I want to join eight 2.25" wide by .75" thick by 18" long boards (alternating boards of walnut and maple) to form a single 18" by 18" panel. I'm thinking that wood glue alone would be strong enough for that, because it would all be glued on edge grain.
However, after making the 18" by 18" panel, I need to cut it into 8 boards again (making the cuts perpendicular to the grain) and then join those together to reform the 18" by 18" panel (ending up with a panel that is made from sixty-four 2.25" squares, i.e., a checkerboard). The problem is, I'd be dealing with joining end grain to end grain at that point, and I've heard that glue isn't as effective on end grain as it is on edge grain. Would I need some form of mechanical joints (like biscuit joints maybe?) in addition to wood glue?
Here is a short video that shows what I want to do, in case my description was confusing: