[masraum]

Originally Posted by gregpark

Those look like Sunset chairs? (constructed with 1x). I would sand them with an orbital and by hand with 220. Cedar sands easy and fast. At the very least the back rest boards are guaranteed to be slightly warped and you'll end up with ½" thickness at best if run through a planer compromising structural integrity and end up with designer kindling 😃

Great point. If the boards are warped in any way, then getting them flat with a planer is going to require taking off a lot of wood. With a sander (not belt) you can leave the warp, but get the boards smooth. I suspect a belt sander would also remove a lot/too much wood (not as bad as a planer).