This one went through a long and torturous build process over almost two years. All I can say is don't believe the "advice" you find on talk_ass. However, in the end, it turned out to be a pretty nice instrument.
The glue is all dry, time to flatten out the blank. I clamped a piece of scrap wood at the edge of the bench for a stop, and laid the blank up to it on some padding. This will stop it from shooting off when the belt sander hits it. I sorted through all the vacuum cleaner parts I have collected over the years, and finally made an adapter to hook the sander to the little shopvac under the bench. Then I put on a new 80-grit belt, and went at it.