Thanks to everyone. I am happy to report that the cutting went very well though it was challenging at certain stages. I prepared enough strips for close to 3 kayaks. The setup takes so much time, I wanted to make it really worthwhile.

I had four 2"x8"x16' clear western red cedar, D4S. All were flat sawn. I got about 168 strips 1/4x3/4 out of them. I also used the setup to cut up any piece of clear pine I could find around the garage and basement.

What I learned--- It wasn't too difficult to resaw 2x8's into 1x8's on the bandsaw in spite of the 16' length. I used a 5/8x3tpi blade with carbide embedded in the teeth. It only took about 10 min. per 16 foot length. It's very important to set up infeed and outfeed supports at the right height. I used melamine coated shelving for the tables supporting the wood because melamine is so slippery, especially if coated with fine sawdust.

The ripping on a table saw is definitely easier with a thin kerf ripping blade (Freud). Also very helpful were a pair of rubber wheel attachments to press on the board (called "Bench Buddies" I think). They only turn one way and can exert considerable downward pressure. This keeps everything steady even when you let go of the board to move your hands during the feeding process. Again the melamine coated boards for infeed and outfeed were very important: low friction and carefully adjusted to the right height. I used the same stands I built to support the strongback at a later stage. Buy as many clamps as you can afford. They will not only be useful for building the kayak, but also for the temporary setups for ripping etc.

The thickness of the strips came out very uniform. I now have over half a mile of strips and am looking forward to the fun part of kayak building. I feel I have paid my dues.

Stan