I gave up ordering wood, I find wood. Unless you have a really big budget and can find a top wood supplier it's hard to get the quality you want. The last time I ordered cedar I ended up throwing most of it away, was just to knotty to use.

I also don't worry about full length strips, I don't want them full length, too hard to handle. I can scarf full lengths if I need them, but other than the sheer strip I don't need them.

Flat sawn planks equal nice either vertical grain or 1/4 sawn strips, the grain on the strips is 90 degrees to the face of the plank it's cut from. If you're using 8-10 foot planks it's not "that" hard to mill the boards into strips. Sure it takes time and makes lots of saw dust, I do it outside.

Bill H.