I had to do a fair amount of practice on sacrificial wood before my skills were
up to taking a panel rough to finish with a hand plane. Even now I'd be
challenged to do it with a single plane. And there's been a lot of sharpening
and tuning to learn besides.

Typically I start with a scrub plane (stanley 40) then to a jointer (stanley 7)
and then to a wide smoother (stanley 4 1/2).

Though a jack plane (stanley 5) would be the plane that could do it all but it
would be more work and take more skill.

I'd suggest you belt sand your countertop. Then contemplate your opening of the
pandora's box of handplaning.

David



In article , Fred says...

Hello, I'm working with a solid wood countertop for a vanity -it's
1-1/8 x 18" x 28". I've glues up 3 boards to make this, and now want
to plane it flat.

I only have one hand plane, and it's a cheap one from harbor freight.

Seeing as how I spend $45 on this lumber, I'd really like to avoid
mistakes.

Would you kind folks please offer me some suggestions on which type of
plane I need to flatten this?

Lowes is the only box store I've found that offers hand planes, but
'#4' doesn't mean anything to me....

Thanks in advance for your advice!
Fred