I started with 2' x 4' sheets of 1/4" fiber board that was already covered in a white finish on one side. The back side was unfinished but still relatively smooth.

The 2 x 4 sheets were cut into 11-3/4" squares (they weren't exactly 2' x 4' to start with, and you need to allow for the width of the saw blade).

The inspiration for this track came from the Line Following Competition hosted by the Chicago Area Robotics Group.

Pretty boring. This is a picture of the blank tile that I started with. Bigger...

Here we see the green painters tape laid down. Bigger...

This is the template that I made to cut the tape for the curves. The green mat is one of my wife's cutting mats that she uses for sewing, and the plastic is "template" plastic used for making templates for cutting fabric. The grid on this mat is in centimeters. Bigger...

The template is placed over the tape, and the curve edge is traced out with an exacto knife. After removing the template, the short little segments that held the template together with cut by hand, and I went over the tape seam to make sure that the cut went all the way through. Bigger...

Remove the unwanted tape, and we now have a curve ready for painting. Note that the tape wraps around the edge of the tile, and I plan on painting the edge as well. Bigger...

Green Painters tape laid down for a straight section. You can also see the template on the right hand side for marking the edges of the straight section. Bigger...

Apply a straight edge between the marks, and cut the tape with an X-acto knife. Remove the tape and it's ready for painting. Bigger...