skinner,
W e l c o m e . . A b o a r d !!
Do you have relatives in Chico, CA by any chance? Do you know a David Skinner?
Yes, they key to joining is to put control onto the OUTPUT section ASAP after starting... and away from the INPUT side.
Besides both sides of the fence must be parallel, the OUTPUT fence wants to be slightly (1/32" or so) closer to you than the INPUT side... in that it gets cut first against the input fence and the output merely wants to accurately support the wood as it comes out of the cutting stage... So, it's important to keep more pressure against the output fence as possible during the cut...
If you put any pressure on the input side especially toward the end of the cut, it will cut deeper than you want.
I would rather make two cuts at 1/32" than one cut at 1/16"... but that's just me...
Good luck.