How to Build a Rustic American Flag: A Complete DIY Guide

I'm Tom Smith from Smith Joy Design, and I'm going to walk you through building an American flag from scratch. This makes a great gift, and if you want to make a few extra bucks, people love buying these things. Let's get into it.

• Wood clamps
• Dremel tool with flex shaft attachment and dust blower attachment
• 106 engraving bit (and a 107 if you want to start rough)
• Rubber mallet
• Palm sander with 120 grit sandpaper
• Pack of razor blades
• Minwax stains: Navy and Scarlet Red
• Helmsman urethane clear gloss (UV protectant)
• Finish nailer with 1-3/4" finish nails
• Foam paint brushes
• Stencil for the stars (about 14-7/8" x 10-1/2")
• Hanging clips
• Air compressor
• Table saw
• Chop saw
• One 2x10x12' pine board
• Tight Bond Ultimate Wood Glue (Tight Bond III)
• Scorch marker (optional)

Take your 2x10x12' board and cut it with the chop saw. You need three pieces at 37 inches and one piece at 19 inches. If you're making a bunch of these, set up a stop block on your chop saw at 37 inches — it takes the guesswork out and speeds things up. First, square off the end of the board, then cut away.

Set your table saw to 9/8" and rip a thin sliver off the edge of each 37-inch piece to remove the raw edge. Then set your saw to 1 inch, flip the boards over so the fresh edge rides against the guide, and rip them all into 1-inch wide strips. You'll need 13 strips total.

Lay out all 13 strips, 37 inches long and 1 inch wide. Give them a quick pass with 120 grit sandpaper to smooth out the saw marks.

Now grab your torch. Burn the wood however you like — light or heavy. I usually go heavy because I like how the burned grain pops through the stain later. It's a rustic flag, so there's no wrong way to do this.

Here's a trick I picked up from YouTube years ago. Instead of using tape (which always bleeds for me), I use razor blades to mask off the blue section.

Lay your 13 strips flat. Take your star stencil (about 14-7/8" x 10-1/2") and scribe a line where the Union ends — that's the blue section in the top left corner. Once you have that mark, take a razor blade and line it up on the scribe line. Do this for all seven rows that will be blue. Be careful — those blades are sharp. Take your time.

Use Minwax stains — Navy and Scarlet Red. Foam brushes work best. Throw them in a Ziploc bag between coats and they'll last a while.

Starting from the blue section, paint seven strips blue. Then the next strip down is red. After that, alternate: red, natural (unpainted), red, natural, red, natural, red. So you end up with red on top and bottom, with natural wood stripes in between.

When you paint, push the stain right up to the razor blade edge. That burned wood grain will show through the red and look great.

If you splatter stain where it doesn't belong — no big deal. Just sand it off with a little piece of sandpaper, then hit that spot with the torch again to darken it. You'll never know it was there.

Once the stain is dry, take another razor blade and scribe down both sides of each embedded blade before pulling them out. This keeps you from pulling the stain off with the blade.

Flip the whole flag over. Make sure you flip all the strips together — don't mix them up or you'll be in for a surprise.

Grab those 19-inch strips. You need three of them for the back supports. Here's how to position them:

• Find the center of the flag: 18-1/2 inches from either end.
• Set your first support back 3/4 inch from center. That puts a 1-1/2 inch strip right on center.
• Measure 12 inches out from center in each direction and mark those spots.

Lay your supports on those marks. Use wood clamps to hold everything tight. Tap everything into place with a rubber mallet.

Apply Tight Bond III wood glue generously to the backs of the supports. Then nail them in with your finish nailer.

Flip the flag back over. Tape your star stencil in place on the blue Union — make sure the star points are facing up. I learned that one the hard way.

Use your Dremel with a 107 or 106 engraving bit. The flex shaft attachment makes this way easier, and the dust blower attachment is a lifesaver — it blows the dust away so you can actually see what you're doing. Start with the 107 bit to rough it in, then switch to the 106 to clean it up.

My wife helps me with this part, and I'm grateful for it.

Once you're done engraving, blow off all the dust.

This is personal preference, but I like burning the stars with a Scorch marker. It gives them a more rustic look. You can leave them natural if you prefer.

Measure 5 inches down from the top of the flag. Mark that spot on the two outside supports. Screw your stainless steel clips in at those marks.

Use Helmsman urethane clear gloss. It's UV protectant and handles rain, moisture, and temperature changes. Spray the back with cans (it won't be in direct sunlight), then put a nice thick coat on the front with a brush.

That's it. Let it dry, hang it up, and you're done.

If you have questions, leave them in the comments. I'll do my best to answer. And if you make one of these, I'd love to see it.