Jack,
How long did the veneer sit after having the veneer softener applied? What was the MC of the veneer when glued to the backer? What was the backer material? Was the backer at a 90 degree angle to the grain direction of the face? What was the MC of the two plied face as it was pressed? How long did the two ply face sit before it was pressed?
Sorry for so many questions, but crotches can be a bear to work with. I had a face maker here in NC tell me some horror stories about working with mahogany crotches, and he works with them all the time. He was very secretive about his processes.... press temp for pressing the crotch after using the veneer softener, press pressure while pressing the two plies together with the tego glue film, spraying them down after they came out as a two ply, and then laying flat under pressure after the faces came out of the press.
He told me that during one two day stretch in his plant, that he had followed all of the details as he usually had for years..... but two days worth of work, and about $30k worth of material and labor went into the trash dumpster.
It looks like some movement between the face and backer layers. The checking is occurring across the grain, not with the grain. Hope this helps,
David