hero to the folks lucky enough to have one but basically neglected by many. Start at 80 or 120 and then step up a few more to get the perfectly prepared platform (love alliteration) for the finish of choice. All that to eliminate finer and finer scratch marks. A scraper and particularly a scraper plane is the solution to get there quickly. Here is a short article by NICK ENGLER that extols the virtues of a scraper plane.
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/artic ... aper_planeAnd the 1000 word picture is of one he made from shop scrap, something most of us could do.