Stephen M wrote:

I would like to build a tressle [trestle] table for my dining room from cherry. ...
I was considering using my bandsaw to resaw the best board I could find into
something like 13/16" slices. By doing joint, resaw joint resaw... I would
always have one smooth face to glue to a substrate, which I could later pass
through the planer to clean up the surface.

I tried this on a small scale this weekend and it worked OK, but using
yellow glue required about 12 f-clamps on a 2.5 x 15" board. That
glue/clamping strategy is not viable for a 7' x 8" board. I doubt that a
traditional veneering approach would work for a relatively thick veneer.

Correct...

Has anyone ever tried contact cement for wood-wood bond using a essentially
the same process as gluing formica to MDF?

Yes, people have tried it--it won't last.

I think you need to think mechanically attaching a thick top of this
sort to the substrate to allow some lateral movement as opposed to
trying to glue it over the entire face.