Learning how to thickness stock with hand tools was one of those things that opened my eyes to the use of hand planes....I was finally able to get away from purchasing stock already milled, freeing me to use material with the thickness of my choice....it also lead to lots of work...but it really is not that hard, and for me it is very rewarding, and also quiet and peaceful...this work took about 30 minutes total to thickness and surface about three board feet of curly maple...from 15/16ths to 9/16. So it does take a few minutes to do, but by the same token is not much slower than using a thickness planer, once you fiddle with all the settings and make test cuts. I also feel the planes leave a better surface than their electric counterparts.....

 

 

The process begins with a look at the tools....towards the back, a set of store-bought winding sticks...which serve here as straightedges....the planes are, from closest to farthest...a scrub plane, a #5 , a shop made wooden smoother ( which I love ) and a Clifton #3, the stock I am working with now is short enough to be jointed with the #5, for longer stock you'll need a #7 or #8...and finally a marking gauge, mine is the wheeled flavor.

 

 

Once the stock has had one face flattened really well, (and it does need to be flat as you can make it) set your marking gauge to the desired thickness and run it around the stock with the fence held against the flat face, since your marking the thickness of the stock from the previously flattened face,  errors with be mirrored, you will have a board that has consistent thickness...but will be bowed or twisted, so it does pay to work carefully flattening the first face, check often with the straight edge and the winding sticks....the photo shows the lines left by the marking gauge, I darkened them with a pencil for the picture, normally I just work off the gauge lines....

 

 

Now all that's left to do, is to take the stock to the lines left by the marking gauge, the plane of choice here is the scrub plane, I am not sure if the picture shows it well, but the plane is worked on the diagonally to the grain, the result is the scalloped surface shown in the photo, the scrub plane removes material very quickly, so I check often as I work making sure to remove material as evenly as I can, and I try to get within a 32nd or so to the gauge line, although sometimes its not possible due to the tearout the scrub plane is prone to leave...

 

Switching now from the scrub plane to the #5 set for a really heavy cut will quickly remove the marks left by the scrub plane, leaving the surface somewhat smooth and level, if you notice in the photo the stock is a bit thicker on one side than the other, just remove shavings on the high side until things look even, then continue to work the whole surface down until your just a tiny bit from the gauged line, here also is where having two planes will come in handy, the first #5 is set for a really coarse cut, if not taking out the scrub plane marks would take forever, once gone, switch to another plane that is set for a finer cut, which will allow more control over stock removal and will also leave a smoother almost glossy surface.

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the stock, that shows the point where I switch planes from the #5 to a smoother, usually a Clifton #3 and/or my shop made Japanese style plane, the pencil lines at the top of the stock are nearly gone, and there is a just a tiny bit of stock left to remove, the gossamer thin shavings taken by the smoothers will bring the stock to its final thickness a few thou at a time. I will stop and check my progress with straight edges and winding sticks, even a set of dial calipers if need be, just to make sure the work is as close as I can make....

 

 

 

  

 

The stock here is showing one of the signs that the proper thickness is being approached, the little wisp of stock that is sticking up, is one side of the V that is left by the marking gauge, once that point has been reached another pass or two with the smoother will reach the center point of the V and the stock will be left at just the right thickness....As a side note before making the last few passes over the stock take the time to re-hone your planes cutter as it will make a tremendous difference in the clarity of the finished surface.