Planing & Connectedness
Frank Mutchler
>I recently acquired a (carefully) used low-angle smoother (big thank you to Chris S.) and had the chance to use it this week to plane some glued-up cherry panels for a kitchen cabinet job. I'll say right up front that I will usually sand everything: stiles, rails, panels, face frames, etc. The reason for this is because I still have not stopped long enough to build a proper workbench and am using a bench that, to put it kindly, doesn't encourage the use of planes.
Well, the reason for my post is not to ramble on but to state unequivocally what most of you already know which is, IMO, that there is a world of difference between a planed panel and one sanded to 220g. The cherry panels that I planed were glass smooth and irridescent; a real joy to gaze into. The sanded ones looked good and they certainly were smooth, period. Whenever I finally finish my bench I will be planing much, if not all, of the bits & pieces of whatever project I'm doing.
The pleasure of buying and collecting planes, while quite a high, pales in comparison to the sense of 'connectedness' I feel when using them and learning from them.
