Am I being too picky (AKA, how "flat" is flat enough)?

[jamie]

Don't Do it! Groz, Anant, and the "contractor" grade of Stanelys are all uniformly junk. They're OK as an expensive paperweight, but that's all. If you're sure that you want to work wood with handtools/powertools or handtools only, you're far better off saving the cash to get a Lie-Nielsen or a Lee Valley, even if that means fewer planes for now.

If you're OK with a bit of metal work and are willing to learn how to "fettle" a plane, you can get a pre WWII Stanely, Keen Kutter, Union-Chapin or Millers Falls plane for not a lot of money, replace the blade with a Hock, spend a few hours flattening the sole and the back of the blade, and you're in business.

You can make a workbench without a vise. There's a common misconception out there that "you have to have a bench to build a bench", and it's not true. You do have to have some way to immobilize pieces of wood so that you can use a long plane (a #7, a #8, or even a #6) to straighten the edges well enough to go through a table saw, but that can be done with 2 good Bessey clamps. All it takes is some relatively immobile object that's about waist height - a deck or porch railing, for example.

Thanks for the info on the groz (should the be pronounced "gross" then?). I figured that they were too good to be true.

As far as immobile, about the best choice for me is my table saw...

 

[dkeller_nc]

Thanks for the info on the groz (should the be pronounced "gross" then?). I figured that they were too good to be true.

As far as immobile, about the best choice for me is my table saw...

You may have a tough time with the table saw. The next best way to do this is to build a "planing beam" like the Japanese use. One supports the beam on a simple trestle, screws in a stop to one end, then you place the piece to be planed on it against the stop. The force of planing keeps it against the stop.

However, the first thing I'd encourage you to do is see if there's a member around Charlotte that uses hand-planes and is willing to show you the basics of sharpening and use.

My guess is that there's quite a few members around the area that would perfectly happy to show you how, and might even have a jointer that they'd be willing to use to process one edge of your load of SYP for a small fee to cover the wear&tear on the jointer knives.

 

[Jeff]

Jamie, you also might consider a "New Fangled Workbench" originally made by FWW's shop editor John White. The design is really flexible in terms of length, width, and height to suit what you want and your work style. :icon_cheers

White's design is made from Douglas Fir (2 x 10s and 2 x 12s) ripped into 3-4 1/2" strips. It has relatively few, but small knots if any. I used pocket hole screws and no glue to assemble mine a few years ago. It's been very versatile for me and it seems that I'm always finding new ways to use it.
The planing board is a really handy addition which works nicely for vertically holding and shaping tenons. You can see John's video and get general plans at Taunton's FWW.

Just a thought en passant!