I was thinking about the difference between a jointer (powered) and a plane. A jointer has the outfeed table level with the blade so that as the work passes over the blade and onto the outfeed table, if the operator uses good technique to keep the board flat on the outfeed table, the board pretty much has to come out FLAT.
A hand plane on the other hand isn't built that way. It has a projecting blade. So unless the sole of the plane is extraordinarily long, how can you get a perfectly machined straight board? Just for grins, I was using a tiny hand plane to plane the edge of a board and found that no matter how hard I tried, the small plane "unflattened" the straight edge I started with. The more passes, the worse it got. How long of a plane do you need to get a perfectly flat result on say a 2' board? a 6' board? Is it MOSTLY technique, or do you have to have a reference straight edge and keep checking your work constantly as you plane? OR do you just take a few light passes over an essentially flat board to start with, and know that it is flat? In other words, when I use the jointer, I KNOW it's flat. I don't have to check it. Can I do the same thing with a plane, or do you have to stop, eyeball it with a reference straight-edge, and then touch it up an little here, a little there?
Lay it on me, WW gods! :)
dave