Bob, thinking about my earlier advice to shoot for one piece, I think that if you can source primarily rift sawn, you can get the stability of a glue-up while all but eliminating that fact visually as some others have mentioned. Glue-ups do add to the workload, but given your "blind" attachment situation, may be helpful. And as has also been mentioned, screwing down with a counterbore and fabbing matching tapered plugs that "disappear" would not be an unreasonable way to cope with not having access from below. It's not an uncommon technique and can be justified for physical strength and the resultant safety. If you create a "whole bunch" of plugs and take your time with selection, you really can get most of them to nearly exactly match the grain pattern of the board they will live in permanently.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...