Dear Paul, and everyone else who responded,

Thank you very much for your advice. While I'm anxious to get the strips in hand, I now realize that extra time spent at this step will be well worth it later. I guess I'll just have to wait until I get everything set up (this weekend!) to see what works best for me.

With regard to moving the fence, I did find a simple jig that allows you to move the fence/board by the same increment after each cut (someone else on this site posted it originally). I'm just wondering if, with this method, it may be hard to square up a 16 foot plank each time. Anyway, if you are interested, the information is at:

http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/etip111700wb.html

Happy holidays to all!

Ed