I decided to represent state pride for the great state of Texas through creating a wall decoration out of wood. It's a super easy project for any level of woodworker, and also doesn't take too long.

Step 1: Cutting the Wood

To start off, I went to my local hardware store and picked up some 1/4 inch plywood, some stain, and some sawtooth mounting brackets.

Next, I took the plywood, and using a jigsaw and a straight edge, cut out the necessary pieces. For my design, the main back piece measured 17" by 12", the piece that would eventually have the star on it measured 5.5" by 12", and the final piece measured 11.5" by 6"

Step 2: Cutting Out the Star

My next step was to cut out the star. I traced a rough outline of the star, making sure to keep the sides of the triangles that the star formed at 1.5". This ensured that the star was symmetrical. I then drilled a hole in the center large enough for my jigsaw blade to fit into, and cut out the star.

Step 3: Staining

Before I stained the wood, I gave everything a good sand with 220 grit sandpaper to get rid of all of the rough edges and smooth everything out.

I decided that I would represent the different colors of the flag using different colors of stain. For the white I used boiled linseed oil, for the blue I used Minwax Fruitwood, and for the red I used Minwax Red Mahogany. I simply followed the instructions on the containers and waited for them to dry.

Step 4: Glue Up and Wall Brackets

Now it was time to glue everything together. I used Gorilla wood glue and some clamps to bond the wood together.

For the final step, I installed some sawtooth wall mounting brackets to the back of the flag. I measured 2" down for the both sides in the top corners, and secured the brackets using the nails provided in the packaging, making sure to keep the brackets level.

Step 5: Conclusion

This was a super quick and easy project for someone of any level. Looking back on the project, if I were to do anything differently, I most likely would have chosen a slightly darker stain to help differentiate the back panel and the panel with the star on it.

If anyone has any comments or questions be sure to leave them below!

Cheers

-Matt