Bought a 29 dollar 9 inch wood planer from Home Depot. Checked it to see how flatbthe sole was. It was pretty much a soup bowl. This is why good tools cost a small fortune. The planer was pretty much useless. Since I am learning how to hand scrape, this made the perfect project. I am working the front half of the soul first, then I will match the back half to the front. 3 days of chasing my tail, and I think I finally have a surface I can work with. When I am done the friction level between sole and wood should be mich lower and the wax should stay in place longer. I am turning a 29 dollar cheap ass Chinese plane into an expensive American made plane. At 120 an gour for the going scraping rate, this would be about 1000 dollar plane when all said and done. The sides and sole will be flat to at least 0.0001in – 0.0005in perpendicularity of sides with sole will be right up there as well.
