Introduction: American Flag Pallet

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This instructable shows you how to make a hanging American flag from a pallet, It doesn't take too long and isn't too difficult, so enjoy!

Tools/Items Required:

  • Saw
  • Hammer
  • Nails
  • Sand paper
  • box cutter
  • Printer
  • Ruler
  • Masking tape
  • Paint - red/white/Blue
  • Varnish

Step 1: Setting Up the Pallet

  • Strip off all the wood except for the 3 vertical beams and the lowest horizontal beam.
  • Sand down all the beams so it has a smooth finish.
  • Place the beams one above the other as in figure 2 and hammer into place.

I used 9 vertical slats which gave me a near proportional flag, I used this website as a guide:

http://www.usflag.org/flagspecs.html

It also helps when painting to get dimensions right.

Cut off the excess vertical beams and sand down all the edges.

Step 2: Painting - Red, White and Blue

Mark of the areas to paint with masking tape using the proportions from the website:

http://www.usflag.org/flagspecs.html

I chose to use each beam as the stripes which is not exactly like the flag but it makes for easier painting.

I used spray paint because its quicker and cheaper then wood paint, I also didn't use a primer because I wanted the wood to show through which adds to the weathered look.

First do Blue, Then White stars, Then red.

I decided not to do white stripes and rather use the natural colour of the wood.

Step 3: Stars

Again the stars are not accurate with the correct proportions, but I felt it looked better this way for displaying.

There should be 50 stars, but thats a lot to fit.

Side note..

Originally in 1777. The blue canton contained 13 stars, representing the original 13 colonies, in a circular fashion.

From then on stars were added for each state, so this flag would be from the mid 1800's.

Use Ms Word to make a star template and print it.

Cut out the stars with a ruler and box cutter. Use this as a stencil.

Do touch ups if necessary.

Step 4: Finishes

If you want to make the finish more rustic, then you can sand down the surface a bit. Else just varnish over the paint for a smooth finish. I left the wood untreated which gives a nice contrast.

Finally screw in 2 screws at the back on either side and use hanging wire to hang it on the wall.