet long and 10 inches wide in 10 or 15 minutes. And even better, if you glue up three or four of those boards into a table you can flatten and smooth the whole table in an hour. Starting with a rough table and flattening and smoothing the whole thing by hand - now that is a good feeling.

You do need sharp plane blades for the whole process to work. There are a zillion ways to sharpen, but if I were just starting out I'd use the sandpaper-on-glass method, with the Veritas honing jig. Extremely cheap, simple, and effective.

Let me know if you'd like to discuss this. As I say, I wish more woodworkers had the experience.

[Grant Lasson]

So unless I am reading this wrong, to me saying that "kinda knocking the high spots" or "just get it thin enough to go through the planner" won't guarantee a flat board.

I'm I wrong? I am honestly curious. Now if what was said was that before putting it through the planner one needs to guarantee a plane on one face, then yes a planer can finish this off into 4square, at least that´s what I´ve read.

/p

Pedro, two comments. For face planing, the board needs to travel through the powered planer without tipping or flexing too much between the rollers. (You're going to remove the twist, etc. by hand.) Scrub hand planes can get you that flat pretty quickly. (It's easy to tell. Just lay the board on a flat surface and see if there's consistent contact between the board and the surface.) Then you'll plane the opposite side flat with the powered planer. Flip it over and then plane the "scrubbed" face.

As for 4 square, the powered planer will not do that unless you stock is square or really large and stable on its edges. That's where a jointer/jack hand plane can help. Or a powered jointer. I have both and in more and more circumstances now I just use the hand planes. It's very efficient and controlled.

[Peter Quadarella]

This is all great information. Thanks very much. I will probably have to at least try this to see how it goes.

Here's a thought - what about a jointer plane with 2 blades - one with a camber and one without. I'm just trying to limit my initial investment and wondering if that's worth trying out. At this point I'm also trying to come up with a reason to get one of those blum planes I linked earlier ;)

[Mark Roderick]

In general, it works very well to have two or even three blades for each plane. If you're going that route, I would strongly suggest a serrated blade. They remove lots of wood quickly with no tearout. And if I couldn't get a serrated blade for a jointer plane I would buy a low-angle jack plane instead. I know serrated blades are available for those.

If the job is rough flattening, then the choice between a cambered blade and a straight blade is immaterial. The purpose of the camber on a jointer plane blade is to eliminate tracks in the wood created by the pointed edges of the blade. For rough work you don't care about that at all, because the tracks will be eliminated when you eventually run the board through your planer. You're run the flat side down first, and then flip it over and eliminate all the roughness of the plane work.

[Peter Quadarella]

Thanks, for some reason I thought the camber would make the work quicker. Is there any way to make a blade serrated? Perhaps cut notches into it or something similar?

[Grant Lasson]

Michael,

Thanks for the insight on serrated blades. I haven't used one before and I didn't know anyone who had. I'll have to give one a try.

Pedro,

The cambered blade takes a deeper cut with much less effort than a straight blade. It's great for working off high spots. Not too useful once the board approaches flat. I'm going to be trying a serrated blade for that phase!

[Richard Niemiec]

3. Anyone have any opinions of the planes here? http://www.blumtool.com/pages/benchplanes.html They have piqued my interest.

Other folks have given you the tips on stock preparation, so I thought I might put in my two cents on the Blum question. I took a peek and these look interesting indeed. I've never handled one, but my rather traditionalist view is that replacement blade-type planes have been tried before, and I am skittish about spending almost the same money for these planes as I would for LV or LN versions, which I know will provide satisfactory work. Bottom line is that "traditional" planes have been around for some time, and this is altogether another "fix" to something that ain't broken.

