Inspiration:

This project was a gift for my daughters 4th grade teacher.  My wife coordinated the tile decorations for the schools art project fund raiser (chess board) and had the kids decorate an extra tile with this project in mind as a fun gift that her own children could enjoy.  

Supplies:

Luan to affix the tiles to and server as the backer

Mahogany offcuts

Glowforge laser cutter

Pin nailer

5/8 inch Brads

Air compressor

Tight Bond II wood Glue

Watco Danish Oil 

Minwax Finishing Paste

E 6000 Adhesive

Bessey Band Clamp

3/8 inch round over bit

Bosch bench top router box

Irwin Hand Chisels

SawStop Table saw

Respirator

Construction:  

    I started by laying out the tiles in groups of 4 to get an idea of how large the backer board would need to be.  Then I located a long strip of mahogany that had been offset from another project.  The mahogany dividers ended up being 1/4 inch wide.  These were cut to length with a sharp chisel.  Next I cut 2 inch strip of red oak to make the frame.  I ran the entire strip through the router with a 3/8 inch round over bit to profile the frame then I cut my slot to receive the back panel on the table saw. Next I glued the tiles to the backer board with the E6000 all purpose adhesive placing the mahogany dividers as I went.  I let the adhesive set up for 48 hours (probably overkill) then cut the backer to its final dimensions on the table saw being sure to leave 3/8 of an inch on all sided to fit into the slots of my frame.  I used an offset from the Luan board to make sure that the slots that I cut into the oak frame were snug with the backboard.  Sanding is never my favorite step but always essential.  I always wear a dust mask when sanding our using power tools that kick up a bunch of dust.  I consider it an essential piece of safety equipment par with the SawStop.  They are effective and cheap.  I started with 150 then went up to 320 and finished with 600 grit.  I then pertained the oak with the Watco Danish oil prior to inserting the back panel and gluing it all up.  I used a band clamp and a couple of brad nails to hold everything together until the glue dried.  After it dried the frame and tiles were sealed with several coated of furniture paste with a light buff between coats to seal everything up.  While the final glue up was ongoing I used the Phosphate font on Apple Pages to make the print several X and O to gain the proper scale.  I used the Glowforge to cut out 10 of each out of 1/4 inch luan then glued them together to give them some heft. This was a quick weekend long project assuming you got the tiles in place on the first day.