I was going to mortise it in, following the pattern of the commercial board I have. I do think putting the runners in the long dimension may be the easiest path. I am only worried about loading the center of a 24" board if the grain is going the other way.
I'm not sure I totally understand but I'll comment anyway (never stopped me before).
From a strength perspective, attaching across the end grain will require some additional mechanical strength, a mortise is a great option. There is however, some minimal possibility of seperation but probably only if you soak the boad alot of times. There is the plus that the "keeper" boar across the ends will likely ensure the board would never cup, which is a very small likelyhood in 1.25 maple glueup but can happen. Usually only with too much clamp pressure though.
Face to face edges with glue only are super strong. You've brobably heard it said that the glue joint is stronger than the wood and I have proven this to myself lots o' time on face to face and edge to edge IF adequate clamp pressure was applied during glue up. It doesn't need to be radical clamp pressure, just enough to confirm complete face to face contact all along the joint.
I know this is not a definitive answer for either method but gives you the points to consider for the alternate methods.
BW
I think that is going to be my plan. I got the basic part glued up today and I am letting it cure. I want to hit it with the sander and see how much trouble I am in. This is my first glue up project and I am trying Gorilla glue. When I think I am getting the hang of it I will tackle a cypress counter top.
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