Not Woodturning -- Wood Planing!

So, I didn't try to get to the lathe this past weekend...to much going on. Last night I went out to the shop, but realized I didn't have any blanks ready to turn....bummmer. Didn't have time to cut some up and turn, but I did remember I had found a slab of wood that I have been saving for about 2 years.

It's from my parents house in KS. My dad and I cut it up about 9 months before they moved here to Iowa. I wanted to get some wood from there to make a table or bench out of. I had thoughts of building a router sled to flatten it, but with my new found addiction to hand planes, I decided I should use KP's planes to do the flattening...(plus who wants to take the time to build a router sled?) Plus, the sound of the plane cutting the wood is almost as satifying as watching curlies fly off the lathe!

The results from about an hour of work are below. The first two pics are of what will be the top of the table. 

The next two pics are of what will be the underside of the table.

So...I've been off the crutches for a full week know. Still have the boot to wear for another week or so and then I will be looking for all my right shoes. I've been doing some cleaning in the garage preparing to get back to the lathe, maybe even this weekend.

Besides that, I  haven't done much in the shop at all. Two weeks ago I tuned up my Stanley No.7 jointer plane. I spent about 2 hrs sitting in the shop bringing my grandpa's No.7 back to life. I didn't take off all the grime/rust off the whole thing, just the parts that matter because I wanted it to keep some of it's character that grandpa had provided it. The plane hadn't been used for at least a decade, or more likely 20 years. I put some steel wool to the wooden parts and rubbed some paste wax on them to shine em up. Flattened the back of the blade, used a honing guide and sandpaper to sharpen it up (only to 800 grit so far). Then I took a brass wire brush to the japaning, sandpaper and steel wool followed by paste wax to the sides and the sole. Against my better judgement and doctor orders I stood up and put some weight on my right heel (not the whole foot) and made some curlies with it. I just had too!