I was just wondering how many of you use a jointer plane on a regular basis for things like flattening the face of long boards. For example, suppose you had a large project coming up like making a dining room table top or large headboard. Would you do all of the prep work for those types of projects by hand, or would you bring in the power?
As a secondary question, are the old stanley #7s (with a replacement blade and chip breaker) as good as the modern premium makers? I currently have an old stanley that is in decent shape that i picked up on the auction site a few years ago. I upgraded the blade and chip breaker because what it came with seemed worse for wear. It seems to work ok, but I can't help but wonder from those that have used both old and new if there is a significant difference in upgrading - especially given the significant price tag for a new jointer from a modern premium maker.