: Is scarfing such thin ply practical, and does anyone have any ideas for
: prettier scarfless joints?

another idea is to make usual buttcutts, turn over panels, align, clamp. then scoop out the back veneers down to the top veneer so the sides of the valley are about the 1/8 to 1/12 slope. say 1in slope each side. fill with several layers of glass, let set up and feather board across the back so end up w/ the original thickness but now have like 2 scarves(hehe) going in opposite directions.

as ditch beauty is immaterial, evenif you screw up a bit, from the other side looks perfect and is still almost as strong as a total thru scarf.

the one thing i'm not sure of is if the bending characteristics will be similar across the joint. some experimentation would be necessary, but the strenght of the joint would be the same as the scarf.

of course could do the same thing but use a dart of ply instead of the glass. still don't have to be perfect as epoxy glue needs a little space.