I was thinking about designs for end grain cutting boards, and I figured I could make these pretty easily. As with my last board, the woods are purpleheart and maple.
As for the secret, First I glued up a bunch of square rods that were half maple and half purpleheart. Next, I had to glue up 4 hunks (since the boards are symmetric down the middle). Then all I had to do was slice the hunks into slats (turning them 180 degrees for the opposite side) and glue them up.
Check the 4th picture. I hope it explains better how I got the design. In step 1 I glued up pieces that were .75" by 1.5" in order to get a 1.5" by 1.5" square for the cross section.