You are all a GREAT help, and I am learning.

Tim, Will & Jay, you indicated you have a preference for, or begin the process with a scrub plane. Since I'm starting with very nicely-sawn material (bandmill), and need to remove very little, I'm thinking I could skip that one? Yes? No?

Jay, to address your point as to what my finish goal for the timbers are? That would be removing the bandmill marks while creating as smooth a surface as possible, leaving little to no plane markings. The project is going to be a 24' x 34' king-post addition to an existing house, so he wants the timbers kinda pretty.

So I'm thinking, for now at least, either a 4-1/2 or a 5-1/2 with one cambered iron and one finish iron. Then expand my collection as my understanding and hand planing skills develop more fully over time. Any votes for one over the other?