: Ok so I'm brand new at this...How important is it to get flat sawn cedar vs
: vertical grain before cutting out the strips?

Hi Jay
Not that important. It sands better is the issue. Otherwise there's not much difference. If you can't find flat sawn, go for what you can get. If you can find boards of sufficient thickness that have the grain running vertically then you can rip of 3/4" thick boards off the side and then put them flat and you have flat sawn.
JohnK