Hi All, I am contemplating how to build a dining table top that has a chevron pattern of hard maple, in 3" strips. Conventional wisdom is to veneer the pattern with a veneer balance on the other face. I want the top to be a thick enough surface to survive a gouge or three, and have been trying to figure out if I can pull this off with ~ 0.5" thick maple strips. I have seen table builds out there doing just this on a plywood matrix, but those look doomed to failure with seasonal wood movement. So with that, here is the idea(question): Can I use a solid wood underlay that has the overall grain orientation the same as the net orientation of grain for the chevron? That way, it should move with the underlay, and I can float the whole thing on slotted rails. One concern is that the mitered parts of these joints might differentially expand/contract in a way that could open the miter...Anyhow, I would love to hear peoples thoughts on this. Thanks!