Veterans Flag Cases

[Larry]

Tomorrow and Saturday a group of friends will gather in my shop to build flag cases for departed veterans.  We have two different sets of plans for the cases.  I went ahead and cut the parts for one design.  The 22-1/2 degree joints are a little difficult.  I used a tenon jig on the tablesaw.  Clamping is also a chore.  Band clamps work but I can't find em.  The way in the picture seems better.

Plan to use cherry miter keys to reinforce the end grain corner joints.  I don't like splines in this application.

The case in the pictures is just a dry fit.  In the morning we will discuss.

[charles mann]

Im gonna do the same for my dad's burial flag and do an ern for his ashes, using wood off our land. 

[firefighter ontheside]

I made several cases for different reasons.  I made one with the 67.5 degree cuts.  As you  say it is not easy to cut.  I abandoned that method and did the rest will all 45 deg cuts.  The only downfall of this method that I saw is that you cant bevel the inside edge prior to assembly.  It was easy enough to assemble and then run a router around the inside.  You can then use a chisel to finish the bevel in the corners.  How will you retain the glass.  I used a piece of something like 1 x 1.5 applied to the front like a picture frame to hold the glass.  I find masking tape to work very well for clamping frames together.  You could use tape on the 90 corner and then use some double sided tape for you clamping blocks on the other corners.  Too much clamping pressure and the blocks will slide the tape, but you don't need a lot.

[jb616]

I need to get going and make one for my dad's flag and a dear neighbor as well...What is the 45 degree method? I have some Walnut that I cut on the mill that I want to use?

[firefighter ontheside]

Cut the two side pieces on a 45 such that the ends lay flat on a surface.  Then cut the bottom piece with a 45 on each end so it fits under the other 2.  You have to either do some good math to get dimensions or just hold the two side pieces together and make the bottom to fit.

 

[metalspinner]

I've been thinking about this project, too. And clamping that corner is cumbersome. 

I've considered making a 90 degree clamping fixture.  The 90 degree corner of the case pushes into the fixture. and the lower corners of the case get pushed and held into place with this style of clamp ...



 

[Dan_Shade]

Larry, would you be kind enough to share pictures of both of your designs? 

[Larry]

The design we decided to build was the simplest one.  It features ease of build, and low cost.  We wanted to be sure all were involved and not out of their comfort zone.  It is a design that the VA used to produce large quantities of cases.

For the glazing we used a 2' X 4' X .088 thick sheet of Plexiglas bought at Lowes for $35.  We were able to cut 8 pieces out of it with zero waste.  It fits just fine in the kerf of a thin kerf table saw blade.  For the back I supplied 1/8" Baltic Birch.  Some of our group brought cherry and figured walnut.  I supplied straight grain walnut.

At the end of the day, all had cases to take home to sand, glue up, pre-finish the inside, and fit the glazing.  We will get back together in about a week to cut the slot for the miter splines and fit the backs.














 

[WDH]

The misters fit very nicely.  What are the three angles?

[Larry]

The bottom is 22-1/2 degrees.  The top or peak is 45 degrees.

The only way I know to cut the 22-1/2 degree angle on a table saw is to have the side vertical in a tenon jig. 

[Tom King]

Great project, and nice job!!!   That's the way I would cut that miter too.  I use a Wixey cube to set the blade tilt on critical angles.  Miters all around anything leave no margin for error anywhere, and a well executed such project shows more skill than most people have any idea of.

Did you use hot melt glue for the clamp blocks-apologies if you already said so?

[TroyC]

I used a compound mitre saw with a jig to cut the angles. To clamp, I cut a sharp angle  in a scrap block. The angle for the bottom was about 18 degrees or so, top scrap angle about 85 degrees or so. That applied pressure and forced the edges together at the same time. Used a rachet strap around the while thing instead of bar clamps. Apply glue, place blocks over joints, tighten. Worked good for me.

[Larry]

Did you use hot melt glue for the clamp blocks-apologies if you already said so?

This time I glued 60 grit sandpaper to the clamp blocks.  I have used hot melt in the past and it worked fine.  No clean up with the sandpaper so its faster.

I've also used ratchet straps just as TroyC described with good results.  We had 6 woodworkers test fitting the parts Friday and they preferred the sandpaper blocks over the straps.  I think for the actual glue up the straps might have the edge.

[DWyatt]

I made a flag case for the local hardware store owner for his step father's flag. I used box joints for the corner and then added a thin face frame for support. Also, he wanted a spot to put a couple pictures.




 



 

[WDH]

That is an extremely nice job, Sir. 

[Larry]

DWyatt, excellent work!  I think the box joint is by far the best and most attractive to use on a flag case.

On the cases we are building, we considered using a hidden spline in the miter.  In the end we decided to use miter keys to reinforce the joint.  I put them in a couple of cases last night.

[DWyatt]

Unless you can get a good system in place, the box joint takes by far the most time. You could even do some kind of a spline in hard maple as an accent rather than trying to hide it. Those long miter are hard to cut unless you have a tenon jig for the table saw.