Vent: Tried using a hand plane to flatten a butcher block, ended up with a canoe paddle

I was making a 24x60 inch butcher block countertop for my sister's lake house in New Hampshire. Figured I'd save time and skip the drum sander, just use my old Stanley No. 5 hand plane to get it flat after glue-up. Three hours in, I had shavings everywhere and the block looked more like a surfboard than a flat surface. Turns out, I was taking off way more material on the edges than the middle without even realizing it. Had to run the whole thing through a buddy's planer and lost about 1/8 inch of thickness to fix my mess. Anyone else get humbled by a hand plane thinking you could do it the old-school way?

2 comments

2 Comments

cameronb521mo ago

Three hours in I had shavings everywhere" reminds me of the time I tried sharpening a drill bit by hand.

janab821mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that brings back memories. I tried sharpening a drill bit by hand once too and it was a total disaster. I spent a good hour just spinning it around on a stone, trying to get the angle right, and ended up with this weird lopsided point that wouldn't cut through butter. The shavings were everywhere, all over my workbench and floor, and I was so frustrated I just bought a new set of bits instead. Did you ever manage to get yours working decently after all that effort?