I tuned my late-model Stanley #4 plane. I used the Veritas MkII honing guide for the blade (top) and wet/dry sandpaper from 220 up to 2000 grit on a granite surface plate. I used the standard 25-degree bevel and did not put a microbevel on it. To tune the plane, I worked over the frog with a file and very carefully lined it up as best I could. It is really only half-tuned, but I had no problem cutting ribbons .004″ thick (four thousandths of an inch, about the same as a piece of notebook paper) out of a piece of poplar. In the top left of the picture you can see some lace-looking stuff that is a .002″ thick strip. The poplar is too coarse to be cut that thin and when you try only half of what you get is actually wood. I’ll try it again with maple and see what I can get. I don’t have very long curls off the plane but the board I was using was barely longer than the plane.

I also scratched up the sole of the plane a little to see how flat it was, it was flat enough that I didn’t worry about it.

I’m getting ready to cut some hardwood for trim so I’m going to use this plane on a shooting board for final trimming.

I’ve been eating my jalapeños all summer, pretty much as soon as they turn red. They’re really tasty and not even hot if you wait until they’re fully red. I also planted a habanero in one of the planters at work, and we’ve been watching it grow all summer. It’s had a lot of peppers, but none of them have any color. I finally gave up and started eating them anyway, first one by itself and then another with a salad at lunch. Without a doubt those things are painfully hot. I’ve been very careful to eat the outside and mostly stay away from the inner web that holds the seeds, but even still just a little goes a long, long way. By the numbers jalapeños are 2,000-10,000 scoville units, while habaneros are 200,000-300,000, or 20-150 times hotter. They are very good, just a little too hot.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habanero
The Scoville scale