: Yes, you need to learn how to use a plane. Yes, you need to learn how to
: sharpen it. Yes, there are some places that a plane won't work great. Yes,
: you will need to spend a little time sharpening your plane before you use
: it. You can say exactly the same for a scraper.

I used planes professionally for 3 years reproducing 17th & 18th century windows and doors.

I agree boat builders need to know how to sharpen and use a block plane FOR the purpose it was intended, trimming end grain. For strippers this means fitting strip ends. If a novice’s edge is less than perfect they will still be able to get by as long as they go with the grain.

There is NO comparison between the ease of holding a scraper to a belt sander to sharpen and the time and skill needed to learn consistent sharpening of a plane or chisel edge.

I give specific information on how to sharpen, how to tell if it's sharp, how to hold and use the scraper in my instruction book. I suggest only using the scraper to remove glue not trying fair the hull. Wood grain direction is a non-issue with a scraper. The DEEPEST gouge or chatter of a scraper is insignificant to the damage done with a sharp plane going against the grain.

You talk about sharp blades and well tuned planes. You talk about stones and jigs for sharpening in your book but I don't see any specific sharpening instructions. Did I miss something? The novice sure did if you didn't provide this. Using a sharp plane is the lynch pin of your whole block plane fairing argument.

I know you a Spidey are in love with your planes, hey that's great!

Give the novices a break though.

Hey if they want to go off road with you guys and they know they have the option to sand, I say, "get muddy!"

But I hear people having difficulty with their planes and even Ted Moores, who is the originator of this fairing technique, admits some people are going to have real problems with using a block plane for fairing.

The sanding with a ROS is non-issue. You tell'em to go at it with 80 grit and say hold it flat and keep it moving. That's all you need to know.

I'm just suggesting you should face the truth that some novices are going to have a hell of a time and should just sand. Ted has.

This is why I don't even go there.

Rob