Finally, I found it helpful in preventing break-out if I observed which way the grain ran, and cut so that the grain was running out of (rather than into) the timber when it reached the cutter.
Because the edges of the strips are so fragile, I took care to stack the strips as each one was cut, rather than just making a pile to sort later. I was amazed at how well the strips fitted together. If it were not for the colour and grain difference, it would be difficult to tell that the stacked strips were not one solid plank.
