Plane Meaning

The plane arrived yesterday but didn't get picked up until this afternoon.

After checking it out, I ran out to the hardware store to pick up a few supplies to get the plane ready for use. I bought a small sheet of acrylic (for a flat surface), some 220 grit sandpaper, tape, and a marker. The idea is to mark the sole (bottom) of the plane and then sand it with the 220 grit paper. As the sole flattens, the marks disappear. The visible marker indicates low spots. This will take a bit of work, but already the sole is in better condition than when I unwrapped it this afternoon.

Here is the sole sanding station in a corner of the kitchen.



You can see the black marks on the sole of the plane before I started the process (Should have taken a better picture of that!). And here is what it looks like after perhaps 20 minutes of sanding.



The "iron" or blade will definitely take some work, but I am told there is no such thing as "too sharp" when it comes to planes. This blade is no where near "sharp enough" let alone "too sharp!" I did, however, test the blade (I just could not resist) on a piece of the western red cedar, and it worked as is! I can only imagine what it will be like when the blade is sharpened!