Hi John;

It's not a dumb question because builders scarf differently. My strips were scarfed 2" in the thickness plane, meaning the top or bottom of the scarf (looking at the 3/4" face) looks like a butt joint - It's a straight line. You could do it the other way, and see a diagonal cut on the faces of the scarf. The 8:1 in the thickness plane would imply 8 x 1/4", or a 2" long scarf joint.

As to the jig, I may be envisioning using it differently than Don does, so it might be a good idea to get more clarification from him. I didn't understand the "3 strips at a time" description after I re-read it. I have been using a belt sander for scarfing, as shown in Nick's book. I used those to make the few full length strips I needed, and butt joined the rest on the forms.

Best Regards, Spidey