help with thumbnails

Karl,

Yup.  Any excuse to buy another tool is good enough--but you really don't need another plane for this job.  For instance, I own only one panel raising plane, and it does just fine around all four sides.  As always, there are some things you can do to avoid problems.

First and foremost:  SHARP!  A truly sharp iron will eliminate many problems.  Learning what a really sharp iron is and how to get it that way are necessary skills for hand tool users.

To get rid of tear out at the edge of the profile--assuming your plane doesn't have a nicker--you can use a SHARP marking knife or utility knife to cut the grain at what will be the inside edge of the profile.  Once you have used a knife to get a good edge on the wood there shouldn't be any further tear out.  This is really necessary only on the cross-grain ends; the plane alone should do fine on the long grain sides.

As for end grain, again a sharp iron and the plane set to take a very fine cut will cure most ails.  Tear out at the end of the cross-grain cut will cease to be a problem if you begin making the profile by going across one of the ends and then work clock-wise around the panel.  That way any tear out won't matter because you will plane it away when you go down the long-grain side.

One other thing:  because molding profile irons are more difficult to sharpen than a straight iron, if you remove as much wood as you can with another plane--a plough plane or rabbet plane for example--you'll save yourself a lot of time sharpening the molding plane iron.

ALERT:  As you may already have realized, obtaining and using hand tools is highly addictive; like all addicts you will want to get more, more, and still more.  You have been warned.

Alan