Well, not a glamourous project, but I did make money a little $$ on it! This is a sign board that will hold sandblasted granite tiles for a new library opening soon very close to my house.

I started with a sketchup drawing showing how to fit all 56 tiles on the signboard. I drew it from a fax I receved from the granite tile guy. The sign board final dimensions are 5'9" tall and 13'2" wide.



Then, I used Sketchup to layout how I was going to create the 1/2" plywood back board. It is 2 layers of 1/4" birch plywood glued and stapled togther, overlapping at the seams. I used the same layout pattern on the top layer as the bottom layer, only flipping the top layer end-for-end and top-for-bottom. I left the rough side of the plywood up so the adhesive for the tiles (liquid nails) would have a better grab. It took 5 sheets of plywood and about a hour to make. I used about a pint of yellow glue and a 4" wide paint roller to spread it out.



Here is the sign as I was laying out the dividers. I ordered all the hard maple stock S4S sanded to thickness and to width and I merely cut to length. The outer framing members are 1" thick with a 1/2" x 1/2" rabbet to accept the plywood. I used a slot cutter on a handheld router to cut the rabbet. The internal dividers are all 1/2" thick hard maple. Each piece is glued and pinned to the plywood. The vertical dividers in the bottom section are 2" wide, and when I got to the last 3 to install, working both sides to the middle, I test fit the tiles. Good thing, as I had to shave off a little bit on each of the 3 dividers so the tiles would fit properly.



I finished the maple with a brown stain to match a sample I had been given. 3 coats of satin lacquer and some wax. Here's an overall shot and a closeup of some blank granite tiles set in place.





Finally, here's the final sign board hanging in place and the granite tiles are being glued in place. It took a day to make and finish and materials were just over $400. I did not have to deliver!



Thanks for looking. Todd.