I had asked Gary this and he suggested I speak to someone at Fine Homebuilding, but I thought I would ask you.

I am making a mesquite and slate table top. It will be 30″ round and the outside will have a mesquite band 3 1/2 ” wide. This band will be secured to the plywood base with screws. The next circle will be slate. The following circle will be mesquite and slate triangles and the inside is a round piece of mesquite. What is the best way to glue the mesquite and slate. There will be a plywood base. I know there is no problem gluing the mesquite to the plywood (the mesquite will only be about 1/8″ thick), but what about the slate. I could screw cement board to the plywood for the slate, but can I glue the mesquite directly to the cement board?
If yes, is there a certain type of glue I should use? I will use a colored sanded grout for the approximately 1/2″ gaps.