I've only recently incorporated hand planes into my building routine. Prior, I used power tools for dimensioning and then various levels of sanding (belt, ROS, hand, drum, etc.) to prep the surface for finishing. After reading (and appreciating) a few James Krenov books I looked forward to replacing as much sanding with hand planing as possible.
I've recently noticed a number of posts here on the Creek that mention going from a smoothing plane to sand paper. Is this typical? Do you find it necessary to sand after a smoothing plane? Or do you do this because you don't trust the hand planed surface?
Am I naive to think that a beginner hand plane user could do away with sanding those flat surfaces that a smoothing plane excels at?
Thanks,
Mike