Aha! Understood. Well, there are 2 practical alternatives for planing that:
A 'bench plane' of some sort - a number 4, 5, or 6.
If it's all assembled and difficult to 'get at', a block plane is essentially a smaller, handier version of any of the above - the larger ones are easier to keep 'square and straight' if you're new to planing by hand.
Having said all that:
Buying a budget plane is a gamble: with luck, it can be made to work pretty darn well if (a) it's not fundamentally 'unreparable' (eg a badly bowed sole), and (b) you are happy with what you're doing.
Given your questions, without being rude in any way, I doubt that you feel confident enough to identify situation (a), or get stuck in a la (b)...
In addition, you are faced in this particular situation with the issue of planing with the grain of one piece, over cross grain on another - which is ok, but not what I'd want to attack as my 'intro' on a piece I'd made: risk of tearing up the cross piece.
My personal advice would be to go with your decision on the project: another solution, much as some may deride me, is a random orbit sander, which will not mess up grain, but can be a long slow process.
However, in answer to your final question: you should start with 2 planes:
A good block plane. I'd buy this one:
http://www.brimarc.com/home.php3?page=products&pc=C_106_22_2
Yes - I know it's more than you wanted to spend... (like twice...
), but, trust me, if you look after it, this plane will last your life time, and you will never fault its performance.
And a good bench plane. Opinions differ, but I'd look at a number 4, or 5, either from Clifton, or again from Veritas. Again, I do appreciate that this is more than you wanted/have to spend, but - and I'm sure others will agree (some, anyway :roll: ) these are 'mid-price' but 'top-drawer' tools. They are made by people who know what they're doing and value your custom. If you get a dud (unlikely, but should it happen...) both firms will bend over backwards to replace it, and these tools will do what you want without compromise.
Having said all of that, they're useless tools if you can't sharpen. If you get them, you're gonna need to learn how - not difficult, but people seem mystified by it. Ask for advice here.
I hope this doesn't come across as some 'pie in the sky' fantasist: there are tools costing stupid amounts out there, but these are actually, in my opinion, good value: they are properly made, with decent blades and fine adjustability. If you buy cheaper, you may, with experience, overcome the inherent limitations, but you're more likely to find it's a false economy in the long run - ask relatives for an early birthday present!!
