Reply To: Hand planing cherry stiles and rails

Great advice from Ed above, both technically and the trick with the denatured alcohol. I used a variant of that – merhylated spirits I think you might call it – to help tame some of the end grain in the base. It can make a gigantic difference on end grain.

Good eye @ed – the sides of the top were done with a number 18 and the front and back with a number 16, then some work with a curved card scraper. Hard to see in the picture, but I also used a kinda/sorta #2 ish scratch stock for a tiny hollow to blend the step where the base meets the carcass