Yesterday, I had neander nirvana.
After doing a dental presentation for two large groups of second graders, I went to my workshop for the first time in months.
I found my Craigslist unidentified Japanese hand plane...
There was my sushi chef friend's parent's 30-40 year old cutting board (3 feet x 16 in x 2 in thick slab of wood) that was warped about 14 mm each side.
I figured...what the heck?
A few hours later, I got the board in usable shape.
It was really amazing to see pitted, fuzzy, uneven wood start to look better than new!
All I used was the no-name plane, a Mujinfang polishing plane, and a stray fretboard blank as a leveling stick...and a Blum workbench and bench dog...no router sled. No electric planer. No micrometer. No apron. Not much noise or dust. Just glorious shavings. My dust control was a broom and a horsehair brush...and the winds of freedom.
Now I totally get it.
-Matt
ps. Thanks for putting up with my silliness in the meantime. Stressing over what steel, what's cheaper, etc. Most of my former posts were pretty pointless.
pps. What do you guys find as your moments of Neander nirvana?