Thanks Rehd,
I have had a few problems with chipout while planing, not that many and I have been able to either replace the chip or change direction on the plane and reduce the problem.
I am mainly concerned with uneven sanding on the keel, harder wood in the darker grain areas, softer in the light. After reading your post I realize that I am anticipating this problem more than speaking from experience. I have read several posts that gave advice on how to deal with sanding with this type of grain, also Nick mentions it in the book and I didn't understand it as well as I do now. It may not turn out to be any problem at all.

: scribble a pencil all over and around the area to shade it, that way you
: will see just what you are taking off and you can more accurately direct
: the cutting edge.

Now this sounds like something my high school shop teacher used to do....I still carry some emotional scars and deep bitterness from him marking up what I thought was a perfectly good sanding job....after all, I had sanded the stool for a whole hour or so.