Reply by Rick M.

He’s right, step 1 is kiln drying. Step 2 is cutting pieces near their final size then letting them stabilize for a day or two, 3 is machining to final size, 4 is assembly, 5 is finishing.

To answer the last 2 questions…
1. I don’t have a definitive answer and I’m not sure there is one.
2. Possible yes but it’s not practical unless you have an infinite amount of sandpaper, time and patience.

While router sleds work well, a scrub (or fore) plane would be faster.

-- -- Rick M.