# Flag Box



## DBoltz (Nov 20, 2011)

*Gluing up the trim*

I am building a flag box for the flag from my Father-in-law, Bob's, funeral. Bob was in the Army during the Korean conflict and recently passed away. This is my third flag box (one is posted under my projects and the other will be posted soon) so I thought I would share my process. My design is based off of Tommy MacDonald's from an episode of Rough Cut. I like the design because I think the 22.5 degree angles on the bottom are awesome. They aren't the easiest angles to cut but a good jig helps with that. 
This box will be a little different in two ways. First, my trim pieces will be contrasting the main side pieces where as in my other two, I used the same wood for the side pieces and the trim. Also, I will be adding a base which will house the 9 shells from the 3 shot volley from the honor guard. 
I will be using walnut and maple for this box. The side pieces are 3" wide which is wide enough to hold the flag, glass, and back pieces. Trim pieces will be roughly 3/8" thick by 1" wide when all is said and done.

Let's get started:

I start with the side piece and an over sized piece of trim. We will cut the trim to size later.









Here is the trim piece clamped up to the side piece. The side up is the inside piece of the bottom. The trim over hangs the outside by just a little. That will get flushed with the side piece later. Trim is roughly 3/8" thick and will be cut down to about 1" wide later. The trim is decorative and also will hold the glass in place. The side piece is right at 3". There will be a 1/4" rabbet in the back of all three pieces later to accept the back. 









Here is the outside of one of the side pieces. You can see the trim was not flush with the side. I will also fill in/stabilize those voids in the wood with CA glue. 









Here is the inside of one of the side pieces. Glue needs to be cleaned up and the side piece sanded.









Next episode will show the trim getting flushed and voids getting filled in.


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## BBSplinters (Aug 7, 2012)

DBoltz said:


> *Gluing up the trim*
> 
> I am building a flag box for the flag from my Father-in-law, Bob's, funeral. Bob was in the Army during the Korean conflict and recently passed away. This is my third flag box (one is posted under my projects and the other will be posted soon) so I thought I would share my process. My design is based off of Tommy MacDonald's from an episode of Rough Cut. I like the design because I think the 22.5 degree angles on the bottom are awesome. They aren't the easiest angles to cut but a good jig helps with that.
> This box will be a little different in two ways. First, my trim pieces will be contrasting the main side pieces where as in my other two, I used the same wood for the side pieces and the trim. Also, I will be adding a base which will house the 9 shells from the 3 shot volley from the honor guard.
> ...


I am planning a flag case that sounds very similar. Was even thinking about using the same wood types except I was going to do maple sides with Walnut trim. it will be cool to see the alternative.


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## DBoltz (Nov 20, 2011)

DBoltz said:


> *Gluing up the trim*
> 
> I am building a flag box for the flag from my Father-in-law, Bob's, funeral. Bob was in the Army during the Korean conflict and recently passed away. This is my third flag box (one is posted under my projects and the other will be posted soon) so I thought I would share my process. My design is based off of Tommy MacDonald's from an episode of Rough Cut. I like the design because I think the 22.5 degree angles on the bottom are awesome. They aren't the easiest angles to cut but a good jig helps with that.
> This box will be a little different in two ways. First, my trim pieces will be contrasting the main side pieces where as in my other two, I used the same wood for the side pieces and the trim. Also, I will be adding a base which will house the 9 shells from the 3 shot volley from the honor guard.
> ...


I'll be on the lookout for your case, BBSplinters. Maple and walnut always make a good pairing, IMHO. I was just going to use walnut with only maple as the splines but I only had a small amount of that figured maple left and it was just enough to do the trim for this. I have some straight grained maple left but not sure if I am going to use contrasting splines now or not. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.


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## CueballRosendaul (Jul 16, 2012)

DBoltz said:


> *Gluing up the trim*
> 
> I am building a flag box for the flag from my Father-in-law, Bob's, funeral. Bob was in the Army during the Korean conflict and recently passed away. This is my third flag box (one is posted under my projects and the other will be posted soon) so I thought I would share my process. My design is based off of Tommy MacDonald's from an episode of Rough Cut. I like the design because I think the 22.5 degree angles on the bottom are awesome. They aren't the easiest angles to cut but a good jig helps with that.
> This box will be a little different in two ways. First, my trim pieces will be contrasting the main side pieces where as in my other two, I used the same wood for the side pieces and the trim. Also, I will be adding a base which will house the 9 shells from the 3 shot volley from the honor guard.
> ...


When you get the glass, ask for archive glass that is used for nicer pieces of art and photos. It will prevent fading and sun damage to the flag. I also included a thin slab of cedar in the one I built to deter any moths that get in the removable back.


