grain direction

[al kuntz]

I am building a platter and want to put a 1/4 spacer in between 16 segments. The segments are 2.1/4 wide by 5 long. The grain in the segments are running the right direction. I want to use Ebony as the spacer. Will I be asking for trouble if I run the spacer grain the other direction or should i glue up enough ebony to run it the same direction as the segments. I am worried that a cross grain piece that small will crack.

[Paul Hannaby]

Even if the spacers don't crack, I would think you might end up with steps where the joints are after a while because wood expands and contracts and the expansion is mostly across the grain.