So which is it? Typically missing from the tutorials is the rationale; it’s nearly always just, "do it like this." Chris’s "coarse, medium, fine" helps, but it’s still rare to see anyone explain why they’re doing it a certain way; e.g., "The reasons I’m being careful here, roughing out the mortise and then paring to size, is that this is a show face–the edges of this mortise will be exposed for all to see. If this mortise were part of an ordinary mortise-and-tenon joint, my main concern would be a snug fit, so if it ends up a little banged up around the edges, no one will see or care."

So, this is my long-winded way of asking that, whenever you explain a joining process, you make sure to say why the particular characteristics of _this_ joint lead to you use _this_ technique, and how _that_ joint over there, while it may look similar, may be better off done with _that_ technique.