This might be a little long-winded.
I have a couple desks I've been working on for about 8 months off and on as I've had time. (From Becksvoort FW 1990). Anyway, I've learned a lot in the process, its my first attempt at a "real" freestanding piece of furniture other than bookshelves and stuff.
So I've hit the point where I need to do some final smoothing on some sections including the tops. I have one in maple and one in cherry. In the maple I have a mix of regular maple and birds eye. The cherry is better behaved but there is one decorative knot that will be in the front that is tricky grain-wise. My #3 bedrock with PMV11 blade isn't cutting it for avoiding tear-out. Freshly honed it does well in some of the areas but not everything. Same with Stanley 4 1/2.
I want to get this right so here are my options I think, which if it involves money then fine, I want a long term solution.
Veritas "small" BU smoother - in stock later this week
Veritas BU smoother - out of stock end of Sept
LN #4 with 50 or 55 degree frog
Something like an HNT Gordon smoother with 55-60 degree pitch - https://hntgordon.com.au/collections...moothing-plane
Bespoke coffin smoother - I'd love this but can't deal with the wait time and probably not the price range I want right now.
As a "right now" solution I have the following:
scraper
regrind the bevel on my veritas #7 or #5 BU planes (45-50 degrees?) - could I get good results with the low angle jack with adjustable mouth?
regrind the bevel on my LN adjustable mouth block plane
random orbit sander
Any advice?