I'd be interested in hearing what lessons or tidbits of advice you gained. I don't have a jointer either. Kudos for working out in the driveway too. Besides giving the neighbors something to watch, it makes us better weathermen.
* The stock was S3S so I first attempted to joint the rough edge using a plywood jig that I saw on YT. I had very limited success with that.
* I then decided to just run the factory edge against the fence but take about a blade width at a time off until I had the rough edge completely cut. There were some pieces that required 6 or 7 passes before I had accomplished that goal.
* I then turned the piece over so the new cut edge was against the fence and cut the original factory edge (Note: I was not trying to get each piece to an exact width so I didn't have to worry about that)
* I should also say I started with a new rip blade and checked to be sure the blade was at 90 deg to the table
* I work by myself, so I had a roller stand on the outboard side and had two magnet style feather boards to keep the board tight against the fence.
* When I had the boards 'jointed' to the best of my ability and equipment, I set them up and moved them around to get the best fit at the joint
* I had planned to use biscuits but then changed my mind and just used cowls and clamps and was pleased with the outcome
* I glued up two boards, let them set up, then glued up the other two and let them set and finally glued up the two sets for the final width
* I did have a couple of small areas toward each end that did not come together as well as I would have liked, but they ended up getting cut off in the final dimensions, so it was a no harm no fowl situation. I just used a power saw set against a straight edge to cut each end.
* Since this was an open grain wood, I did use a grain filler before staining with a neutral stain and then used a poly finish on it.
* I did get a little frustrated with the poly coat due to brush strokes and some orange peel in a few areas, but was ultimately able to get it smoothed out to the point I was happy with it.