Caught myself flattening plywood panels with a hand plane for years, then a buddy asked one question
I mean, I've been in the trade for about 12 years now, mostly doing custom kitchens and built-ins. Every time I got a 3/4 inch plywood panel that was slightly cupped, I'd grab my trusty No. 5 plane and start working the high spots, thinking I was being meticulous. Took me 45 minutes on a big pantry unit last Tuesday, and my arms were shot. My buddy Dave from the shop next door saw me doing it and just said, 'Why don't you just run it through the jointer, or better yet, pick a flatter sheet?' I felt like an idiot. I'd been fighting the material instead of working with it, and honestly, the fibers on plywood don't plane clean anyway, they tear out at the face veneer. Now I check the grain direction and the sheet's twist before I even set up, and I use a sacrificial backer board if I have to plane edges. Has anyone else spent years on some redundant habit that a simple question fixed? Just curious if it's a common thing in this trade.