That being said, if you do go Blum, please tell us about it. RN

[Sam Yerardi]

Peter,

I just wanted to add some words of encouragement. I went neanderthal (I'm up to 95% now :)) a couple of years ago and while power tools still have a place in my work, I have fallen in love with working with hand tools and have never looked back. The process of woodworking goes from just completing a project to the opportunity to work with handtools AND completing a project. It's like the journey that's worth more than the destination. You'll get great advice here from the guys and a lot of different ideas on how to do things. One thing that helped me appreciate the need for adding a jointer plane to my arsenal was using smaller planes. When you plane the edge of a board with a plane (cambered or not) and you check the flatness with a straight edge you will see intuitively and immediately why the next larger plane might work better. It's part of the learning process and each discovery you make will make handtool work that much more enjoyable. I get lost in the process sometimes and forget what I'm actually working on and focus rather on learning that new skill it takes to do this particular project. Welcome to woodworking as it was meant to be! ;)

[Peter Quadarella]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm still back and forth on the whole thing but really would like to give it a try. I will probably end up springing for a plane or 3 since bonus time is around the corner.

And I think I will probably try out a Blum, so I will let you know what this newbie thinks when the time comes.

[Marcus Ward]

It's like the journey that's worth more than the destination.

The point of playing the music isn't to get to the end! :)

[Sam Yerardi]

I'm a musician and I can vouch for that!

[Marcus Ward]

I hesitate to call myself a musician. I make noise with a guitar, been doing it for 22 years. That doesn't mean I'm any good, it just means in 22 years I've been unable to become good. Haha!!

[Rod Wolfy]

Peter,

I'll throw in my $.02. I have been learning to do interior furniture for a few years. Learning the hand plane thing is a hobby unto itself. And I'd agree that sharpening is THE most important part of it all.

For starters, let me recommend a couple of great DVD's that I have watched repeatedly. I'd assume that you're familiar with Chris Schwarz, the editor of Popular Woodworking (which is a great resource for learning hand tools). He did some videos in conjunction with Lie Nielsen. The two that I'd recommend that you get immediately are "Coarse, Medium and Fine: Fundamental Woodworking Techniques" and "Building Furniture with Hand Planes". They will help you with your endeavor.

As far as your question of power jointer vs. hand plane. If you know how to use a hand plane, then it will likely be about as fast. If you go by Schwarz concept of Coarse, Medium and Fine, then you'll understand that a #5 or #6 or a power jointer is a coarse tool (not a scrub plane. Schwarz said that his research showed that a scrub plane was used by rough carpenters on a job site, but the sole is too short for really flattening a board - which will probably cause debates). Then after you have done the coarse work, you'd move over to a medium tool, like a #7 or #8 to remove the machine or rough plane marks. Then finally, you'd go to sand paper (yuck!) or a smoothing plane.

The second video ties into the first one as he shows how to combine the steps to complete a task - such as planing a board to fit a dado, while flattening it, instead of making a bigger dado.

Hope this helps,

Rod

[Jake Darvall]

If your intending to make money out of it, you need to use power .

With a jointer/tablesaw/thicknesser tools you can prepare that timber quick. You can focus on the quantities of your parts list better and be certain of consistancy in you dimentions. You can focus on overall grain orientation easier as well.

Leave the handtools for finishing, unless your some kind of zillionare who doesn't have worry about earning. Your going to take all day truing by hand. I've done it, and it just doesn't pay the bills.

At work where we make windows and door assemblys in solid, the only hand tools I use are....

2" chisel
stanley 10 ...(very handy for this kind of work, especially going crossgrain in checkouts)
stanley 4 and 3....(with thick blades)...use it mostly to remove stock quickly before going over joints with orbital.

card scraper ...(With it always sharp, you can often remove stock faster than a belt sander, because its pulls straight from the workbelt. I like to have one ready to go all the time, so I sharpen up 2 at the same time. Usually gets me through the day.) its most handy because 99% of the time it leaves an excellent finish.

What I'm trying to say is....IMO..... definetly setup some small machines(at least) in your shop, because its unrealistic to ignore them.

And learn how to use a card scraper well first. With that skill and machines you can actually get by without planes whilst keeping your output practical. (not that you shouldn't learn how to use planes ;))

[Peter Quadarella]

Just so I'm clear, I'm definitely not in this for the money. I know many of you are professionals which is great because us weekenders get to talk with people with real knowledge born of thousands of hours of practice plus skill. But for me, woodworking is purely recreational - something I am finding I enjoy a great deal, but there is nothing I need to complete. I'd rather take a year to complete a chair and enjoy it than finish a set of eight in a week and feel rushed.

