Hey all,

I'm fairly new to woodworking. Been only doing it for 6 months. Been moving through different techniques with different tools and now I've moved onto planes. My current project is 2 nightstands. A few weeks ago I decided to purchase a new hand planer. I bought a Stanley sweetheart #4. I've had some old planers, but they were nothing special and didn't want to restore them. As I use it more and more, I find myself REALLY enjoying it.

I decided I wanted to plane all the pieces I made for the nightstands and I'm just not I'm doing it right. They're walnut and I tend to get some tear out. Is it because the blade isn't sharp enough?

Sorry if this is a really noob question but hand planes are completely new to me haha.

So heres a few of my questions w/ pictures.

1 ) Compared to the planers I had, the blade was pretty damn sharp out of the box. I've been using that since. Right now I only have a 1000 grit stone, but would like to buy a 16,000 grit glass stone. Is that to big of a jump between the both? I read a review that someone said they just used 1000 - 16000 and that worked great.

2) I was thinking about getting a Lie Nielsen low angle plane for my second one. ( save up for it ) If I'm mostly making cabinets/furniture 24 inches long about would it be better to use that, then use the #4 after?

3) I had one piece come out pretty nicely, and compared to just sanding.. the grain, and wood pops just so much more. But with my sides now, I seem to be getting some tear out around the knots, or in certain spots. It's kinda hard to see, but how would I fix that? Maybe the blade just isn't sharp enough?
You can see here..
http://i.imgur.com/rWysnyD.jpg

4) This box I had made for my dad ( fathers day ). Just kinda a random question, but could you plane a top like that?
http://i.imgur.com/Cf5qHmO.jpg

5) Is the #4 plane good enough for a finished look?

From what I read, you want the mouth closed kinda tight for a more finished look, and for knots. Right?

Anyways, just some of the random questions I have. I'm starting to obsess with the planers now compared to sanding and want to be on the right track.

Here's a picture of the piece that came out pretty nicely with only a few visible marks.
http://i.imgur.com/xUari8o.jpg


thanks