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Tried using a hand plane to flatten a butcher block countertop and it backfired | Diy Projects - HW Forums

Tried using a hand plane to flatten a butcher block countertop and it backfired

Honestly I thought I could save $200 by skipping the drum sander and just using my old Stanley hand plane. Spent 4 hours on a Saturday shaving off high spots on a 6 foot walnut countertop. The finish came out wavy and uneven, looked like a roller coaster. I ended up renting a belt sander from the hardware store for $40 and fixed it in 45 minutes. Learned that hand planes are great for small stuff but not for big flat surfaces unless you really know what you're doing. Has anyone else tried using hand tools on a big project and regretted it?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivan_hayes293mo ago

Man, that sounds rough. Four hours is a long time to put into something and get a result like that. I feel your pain on that one, I've been there with a different project and wasted a whole Saturday before admitting defeat. It's tough to let go of that "I can do it with just hand tools" mindset, especially when you see all those videos online of people making it look easy. But like you said, unless you've got years of practice and a perfectly tuned plane, big flat surfaces are just brutal with hand tools. Belt sander was probably the right call though, sometimes you just gotta use the power tool for the big stuff and save the hand plane for final touches.

hunt.rowan3mo ago

Wait, you really kept at it for 4 hours before giving up? I gotta say, I used to be one of those guys who thought hand tools were always the better choice, like it was some kind of moral victory over power tools. Then I tried to flatten a big maple tabletop with a scrub plane and a no. 7 jointer, spent an entire weekend on it, and the thing still looked like a topographical map. I ended up with a sore back and a wavy mess just like you, had to hit it with an orbital sander for hours to fix it. That experience really changed my mind, I think hand planes are great for fitting doors or trimming edges but for big flat surfaces you really need the right tool for the job or you'll just be fighting it the whole time.