That said, I enjoy the machines. I will be purchasing a bandsaw within 3-4 weeks, and a power planer soon after. I have all the power hand tools, router table, sander and drill press.

At this point I think I just want to give the hand planes a chance to see if it fits for me or if it just feels like a chore. I really appreciate all the advice.

[Jim Becker]

No reason you can't use both hand planes and a powered planer, Peter. While there are certainly some folks who use hand-tools exclusively, there are also a great many that will use the power planer to bring things flat and parallel, conserving project time, and then use their hand planes to put a wonderful finish on the boards. I have a personal goal to someday be able to do that effectively when I have the time available to improve my hand plane skills.

[James Owen]

I am relatively new to woodworking and am planning on moving from exterior furniture and shop cabinetry to interior furniture soon. As such, I have been building out my shop a little. I will be purchasing a planer soon and would like to do without the jointer if possible and am investigating the idea of replacing the functions of a jointer with hand planes.

Other than a set of chisels, which I've only used a handful of times, I have no significant hand tool experience. Can someone help with a few questions?

1. What type of hand plane(s?) would be best to purchase as a replacement for the functions a power jointer normally do? That is, face and edge jointing I guess. I am assuming a Jointer plane, but having no experience I figured I'd ask.
2. Is there really a lot to learning how to use a plane to flatten a board, or would I be able to have reasonable success within my first couple tries? It seems like a simple enough concept.
3. Anyone have any opinions of the planes here? http://www.blumtool.com/pages/benchplanes.html They have piqued my interest.

Thanks for any advice you can share.

Below is the method I use/teach for trueing a board using hand planes (most certainly not the only way, merely the method that I use...).

Now, no one here who has done this by hand will tell you that this is anything other than a first-class upper body aerobic work out, because that is exactly what is is.... Oh yeah, you get the bonus of a four-square board, when you're finished too. ;-)

On a slightly more serious note, trueing a board using only hand planes is not necessarily the fastest method available, but after a couple of boards, you'll probably find that it's not all that slow, either. Mostly, it seems to depend on the species of wood being trued.

At any rate, it is a very useful skill for boards that exceed the width of your jointer or thickness planer, or for boards that you don't want to cut more narrow so that they will fit in/through your machine(s).

_____

Ideally, you need 5 planes: a scrub plane, a #5, a #7 or #8, a #4 or #4-1/2, and a low angle block plane, but you can get away with a #5 and a low angle block plane -- it's just a little harder. (Or you can use wooden equivalents.)

You'll also need a good straight edge, an accurate try or combination square, a marking/panel gauge, and a pair of winding sticks (you can make these yourself). A card scraper is also handy.

Select a board face for the reference face. Use a pair of winding sticks and a straight edge to determine the high and low spots. Mark the high spots and use the scrub plane to reduce them to the approximate level of the rest of the board. Check for twist with the winding sticks. Correct with the scrub, as necessary. By this time, you should have a roughly flat (length and width) board with no twist and with a lot of troughs in it. Use the #5 to remove the troughs from the scrub plane. (Planing diagonally or straight across the grain in both directions with the scrub plane and the #5 to remove the scrub troughs will significantly reduce tearout in most woods. Then follow up with the #5 by planing with the grain.) Once the troughs are mostly gone, use the #7 or #8 with the grain to plane the face flat. Once you get full length and full width shavings, you board is very, very close to FLAT. Check with the straight edge and winding sticks. Correct as necessary. Finish up with the smoothing plane (#4 or # 4-1/2). Use the scraper on gnarly grain that gives your smoother a hard time, but be careful not to scrape a dip into the wood. Part 1 of 6, complete.

Mark this face as your reference face. All other measurements of square, etc., will come from this face.

Select one long edge, and use the #5 to roughly flatten/smooth it, and then use the #7/#8 to make it straight and square to the reference face. Mark this edge as your reference edge. Part 2 of 6, complete.

