1st Flag Case

[Keel McDonald]

This was my first attempt at making a Flag Case. It was a bit more challenging than I anticipated. Let me explain. It seems as though my tools are a bit out of square. When I finished assembling the case, I noticed it "rocked" when sitting on a flat surface. At a loss of what to do, I suddenly had an epiphonal moment. I ran the assembled case across my jointer a couple of times. Problem solved! Square blades & fences would have made the job much easier.

The case is made from Red Oak, double-strength glass for the front, and hard board for the back. I cut a 1/4" dado for the glass front, and a 3/8" rabbet for the back. I like to assemble projects prior to finishing, but would like to find a way to finish first, and them assemble. After I finished, I noticed that the dado the glass was sitting in remained unfinished. It is barely noticeable, but I see it. I would like to hear from any of you who might have a better way. I stained the wood with a gel stain and finished it with 7 coats of lacquer. Very smooth. I am going to have a brass name plate made for it today. I hope my wife's grandmother is happy with it. It's a Christmas gift for her. Critiques are welcome. Thanks for looking.

[John Gregory]

Your project looks great. I need to make two of them, did you have plans or did you "wing" it? I does look good.

John

[Bernie Weishapl]

Keel those look beautiful. I made a couple for my dad and the loml's dad. Great job.

[Keel McDonald]

John

I used a plan and "winged it". I began using the following plan http://www.eastmanpublishing.com/library/freeflagplanpf.htm but soon realized that I needed to modify it to really fit my flag. So I folded the flag like I wanted it, measured it, and adjusted the case accordingly. What worked well for me was to cut the two top legs of the triangle and glue them. When they were dry, I placed the flag in it and laid the bottom piece just under the bottom of the flag. I made sure it was equidistant from the peak on either side. Then I marked and cut the legs while they were glued to each other. Does that make any sense. As it turned out, it worked perfect for me. I'll write down the actual measurements and post them tomorrow if you'd like.


Your project looks great. I need to make two of them, did you have plans or did you "wing" it? I does look good.

John

[scott spencer]

Nice job Keel! Love the emblem on the back!

I'm in the middle of the same project using what appears to be the same design (Wood Mag plans). Mine's a Christmas gift to my mother for my father's flag. It was alot of fun clamping those funky angles at the bottom! :rolleyes: I'll try post some pics after Christmas when I get the flag in it.

[Keel McDonald]

Scott

I actually used pocket screws to attach the bottom. They were drilled out from the bottom. I glued the joints too. It's a good thing I did, because when I began jointing the bottom, I noticed before I started that the screws might hit the jointer knives. So I backed the screws out after the glue set. Then I jointed the case. When the bottom was entirely flat, I looked and sure enough it would've taken about 1/16" of the screw.


Nice job Keel! Love the emblem on the back!

I'm in the middle of the same project using what appears to be the same design (Wood Mag plans). Mine's a Christmas gift to my mother for my father's flag. It was alot of fun clamping those funky angles at the bottom! :rolleyes: I'll try post some pics after Christmas when I get the flag in it.

[Keel McDonald]

I went yesterday and ordered a brass name plate for the case. Although I was a bit shocked at the price ($5/name plate), I figured it was going on an heirloom and ordered it. This same place also makes picture frames. I asked what might be a good method for attaching the back of the case. She told me to just bring in the case and she would use a "gun" to attach some "picture frame" type clips on the back. I looked for a good way to do it myself, but have yet been unable to locate any type of tool to do it myself. How do you guys attach the backs to your cases?

[Bob Nazro]

Keel,
When I make Flag Boxes I mill one long board and stain and wipe polly on first, then I cut the angles and glue up the project. I finish the joints with splines and then finish the box with a few more coats of wipe on poly. I work for the Navy and do a lot of shadow boxes for retirements and keep a few milled boards on the shelf for the flag boxes. It saves me time and keeps a relatively small project from tying up the shop.

[John Gornall]

This type of flag case is not suitable for a flag that has historical, sentimental, or monetary value requiring a long life. Old fabrics and paper do not turn yellow or brown because they are old - they turn color because they are being burnt by contact with an acidic material such as wood or hardboard. There are techniques for casing a flag to protect it using acid free materials to isolate the flag from the case. A small fortune is currently being spent to treat historical flags which have had poor storage. Try googling "Flag Conservation:.

[Lee DeRaud]

How do you guys attach the backs to your cases?Well, I can't help you with this one, but "1st Flag Case" sounds like you're planning on making some more. You had the right idea, at least up until you glued the bottom on: put the back in a dado just like the glass and leave the bottom removable.

As things stand now with this one, if the glass ever breaks, your life will get very interesting. DAMHIKT.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Nice box Keel, but the brand on the back also caught my eye. (I like the tree design.) Where did you get the branding iron?

- Vaughn

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Looks great to me, Keel. Thanks for the tip. I don't do Square very well and that's a good fix.

Bruce

[Keel McDonald]

Vaughn,

I got the branding iron from http://www.brandnew.net/estore/shopexd.asp?id=53 for $59.95. They have several other designs, but I liked this one. The one I use is flame heated (I use a torch), but they also have electric ones (more expensive). I have been very pleased with it. It is a bit difficult to get a good clean brand without leaving it on the piece too long and getting burn marks all around it. I found that by lightly sanding the mark will remove those unwanted burn marks.


Nice box Keel, but the brand on the back also caught my eye. (I like the tree design.) Where did you get the branding iron?

- Vaughn

[Keel McDonald]

Bruce,

I assume you mean the tip about running it across the jointer. The only thing you need to remember, and I didn't:mad: , is to begin with a piece of stock about an 1/8" thicker than you need. The final thickness on the base piece of this one is 5/8", and the rest of the case is 3/4". I doubt anyone else will ever notice, but I do. I wish I knew all these things before I screwed things up.:eek:


Looks great to me, Keel. Thanks for the tip. I don't do Square very well and that's a good fix.

Bruce