Thin strips ready made
JRay,
Just as I hit send I thought of another way to get those thin strips.
Does color of wood matter? Tongue depressors can be purchased in a bulk box of several hundred.
Some years ago while my daughter was in college she wanted school colors in a unique pen.
I used tongue depressors, dyed them the appropriate colors in alcohol dye in quart jars, using my wifes vacuum sealer to get air out of pores of the wood and cause the dye to penetrate. Wasn't perfect, but it made an interesting pen in school colors. Not sure of the TD's thickness but it's perhaps 1/16 inch. Believe the depressors are about 5/8 to 3/4 inch wide, hard maple I believe. Easy to glue up.
Good luck,
Charlie