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I do mill a lot of stock by hand but I'll be the first one to say that I won't get rid of my power planer (in fact I'm buying a new, bigger one). The planer is the only power tool I have left in fact. Being able to mill a board by hand is a fundamental skill that can save your bacon many times but it is hard work and not very exciting. In other words it can get old real fast when you are hankering to get into the joinery phase. That being said, I am the owner of a Veritas scrub plane and it is a a beautiful tool. I did not buy it however as it was a Christmas gift from my MIL about 6 or 7 years ago. I would not have bought it on my own and that is because a scrub plane is such a rough tool that the sole doesn't have to be anywhere near flat and the mouth MUST be wide open to accommodate the thick shavings. So the tolerances of the new scrub planes are just major overkill when you can spend $20 on a boat anchor vintage 4 or 5 and camber the iron and go to work.
Now to the other hidden point in this question. Scrub or Fore plane? The scrub is a continental tool in origin while the Fore is all English. The Fore is longer and heavier and great for milling boards quickly. The scrub will work too, but with a shorter sole it won't flatten as well as it rides the hills and valleys. With a heavy cut this can ameliorated but the smaller footprint means less mass and therefore you have to work harder to take the heavier cut. So really if you actually plane to mill lumber by hand the Fore is probably the better choice. The scrub has other uses though like quickly reducing the width of a board when you are wide by an inch or so.
A strong case can be made for either plane. I have both and use them pretty equally. If I can get any point across though it is that you don't need to drop the cash on a new version of either since the tolerances are really not important. Buy vintage and revive a little history!
Now to the other hidden point in this question. Scrub or Fore plane? The scrub is a continental tool in origin while the Fore is all English. The Fore is longer and heavier and great for milling boards quickly. The scrub will work too, but with a shorter sole it won't flatten as well as it rides the hills and valleys. With a heavy cut this can ameliorated but the smaller footprint means less mass and therefore you have to work harder to take the heavier cut. So really if you actually plane to mill lumber by hand the Fore is probably the better choice. The scrub has other uses though like quickly reducing the width of a board when you are wide by an inch or so.
A strong case can be made for either plane. I have both and use them pretty equally. If I can get any point across though it is that you don't need to drop the cash on a new version of either since the tolerances are really not important. Buy vintage and revive a little history!
