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Memorial Flag Box Project

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BrokenolMarine
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Re: Memorial Flag Box Project

Post by BrokenolMarine » Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:34 am

Thanks... I try to make them all special. But this gal is a friend of my wife, and her dad was a Navy Vet from the same period as my dad. I want her to be proud of the box, and it not to detract from the memory it holds.

Miss Tina and I went on vacation to Gatlinburg Tn years ago. We spent a week in the Smokies. There, we came across a young veteran of the Corps, making his living doing chainsaw carvings. He was really good... his work was amazing. Earlier in the week I had purchased a small wooden carving of "Chesty," the Corps bulldog mascot. I got it from the truck and asked if he could carve it. He said he could, and quoted a price. I paid half up front, and would pay the balance when he was ready to ship. I asked if he wanted to keep the little chesty for reference. He said he was good.

He carved the bulldog from walnut, 2' tall. When the package arrived, I eagerly tore off the wrapping, and there inside was a two foot tall, sad eyed sitting bulldog. NOT the crouching, campaign covered Marine Mascot. When I called, he was irritated. "Send it back, i'll do it again."

I didn't bother. But I have never forgotten that disappointment nor the feeling of betrayal when the wrapping revealed the work he shipped.
I make sure when I am working on a project for someone ... we both know where it's going, have the same goals... then I try to exceed them. :D
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BrokenolMarine
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moving forward

Post by BrokenolMarine » Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:52 am

Short late evening session yesterday. I got the pedestal glued and clamped up and shot a few pins in to insure stability. They won't show at all once the sanding is done. That's why you save sawdust. LOL.
01 glue up.jpg
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I also did the final detail work on the rear dadoes for the flag compartment. Sloooow careful work with the chisel to get the edges just so... ;) I think we are ready.
02 trimmed and checked.jpg
02 trimmed and checked.jpg (258.73 KiB) Viewed 4598 times
Now, after coffee and toast and the morning routine inside, I'll be going out to sand, and sand, and maybe... I'll sand. Once I am satisfied with that, I'll drill the slots for the coins and the holes for the plate. Also the holes for assembly. I'll pre-stain each piece, careful to keep the stain OFF the areas to accept glue. Then the assembly will begin. :lol:

We are getting there. A couple days, maybe three.
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You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
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BrokenolMarine
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Getting Close!

Post by BrokenolMarine » Tue Feb 27, 2018 2:26 pm

:D

Spent a couple hours getting covered in fine mahogany sawdust, measuring, remeasuring, then marking, drilling, and countersinking, the assembly holes.
Then ... with baited breath, measuring... remeasuring, and finally drilling the holes in the face plate for the coins. The test board I drilled showed the forstner bit for the coins would be too tight, so I used the next size up and they will have a "Framed" cubby inset. They will still look good. I will seat them just below the surface. Next up is another bout of sanding with 220 and 400 grit, then applying finish. You get a good idea of what the thing will look like now.
close.jpg
close.jpg (283.49 KiB) Viewed 4595 times
The holes you see on top of the bottom plate of the flag compartment will fully disappear. For one, I made mahogany plugs to fill them once the pedestal is glued and screwed. Secondly, that area will get flocked, and the plugs will be covered, AND the flag will sit directly over that area. Why bother? Because when they take the flag out for any reason, I want it to look like I actually care. :)

Really, the only thing you don't see here are the top angled pieces and the trim. The daughter of the vet ordered the glass today, we should have that in a day or so. I have to cut the back plate, which I'll probably do in the next day or so, otherwise everything but a couple retention blocks for the glass, has been cut and sanded.

Close.... we are close.
:)

I'm happy, so far. 8-)
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You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
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BrokenolMarine
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Stained...

Post by BrokenolMarine » Thu Mar 01, 2018 12:27 pm

First step in the stain phase, tape off the areas that will be glued, or flocked. Measure, measure, mark. Tape. :P Geez... lots of measuring.. and double measuring here. :?

The first areas I taped off were the inside of the flag compartment. They will be flocked and the flocking base won't stick to the stain very well. Plus it will have to be painted with a flat black paint to seal it anyway. I also taped off the angled ends, where the glue will go, since that will hold the compartment together. Kind of important. ;)
01 flocking.jpg
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Next, I taped off the coin slots so the epoxy that will hold the coins in, will hold properly.
02 coin.jpg
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We are ever so close to staining, but ... we need to decide what stain. I make a test stain board, using a scrap of mahogany. Miss T and I liked the Colonial Maple the best, but we sent a pic to the Daughter of the Vet and she and her boss also liked the maple the best so it's unanimous. Maple it is. Always good to have a solid vote.
03 stain sample.jpg
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I got busy and carefully stained all the pieces. I would normally have left open areas on the bases, but I didn't want any gaps in the coverage. I'll sand contact areas lightly when I assemble. You'll note if you can see them, that I rolled a little stain over the edges on the pedestal, even though the top and bottom of that piece will be in contact with the base and underside of the flag compartment. I didn't want faint unstained wood peeking to ruin the piece. :roll:
04 stained 1.jpg
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05 stained 2.jpg
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I'll let this dry, then assemble the pedestal, then flock the three pieces that are to be flocked.
We are almost there. :D
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You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
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BrokenolMarine
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glued and screwed

Post by BrokenolMarine » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:51 pm

Late afternoon work session. A lot more went into the session than I will write about, but.... the pedestal is glued and screwed, and it's just as I had hoped.
:)

I even got the plugs installed and trimmed. Here are the mahogany plugs in place... awaiting shearing.
01 plugs.jpg
01 plugs.jpg (237.36 KiB) Viewed 4567 times
Oh wait, did I say plugs? :? What plugs.
02 what plugs.jpg
02 what plugs.jpg (245.06 KiB) Viewed 4567 times
The base is done...
03 Assembled.jpg
03 Assembled.jpg (282.82 KiB) Viewed 4567 times
I may go out later this evening and carefully apply another coat of stain, just to make sure it's even all over.... then let it dry overnight. ;) Or not.
Then tomorrow morning, I'll install the trim to each of the components for the flag compartment... then flock those three pieces and let them dry for the day. Once that is completed, I'll assemble the flag compartment, and make the back panel and fit it to the back of the compartment. After that, all that's left to do is wax and buff, then install the two challenge coins and the name plate, and wait for the glass and flag to be delivered. ;)
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You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
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BrokenolMarine
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flocking

Post by BrokenolMarine » Fri Mar 02, 2018 1:03 pm

Out this morning and removed the tape from the sections that will be flocked. Then, carefully rechecked the measurements and remarked the borders that needed it. Then, retaped the sections to be flocked and insured that there wouldn't be any overspray of primer on the wooden surfaces where it wasn't needed. Once the base was taped, I primed that and set it aside to dry while I taped the upper sections.
02 primed too.jpg
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I taped both upper sections then primed them at the same time, and set them aside to dry.
01 primed.jpg
01 primed.jpg (279.34 KiB) Viewed 4552 times
Hmmm... I normally use a low sided smaller rubbermaid tub to flock inside of to catch excess flocking. The pedestal base is too large to fit in there. :) The wife went out into the storage building and found me a full sized rubbermaid tub to use for this session. Got the primed pieces laid out and ready for the base coating.
03 ready for the base.jpg
03 ready for the base.jpg (219.38 KiB) Viewed 4552 times
After painting the base coat on the pedestal, I flocked that... then painted both the top pieces and flocked those.... I insured all three pieces had good coverage, OVER flocked is what we shoot for.
04 flocked.jpg
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I'll leave them overnight to dry in the covered rubbermaid tub. I'll dust the excess flocking off and recover it tomorrow, it can be used in future projects. :P Then I can attach the glass retention trim pieces and assemble the flag compartment and measure for the back panel. We are nearly done.
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You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
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GFK
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Re: Memorial Flag Box Project

Post by GFK » Fri Mar 02, 2018 8:45 pm

Nice work!
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BrokenolMarine
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Re: Memorial Flag Box Project

Post by BrokenolMarine » Sat Mar 03, 2018 8:05 am

Thanks GFK, I am very happy with the way things have turned out so far. Like any artist, there are things I would like to have turned out better, but it's the nature of the beast. I still have a bit to do, but we are getting there. The daughter is bringing the flag and glass tomorrow and we can do the fitting in the flag compartment, which I will assemble today. I can't wait to see it. :P
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You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
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BrokenolMarine
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Trimming the flag compartment

Post by BrokenolMarine » Sat Mar 03, 2018 12:15 pm

The hardest part is the waiting.... :? I really wanted to work on the box last night, but I had to wait to let the flocking dry... it's really the hardest part. 8-)
Went out this morning, and it was good and dry.
01 dry and ready.jpg
01 dry and ready.jpg (263.5 KiB) Viewed 4519 times
That meant I could move forward. First step is to tilt each piece and give it a hard whack on the bottom, prior to doing anything else, knock off as much of the flocking as you can. Then, with a VERY soft bristled brush, brush off the excess. I use a fine hair shoe buffing brush that I don't use for anything else. It's part of the flocking kit. :) This lets you recover as much of the excess as you can.
02 excess flocking.jpg
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04 recovery.jpg
04 recovery.jpg (270.71 KiB) Viewed 4519 times
Here are the flocked pieces, ready to work with. They turned out well, but there were some areas where there was a bit of bleed thru of the paint used as a base. I used an exacto knife to scrape that away. Good to go. Those "bald" areas with no stain and no flocking? For glue adhesion. :)
03 tape removed.jpg
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I spent the next hour, measuring, marking, drilling pilot holes using a small gold finish nail as a drill, and a 7/64 bit as a countersink. Prep work. Then I remeasured, as I installed each piece of trim on the individual components. There wouldn't be room to drill pilot holes or countersink if they were installed after assembly. Hopefully careful installation will result in a good result. If not, tricks will bring them into line. :roll: 8-)
05 trim installed.jpg
05 trim installed.jpg (311.28 KiB) Viewed 4519 times
After a break, I'll get out to the shop and assemble the flag box section, then measure for the back. :P
We are ever closer to a reveal.
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You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
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BrokenolMarine
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Boom!

Post by BrokenolMarine » Sat Mar 03, 2018 5:42 pm

Got out this morning and assembled the box. It's not absolutely perfect, but I think I can touch up the things that are annoying me. :twisted: I got the back on. I guess I'll flock the inside of the back. :? You won't see it, because the flag will be in front of it. But, if the box is empty, it's glaring. :roll: It will just look nicer. Renee is coming with the glass and flag tomorrow. :)
01 assembled.jpg
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I need to soften a couple edges, and fill a gap here and there. I have to apply the finish, then buff that and wax. Mount the coins and name plate. Then... wait, then I'm done. :shock:
1 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

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