Thanks, Leon. Great tips. That piece of marine plywood in a couple of those pictures was what I used as a reference surface, and I was careful to sweep it off between cuts and inspect the tool for any chips that might have lodged in it.
Those relatively narrow pieces stayed dead flat during the build so I didn't have any trouble with registration. But I can see how you might run into issues with furniture-sized wood.
That bench is pretty nubbly - it takes a real beating, and we don't reference anything off of it. There are a couple low roll-around assembly tables with pretty good surfaces that we use for larger glue-ups (I share the shop with a shipwright who now does mostly cabinet work).
Tom