wrote in message
ups.com...

4: I was trying to prep some 5/4 wood which was wider then my 6"
jointer. So I thought I'd run it through the planner instead. The
pieces were about 8" x 20". The wood was not flat so I tried to use my
hand planes to flatten one side. I was not getting satisfactory
results with my Stanely 4 or 5. I don't have a scrub plane but would
that have been the correct one to use in this situation?


yes.

I think that in a historical context the No 5, a jack plane, with the iron
ground with a radius rather than flat would be the tool of choice for the
initial flattening. After that a jointer plane and then a smoother... or in
the case of the OP, perhaps right to the thickness planner to do the off
side and then smooth up the side flattened with the jack plane. I have to
wonder if the OP was using winding sticks and straight edges to assist in
flattening the initial side of the board?

The scrub is useful for the initial flattening of a piece of rough cut
lumber, or for taking high spots off dimensioned framing lumber in
construction, but beyond that you wouldn't have anything resembling a smooth
surface.

John