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## DBoltz (Nov 20, 2011)

DBoltz said:


> *Gluing up the trim*
> 
> I am building a flag box for the flag from my Father-in-law, Bob's, funeral. Bob was in the Army during the Korean conflict and recently passed away. This is my third flag box (one is posted under my projects and the other will be posted soon) so I thought I would share my process. My design is based off of Tommy MacDonald's from an episode of Rough Cut. I like the design because I think the 22.5 degree angles on the bottom are awesome. They aren't the easiest angles to cut but a good jig helps with that.
> This box will be a little different in two ways. First, my trim pieces will be contrasting the main side pieces where as in my other two, I used the same wood for the side pieces and the trim. Also, I will be adding a base which will house the 9 shells from the 3 shot volley from the honor guard.
> ...


Thanks for the advise, CueBall. I will certainly look into the archive glass. It is funny because the other day I found a couple small cutoffs of aromatic cedar and thought to myself that I should put a small piece in the flag box. I guess great minds think alike!


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## DBoltz (Nov 20, 2011)

*Sanding, Rabbets, Sample Colors, 22.5 Degree Miters*

Since we left off last time, I got the voids in the wood filled in with CA glue and the boards are sanded to 150 grit so far.

I used my block plane to get the trim close to the side pieces.









My FIL did not have much in the way of woodworking tools. He did have a Skil 1/4 sheet sander. My MIL wanted me to have it. I thought it would be appropriate to use that sander on his flag box. You can see the sander in the background here. Sanded to 150 grit here.









Here you can see the trim cut to size. I cut it to 1" width. 









Next I cut the rabbet in all three pieces. This will accept the 1/4" plywood back. I used my dado stack on the TS and had the boards raised on a 1/2" piece of MDF because the trim overhangs the boards. 









I decided to test a cutoff piece of the maple and walnut with some stains to see if they could enhance the grain of the maple without making the walnut look bad. There is no way I would even attempt to try to stain only the maple. I couldn't get a decent picture of the sample boards. My wife and I agree that the one in the middle looks best. It is a Minwax colonial maple. The one on the right is Minwax cherry. I think the colonial maple enhances the grain while not making the walnut look bad. I will say, I did not want to alter the look of the walnut and I think this stain does not do much more than an amber shellac would. The picture really does not show it, but the maple on the right looks bad with that cherry stain on it. 









Here we finally get to the hard part - the 22.5 degree miters. Here you can see one of the boards clamped to my jig. I'll discuss the jig in the next photo. Before I started cutting my box components, I cut some test pieces on some scrap pieces of pine to make sure the angle was dialed in correctly. I use a drafting triangle that I got from Office Depot to make sure the two pieces make a 45. I always cut my stock oversized when I have difficult cuts like this and sneak up on the final size. 









Here is my 22.5 degree jig. This is my third time using it. I just added the saddle that goes over my fence this time. I have no excuse for waiting to do that until now. It took me five whole minutes to add it and now I won't have to worry about adding a taller auxiliary fence and holding it stable. This made cutting the miters SO much easier. If you make the jig, make the saddle!! I cannot stress that enough. 









Save the cutoffs from your 22.5 cuts. We will use those as clamping blocks when we do our glue up.









22.5's are done! 









Next will be cutting the 45's, making our clamp blocks and glue up.


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## DBoltz (Nov 20, 2011)

*45s, Clamping Blocks and Glue Up*

We finished the 22.5 degree cuts last time. This time, we tackled the 45s and got the case glued up.

Cutting the 45s on my crosscut sled. A little blue painter's tape helps support the fibers of the maple. I've never used it before but I did not want to take any chances with the figured maple. Cuts came out smooth. Like the 22.5s, I slowly crept up on the final size.









Here are a couple of photos of my 22.5 degree clamping blocks. This is why we saved those cutoffs. You can see the parallel surfaces it gives us to attach our clamps. I attached my cutoffs to some thin scrap and then clamp the whole assembly to the side pieces.

















And here it is in the clamps. This glue up went pretty smooth. I did a dry fit right before and had all my clamps in place ready to go.









Next time we will get the box out of the clamps, smooth the joints, cut for the corner splines, and install the splines. I went and ordered the nameplate today. I will have that back by next Tuesday.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DBoltz said:


> *45s, Clamping Blocks and Glue Up*
> 
> We finished the 22.5 degree cuts last time. This time, we tackled the 45s and got the case glued up.
> 
> ...


This is looking great. Nice documentation of the process.

I need to design and build a flag case for my father's burial flag. This blog will help immensely. Thanks for sharing. I know it is quite an undertaking to document & blog during a project build. Looking forward to seeing more.


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## DBoltz (Nov 20, 2011)

DBoltz said:


> *45s, Clamping Blocks and Glue Up*
> 
> We finished the 22.5 degree cuts last time. This time, we tackled the 45s and got the case glued up.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Randy. Hopefully this does help you. If you have any questions along the way, give me a shout. I'd be happy to help if I can!


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## AAWW2005 (Apr 28, 2010)

DBoltz said:


> *45s, Clamping Blocks and Glue Up*
> 
> We finished the 22.5 degree cuts last time. This time, we tackled the 45s and got the case glued up.
> 
> ...


