I found a hand plane at the thrift store. I think this is a #4 smoothing plane, which I hope to use for finishing. But before that, it's quite clear that I'm going to have to clean this up a bit by removing the rust and making it look a bit prettier.
Any advice y'all have for how I might start restoring this?
Fun fact, which does not alter the advice given here in any way: glass isn't that flat.
It can vary in thickness and flatness between .0005 and .005 inches.
So like, still the flattest cheapest thing you can buy. It would 100% work in this application. But if you want flat flat. You gotta start grinding. One could, were on so inclined, take two sheets of glass, and rub them together with a dollop of lapping compound between them until a rubbing fluid test shows no high spots.
Then you take a third pane of glass, and give it the same treatment with the other two.
Once you've done this enough, you'll have three of the flattest pieces of material a person can have in the home shop, and just about as flat as anything you'd get in a scientific setting. And you'll only have a handful of cuts and calluses, and the insanity you suffer will be very mild.
Will it be worth it? No. Will it be fun? No. Will anyone at the party care? Turns out also no.
Anyway yeah a piece of glass would work great