Planing

After the rough milling, the final step to prepare the wood for joinery is planing all six surfaces.  This involves making sure all the edges are square and straight, while at the same time the boards must be planed to the exact width and length needed.  Although the boards have already been milled, stress from the drying process causes them to warp, so by the time I use them, they are not flat anymore.  To do this I start with my jointer plane, the longest plane I own.  The length allows me to flatten the boards, as the bottom rides across the valleys much like how a large ship is better in rough water than a shorter boat.  With all the faces squared up, I move on to my smooth plane, which I use to smooth all the surfaces, and make sure they are tear-out free.  This is a long process, even with this size of a project.  If I was woodworking professionally, I would have to buy an electric planer and jointer which would serve the same purpose, but would allow me to work much faster.  Although hand planing is the traditional method, it is very inefficient, and time is money.

 This board is bowed: