I use the ScarySharp method too; have for several years, although I still have several hundred dollars invested in Japanese waterstones, Arkansas stones, diamond embedded plates and so on which I never use any more. Try the Fine Woodworking Magazine site (seems to be down just now but they say they’ll be online again in a bit) for more information than you’ll ever need on sharpening, tuning planes, etc.
Yeah, I’m saving them for kindling in my chimnea. 
I probably took a little too much off both sides, since the edges aren’t what I’d call . . . “square”. Seems to be a little warping in them, but hey, it’s my first door. And at that, it’s a temporary door too.
I just finished cutting the holes for the locksets. I plan to ‘test hang’ tonight.
Tripler
But that plane–once I got it working–made everything that much better!
Probably not. A good, sharp, properly adjusted plane is a very efficient way to remove material. I once built a high gain VHF antenna using a 12’ oak boom. I wanted it tapered, so I did my best with a jig saw, which made a real mess, but it took probably less than 10 minutes with a plane to make it look perfect.
The “sawdust” that a rasp produces represents a lot of extra work over the thin curls from a plane.
Words and even pictures would be hard to explain the adjusment technique, but a half hour with a patient master, and you’ll be set for a lifetime. The usual mistake is to set the blade for far too deep a cut. You want to be able to see light through the shavings. When set like that, a plane is an effortless joy to use, and you won’t mind taking a few extra strokes.
How does a bevel UP plane differ? Does that animal exist?
IANACarpenter, obviously. 
Oh, yes they do. Their bedding angle is much lower. One big advantage with Bevel up planes is you can change your cutting angles by using different blades.
For example these beauties can provide 25, 38 or 50 degree cutting angles. For use on end grain, regular grain and difficult curly grain as needed. The middle plane is the next plane purchase on my list.
About an hour ago, I finished hanging the door. I had it mounted on the hinges, but it wouldn’t close, and my girlfriend noted that I needed to take a little off the non-swing side to give enough of a gap.
Five passes with the plane was all it needed, now that I had it set up right. After that, it was just a matter of installing the hardware! Thanks guys!
Tripler
Next week, Part ‘B’: Installing the Cat Door in the New Door.
There is actually and angle adjusting lever on his plane, seen clearly between the blade and the handle in his second picture, here. It moves side to side and changes the angle of the blade a few degrees either way.
The brass knob is for adjusting the depth of the blade.
That’s the lateral adjustment lever, and it’s not really for adjusting the angle of the blade – it’s for getting the blade square to the bottom of the plane, which is something Tripler should probably look at, since his door edge ended up out of square.
Nice plane – looks to be a prewar Stanley no. 5. It’s not particularly valuable, but people like them because they’re still good, serviceable planes, both better and cheaper than a new one you’d buy. But they do require a bit of tuning. Sharpening is just the beginning, and there are other things you can fiddle with, such as the fit of the cap iron and the width of the mouth and the trueness of the sole. Have fun!
Sal Ammoniac is right about the lever and its use.
I don’t agree that it is a Stanley though…
The Stanley’s I have seen would have “No. 5” cast somewhere on the body. If the lever cap is original to this plane it should have the name Stanley cast in as well. Plus the folded lateral adjustment lever is not something Stanley did, IIRC.
http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/tools/planes/jacks/5type15/5t15.html
FordPrefect, you’re right that’s it’s lacking any obvious identifiers, though in most other respects, it looks like a Stanley plane. Stanley did make some planes that were sold by others such as Montgomery Ward, so this may be one of those. Or the lever cap may have been replaced over the years. I bet it says “No. 5” on it somewhere, either behind the front knob or on the toe. But you’re right about the lateral-adjustment lever – that doesn’t look like typical Stanley to me. But on the bright side, when it comes to Stanley planes, the aberrations are where the money is!
You know, I’d be working with it, and the little lever would tend to ‘swing’ on it’s own–I didn’t see any sort of click or locking mechanism to keep it from drifting to either side.
And I didn’t notice any markings for Stanley on any part of it yesterday, let me go look at it in the garage real quick . . .
. . .
. . .
. . . nope, all I could see on the very front was a “MADE IN THE U.S.A.” raised stamp.
Tripler
It’s still a damn good tool though.
If the lever is moving while use then your lever cap isn’t tight enough. You can tighten it by snugging up the screw that it hooks under. Just take it slow, there is a lot of leverage in that lever cap.
The lateral-adjustment lever, where it’s attached to the frog that the blade is bedded on, should have a tab sticking up that engages the slot of the blade. There’s usually a little bit of play in the lever, but if you swing the lever all the way to one side, it should shift the blade somewhat. Site down the sole as you work the lever, and you should see the effect I’m talking about. The idea is to get the blade to protrude from the sole of the plane an equal amount from side to side.
Of course, it’s possible that the lever is broken. Or sometimes, if the blade has been heavily ground back through the years, the slot of it no longer engages with the tab of the lever. However, I’m thinking that will be more likely to be true in a plane older than the one you have.
That’s music to your ears now, isn’t it!