So this blog has turned into Zen and the Art of Building a Parlor Guitar! It's as much about my internal process as it is about building techniques. Oh well, I'll continue...
I had another go at planing the Australian Cedar soundboard. I found a better work surface, this time one that was properly flat and true and it made a big difference. I used my home-made jack plane. I spent a little time setting the iron for a fine cut. I also found that I was putting too much downward force on the handle. I put more pressure on the front and it made a difference. Much less wooliness to the surface and I got nice shavings. What a relief that it was now working well. I suspect that if I do more work on properly sharpening the iron that it will work even more smoothly. I haven't used this plane much in the past and I think it needs a bit more tuning but I'm pleased that it actually works. I'm also going to try and smooth out some of the rough edges on the body of the plane as I was getting blisters. Probably needs some fine shaping, sanding and buffing.