Originally Posted by
Warren Mickley
Yes, Clifford, I suspect that all they were doing with the planes was skimming off a little wood between machine work and sanding. In other words they were just covering up their methods.
When we use a trying plane to make a nice flat surface we use winding sticks and straightedge to test the work. This yields very precise results.
When they planed they used sloppy strokes, kind of in an arc, and also a lot of partial strokes. This kind of stuff will show up in the work unless you sand it to get rid of all the evidence.
For a fine planed surface, you want all full length straight passes.