i'm knee deep in a project and using material i have not used before - oak plywood. i've used the solid oak before but the plywood is new to me. i'm building trapezoid boxes and using solid oak 1" for ripping edge bands.

usually when i do this i use pine and make each piece oversize, then sand it to final shape. this is quite fast and doable with pine but is unfeasable with oak i am finding. i spent 2 hours on two edges today, at this rate i will be done in time for my funeral. the edges i worked on today were solid oak edge banded to oak plywood and oversized approx 3/16" in width so that each side overlapped approx 3/32". i used 80 grit on an ROS to ballpark the edges and then 220 on the ros to finalize it. i used 4 pieces of 220 paper in the ros on approx 60" of edge. i am hoping this makes sense.

i think i need to cut the boards closer to the final shape but i am a little scared to do that due to the fact that being a trapezoid the pieces need some wiggle room. yesterday i spent 4 hours fussing with the miters to get the outsides to close tight, and this throws all the edges off.

i wouldnt mind the sanding if i werent using oak plywood - i am really scared of plowing through that thin veneer so i have been very careful not do (i have not used the belt sander).

if this box were a cube i wouldnt be having this issue, but being a mitered trapezoid i am having difficulty with the entire box a little in flux during the fitting stage. the plywood sands quick, but the solid oak doesnt.

i'm planning on stain/varnish or poly and not paint so i am trying not to damage the material (which is over $100 so far, an expensive box for a guy who usually uses pine)