In making an instrument, rigth after choosing the wood is of course cutting it and preparing for gluing. Many people tend to use electric wood planers. And most of the time, there is nothing wrong with that. But still, I prefer to do it by hand every time I start a new instrument. Does it take more time? Sure it does. If one is looking for working fast probably electric bandsaws and wood planers is way to go. But I don’t mind taking more time to do something. Its a bit more time I can use to think through the whole process.To evaluate wood structure, to figure out best placement. Let’s remember wood is an organic structure and its never perfectly even. With hand planes I can make micro adjustments that will allow me to align grains and fibers in the best possible manner. Additionally, working with a hand I can feel how hard, how dense this particular piece of wood is. It gives me more information that I can use in further steps, when creating the arching or when making thicknesses.