Use the reference edge and the try/combination square to mark one of the short edges square. You can use the #5 to plane to rough plane it flat and square to both the reference face and edge -- if the short edge is 4 to 6 or more inches wide; if not, then start with the LA block plane. (Chamfering the edges down to your cutting line will reduce tear out on the corner edges; alternative methods are to clamp a sacrificial piece of wood to the edge and let it tear out instead of your board, or to plane in from each outside edge.) Use the LA block plane to clean it up. Mark the other short edge to the desired length (saw it to rough length, if necessary) and do the same thing to the other short edge. Parts 3 and 4 of 6, complete.

Use your combination square or a marking/panel gauge to mark the other (unplaned) long edge to the desired finished width. As you did for the reference long edge, use the #5 to roughly smooth it down almost to the cutting line, and then use the #7/#8 to make it straight and square to the reference face. Check for straight and square to the reference face and to the 2 short edges. All 4 edges should now be square to the reference face and square to each other. Part 5 of 6, complete.

Use your marking gauge, basing off the reference face, to mark the thickness of your board around all 4 edges. Flip the board over to the unplaned face and use the scrub plane to plane down almost to the marked reference lines (The bottoms of the troughs should be about 1/16 inch above the cutting line). Use the #5, and the #7 or #8, as before on the reference face to make this face flat and square. Finish up with the smoothing plane and, as necessary, the scraper. Part 6 of 6, complete.

At this time, you should have a board with 2 flat, smooth, and parallel faces, 4 flat and square edges (long edges parallel to each other, as well as short edges parallel to each other, and all 4 edges square to the two faces and to each other), and of the required thickness, length, and width, ready for whatever needs to be done next.

The first board you do by hand will take what seems like an inordinately long time, but with just a little bit of practice, it becomes nearly as fast as -- and often faster than -- putting a board through a jointer, thickness planer, and sanding sequence.

If you have a shooting board, you can use it to assist with steps 2, 3, 4, and 5.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

Keep your plane irons SHARP!!

If you have only a couple of planes, open the mouth up for the initial rougher planing, and close the mouth for the finer, finish planing.

Let the plane do the work -- don't force it.

Skewing the plane often helps to reduce tear out and makes planing easier.

Try to keep the amount of wood removed from each face roughly equal; otherwise any internal stresses present may cause the board to warp or cup again, after you have put all that work and effort into making it flat.

Expect to get a good upper body work out!

The listed sequence is not the only sequence that this can be done in, but it works quite well.

Good luck, and have fun! There's nothing quite like the sense of accomplishment you get when you have taken a piece of rough lumber and turned it into a nicely finished, dimensioned board using only hand-powered tools, ready for the next step in building your project.

[Jake Darvall]

and stand like a boxer....and don't forget to grunt. Grunting always helps.:D;)

Something I personally thinks most important is you take a moment to check the grain before you make passes on all faces/edges.

Just crank your neck over a bit and eyeball the grain along the surface perpendicular to the surface or planing. You should be able to sight where tearout problems will occur going in certain directions....you always want to ride the waves.

ie. stop yourself from tearing out before it happens.

You read like this all day long and you learn without thought how to approach any board. Reading grain, is the most important technique in woodwork (IMO)It applys everywhere. Not just hand planing. .....jointer/thicknesser.....chiseling sometimes....scraping even.....

[Marcus Ward]

And put some wax on the bottom of that plane, holy smokes what a difference that makes.

[Jake Darvall]

agree....what I feels better lately is that camilia oil the japanese use.

For a long time I thought it one of those unnecessary things people try and sell to you. And so expensive.....but I saw the stuff in a much larger bottle in the health food section of the local supermart. Fraction of the price as it is the woodworking catalogs.

I filled up an old spray bottle full of the stuff. Give the sole a squirt and wipe over quickly. Brilliant. The only resistances you feel is that from the blade. Know exactly how sharp the blade is then. Use it for everything now, cause it doesn't stain up my hands, like WD-40 does.