Hey Ernie, do scrub planes work on figured and/or interlocked grain? Tops usually go quickly in any case, but it still takes me a good while to shave down mahogany and rosewood, and I haven't even tried curly grain yet. I usually use my block plane with toothed blade (wide teeth, created by cutting 4 notches into it), which helps to minimize tearing and keep depth consistent, but I still have to take pretty fine shavings. Tears are usually small and consistent enough that I can stop a few thousandths from where I want to be and scrape smooth.
My usual pattern for tops and backs is to put two clamps on one half of the plate, and plane on the other half at 45 degree angles (first pass leaves ridges from the teeth, second pass removes them). Since runout changes at the centerline, I never cross it by much anyway, so the clamps are out of the way. Then unclamp, rotate 180 degrees, and repeat on the other side. Sometimes things get uneven and you have to do an extra pass or two in a small area, but most of the time it goes pretty smoothly.
For sides, clamp one end, plane straight along the grain starting around the middle, clamp the other end, plane starting at the middle. Then do a pass with the split point more like 1/3 of the way from one end. Keep varying the split point so you don't develop a consistent high or low spot in the center. And if it doesn't like being planed straight along the grain, do two angled passes at a time instead.
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