Originally posted by Goblin King Jareth:

I start by planting a stone floor block, standing in place with my heels at its ground level, (not on top of it but on the actual ground) and then hoeing outward from there in rows without moving much at first until the limit of the hoe reach to widen out a stone block foundation and level quickly, plant another row of stone blocks, repeat. It's easier to make shallow pits this way where the stone might be kind of floating but 1 stone patch ground raise fills that in once you know where to target. If there is an annoying bump that won't flatten, it is a stone. Pick it and get the stone and it usually flattens nicely.

I used to get bulk rocks quickly in BF biome by tanking trolls on top of boulders and generally grabbing all the giant boulders and core wood there similarly with picks. Mountain ofc is the best place to mine bulk stone all day, and you can use golems to help you bash up the landscape similarly. I started viewing them as semi-construction machinery this way.

Yeah planting guide pieces can be very helpful, can even be done with wood beams really. Give you a visual to level to. And also yes, some people have trouble using the level tool , but remembering that it always level to the ground at your feet (unless you hold left shift) can make it a lot easier.