Looks good Dan, here is a little known fact for ya; there are no 90deg angle star points on the flag. When you cut the top, cut 40's (80deg) and on the bottom, cut 60's(120). You'll get a perfect 1,2,3,4 pattern to the edge of your boxes off the top row of stars. Hope this helps!


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## DBoltz (Nov 20, 2011)

DBoltz said:


> *45s, Clamping Blocks and Glue Up*
> 
> We finished the 22.5 degree cuts last time. This time, we tackled the 45s and got the case glued up.
> 
> ...


Thanks, AAWW2005. Interesting fact about the star points.


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## DBoltz (Nov 20, 2011)

*Time for Splines*

We've got the box out of the clamps and smoothed out.









Time to cut the splines. I have a spline cutting jig I made for my table saw. It has a saddle that rides along the fence similar to the 22.5 cutting jig. I do the top corners first to get them out of the way. The top corner, since the angles are 45 degrees, just sits in the jig normal. On the 22.5 cuts, I used one of my test pieces of pine to support the angle. You can see that in the picture. I also raised the saw blade a little to make the splines proportionate to the joint since the bottom corners are deeper. I clamp the box to the jig so I don't have to worry about it moving at all. I used a GP blade in my saw and it did not leave me with flat bottom spline cuts. I just glued a strip of 150 grit sandpaper to the edge of a piece of 1/8" plywood and a few passes made those spline cuts flat. A flat-top rip blade would be ideal for this cut if you have one. 









I chose pine for the splines for this box. This is not just any ordinary pine. I found a few small pieces of pine in Bob's tool room. Since this box will be holding Bob's flag, I chose to use his pine for the splines. I thought that would add a nice personal touch. 









After I installed the splines, I used my flush cut saw to get them close to the side pieces. I did not get any photos of the splines before I flush cut them. The next pictures show they are still proud of the side pieces. 


















After the flush cut saw, I use a 3/4" chisel and carefully get the splines even closer to the side pieces. Before the splines went in, the sides were sanded to 180. Now I got the splines flush with the sides and sanded the whole box with 220. 









Here it is so far. 









Next we will do the base and start to finish the box.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DBoltz said:


> *Time for Splines*
> 
> We've got the box out of the clamps and smoothed out.
> 
> ...


Lookin' Good!!!

I really like the contrast of the woods. The pine splines are a very nice & fitting (personal) touch.

Looking forward to seeing more progress.


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## DBoltz (Nov 20, 2011)

*Base*

Last time we got the splines installed and flushed up. Now, we will get the base done.

Mortises cut on the base and on the bottom of the flag box using your standard drill press and chisel combo. Here we have the majority of the waste of a mortise hogged out using a forstner bit on the drill press. I just used a handheld drill on the bottom of the flag box. 









Here you can see the supports with the top tenon. They are just dry in the base with the mortise and tenon. I have the layout of the shells where I want them on the base. I also have the name plate block sitting on the base in the front middle.

















Shell positions laid out and marked with a punch.









I drilled a through hole (not my ideal method but it worked and the holes are very small) to mark the locations so I could place the base on the flag box and transfer the hole locations. Look carefully and you can see the small drill bit I just placed in one of the holes in the base. I just made an indent with a quick pull of the drill trigger to transfer the location to the flag box. 









Here are the locations marked on the bottom of the flag box. 









Using the closest matching to the shell diameter forstner bits that I had, I drilled the holes in the base and the bottom of the flag box about 1/8" deep. I think I will place a dab of epoxy or hot glue to keep them from rattling once I assemble the whole thing. Here's a sneak peek.









Gluing the name plate block in place. I cut the name plate at a 10 degree angle and then did that same bevel all along the base. The name plate is taller than the block so it will come down on the base some. That angle had to match.









Coat of stain on the box. It really made the grain pop on that maple. A little bit of figure on the walnut toward the top. I am happy with the stain.

















Next up is to put the lacquer on, attach the name plate, assemble the box to the base, glass and back. Getting close!


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## DBoltz (Nov 20, 2011)

*Finished!*

Finally got it finished! 
Got the back cut. 1/4" plywood attached with 7 brass screws. 









And the name plate is attached. The engraving shop (Village Engraver, Fairfield Shopping Center, Virginia Beach) provided the double sided tape.









The box and base are finished with three coats of Watco Semi-Gloss lacquer. I did a light sanding of 320 grit in between coats. After the lacquer dried, I applied some clear paste wax with 0000 steel wool and buffed. I did this twice. The third coat of wax was applied with a paper towel.

The shells are held in place with a small piece of 3M mounting putty. I was going to use hot melt glue but then I saw these at the store and figured they would probably be less messy. I wanted to keep them in their place snugly. This did the trick.










Thanks for following along! I hope this was helpful to anyone who wants to make a flag box!


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

DBoltz said:


> *Finished!*
> 
> Finally got it finished!
> Got the back cut. 1/4" plywood attached with 7 brass screws.
> ...


It was easy to follow such a good leader!

Looks great.

I need to start planning my flag box, so as to eventually actually finish it. Thanks for the motivation.


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