A decent planer is starts at $250, so for a hobbiest it is not unusual to not have one. Having the supplier plane the stock is just fine, the charge should be nominal---in the $20 or below range.

A question now is 'How many and what kind of clamps does he have?' He will need many clamps with which to clamp the boards together.

And the hand tools thing is not bad----100 years ago everything was made with hand tools-----even the really fancy furniture.

Thanks HandyMac!

What kind of clamps SHOULD he use?
The measurements are roughly 39x60
I will be seeing him at the end of the month- I'll have to find a delicate way to bring this up- again, I think he will do a nice job, unless he doesn't realize he needs something ,but I think clamps sound like an obvious thing- right?
He mentioned a lumber place that had Walnut, but said they would charge 50 cents a board for planing. I thought that sounded high- what do you think?
He is looking into another place, but they seem to be few and far.

50 cents a board doesn't sound that high--my lumberyard charged 50 cents a cut for lumber you are buying from them (if you ask them to cut it for you).

as for whether he knows he needs clamps: has he ever made anything similar before? (table top, desk top, etc.)

Fifty cents a board for planing both sides is a decent charge---for only one side that is a bit high.

The big problem with gluing boards together is keeping all the boards flat across the total glue up. Cauls----wood or metal pieces that align the boards under the clamps----and/or alternating sides with the clamps will work to achieve that flatness.