> I think the trick to get each cut the same is to clamp both strips in the
> mitre box but back to back and cut ( or sand or plane or rasp ) at the
> same time. Presuming the cut(etc, etc) is straight, the mitre will match
> regardless of the angle of your cut.

> -mick

The next step is to keep track of your strips and orientation as you rip them. As you rip two strips, tape them together in the same orientation as they come off the board, off setting them by 2" ( 1 in 8 scarf ). Then cut the scarf. If its true that you have a hard time seeing the scarf, the grain will appear to run continuously from one strip to the other. If your grain is fairly vertical, even if you sand a lot - the grain will run and match from one to the other.

If you are using short strips, you have to keep track of the orientation of all the strips, but theoretically if the grain is fairly straight, it would look like one single strip.

-mick