Gary,
I finished the table with the large top about which I questioned you several weeks ago. The top is 44″ by 96″, with breadboard ends. I followed your suggestion about using a wide belt sander, but the sander had a capacity of 42″, so I had to sand the top in two halves. After sanding, I routed a 1/4″ groove in each mating edge, referencing the router from the table top. I then installed a hardwood spline, cut to fit tightly. This approach gives excellent registration and, as a result, very little sanding was required after final glue up.

To Peter Gedrys: If you see this, I subcontracted the finishing of the top to a local finisher and am very pleased with the results. He sprayed it with a conversion varnish and saved me at least 15 hours of work.

I am including a link to my flickr pages where two pictures show the finished table. flickr link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbott77/

Thanks again for your help.

Best regards, Tom.