In this DIY woodworking project tutorial, I’ll show you how to build a beautiful wooden memorial flag display case for an American flag to honor a fallen hero.

My Grandfather served in the Army during World War II and passed away several years ago, and to honor his memory and service I decided to build this Memorial Flag Display Case as a gift to give to my Dad for Father’s Day.

For this project, I’ll be basing this case off of plans I found online with some modifications. To check out those plans, click here.

Milling Up the Lumber

For this project I’ll be using some beautiful 3/4 Walnut with some nice figure on it. To get started, I’m ripping the walnut into 3″ strips on my table saw. Next I can cut the angles on the pieces to create the mitered triangle shape. To do that, I have to make a quick tenoning jig for my table saw because I can’t create that angle with my existing tools.

Tenoning Jig

The tenoning jig is made of a few pieces of plywood so that the pieces can stand vertically as they pass through the saw, which allows you to cut more acute angles than are usually possible on a table saw. If you’d like more info on how to build a tenoning jig, you can find out how to build your own here.

Cutting the Rabbets

Before I glue up the mitered pieces, I’m using my dado stack to cut a 1/8″ deep by 1/4″ wide rabbet into each piece so I can inset the back panel into the case later. Once that is cut, I can glue up the main body.

Building the Face Frame

I’m modifying from the plans I made above because I want to have a hinged face frame for this case. I rip some 1.5″ strips on the tablesaw and then cut the miters into them to create the triangle shape. Then I use the dado stack to cut a rabbet onto the inside edge of each piece so that I can inset a piece of tempered glass into the case later on.

Next I used my trim router to cut a profile into the inner edge of each piece. This would be a good job for a router table if you have one. Then I can glue up the face frame.

From there I can lay out and mark where the hinges are going to attach on the face frame and main case body. I found these little brass hinges in the hardware section at Home Depot. I trace out the hinges on the body and then chisel out the mortises so they sit flush with the case.

Rough Assembly

With the mortises cut, I can use the small screws to attach the face frame to the case body. And then I can rough sand the whole case with some 120 grit sandpaper, before working my way up to 220 by hand.

To latch the case closed, I decided to add a rare earth magnet into the case body and face frame that would be hidden in a 3/8″ recess into the case. I drilled this

hole out and then epoxied the magnets in place so that when the case it closed there is no visible latch from the outside.

Finishing the Case

I want a really clean finish on this case so I’m using a Tung Oil finish which hardens inside the wood. I ap

ply the first coat, then lightly sand with 500 grit. Then I add the second coat of Tung Oil before sanding once again to 600 grit. Then lastly apply a third finish coat of Tung Oil.

For the backing of the case I cut a piece of hardboard to fit in the triangle shaped rabbet in the back of the case and then I had a piece of tempered glass cut to fit the face frame at a local glass place. It only cost me $7. To attach the glass, I used a thin bead of clear silicone and a couple window glazing retaining clips.

Finished Case

That’s it for this project! I hope you enjoyed it. This project made a wonderful gift for my Dad and I’m happy that I could help honor my Grandfather’s memory and service to the country.

If you liked this project, you may like some of my other woodworking projects that you can check out here:

DIY Walnut Bath Caddy

Wooden Kitchen Utensils with the Shaper Origin

Over a year ago, me and the rest of the guys of SoCal Woodshop put in an order for the Shaper Origin as a club from their pre-order batch, and after waiting for what seemed like forever for it to arrive it finally showed up a few months ago. Needless to say we’ve been very excited to test it out. This tool is a handheld router that acts like a CNC machine with a built in computer that lays out the shape for you to follow. As you work your way around the shape, the tool autocorrects it’s position as it goes making sure you always have the exact cut you’re going for. It’s a seriously impressive tool and so I thought I’d take a crack at actually using it to build a wooden kitchen utensil set.

You’re really only limited by your imagination with this tool but for my first project with it, I decided to test it out with one of the project files available from the Shaper website. I downloaded the file for these kitchen utensils to my creator hub and it automatically synced to the tool via wifi so all I had to do was load it up.

Milling the Work Piece

But first, I needed to prep some material to cut the shapes from. I had a good sized piece of 8/4 cherry that I decided to use so I took it to the bandsaw and resawed it in half. Next I planed it down slightly so both pieces were uniform thickness around 3/4″. Then I laid the 2 pieces together and clamped them to my workbench.

How the Shaper Origin Works

In order to reference the piece and the shape you’re cutting, the machine uses a camera to read this domino looking tape that you lay out on or around the work surface. How much tape and at what spacing depends on the size of the project you’re working on. Since this is a smaller project, I needed to add the tape every few inches so the tool had plenty to reference.

Once laid out, I could move the tool around to scan my work area and place the file image on the work surface to be cut out.

Next it’s time to make sure the right bit was installed in the router. In addition to the design file, the Shaper website also has detailed instructions on every step of cutting out the shapes which you can follow along with.

Cutting Out the Design

Once through the prompts on the machine to get started, I’m ready to cut. It’s literally as easy as following the lines on the screen to cut out the shapes.  

One issue I’ve come across while cutting out the shapes is that once I cut through much of the tape, the machine starts to lose it’s orientation. I added another surrounding piece of the same thickness and some additional tape and rescanned the work area. It didn’t lose where my file was placed so it didn’t end up affecting anything. I’d suggest that you try and place the tape around the workpiece you’re working on rather than on the cut area itself to avoid this with your project. 

I also broke from the instructions a little bit and decided to make my utensils a little thicker than what’s written. Rather than cutting all the way through the cherry to release them, I’m releasing them by resawing them again on the bandsaw.

 Finishing the Wooden Kitchen Utensil Set

All that’s left to do is finish them up! I did a little shaping for the beveled edges on my benchtop sander first. Then I did some additional shaping with the oscillating sander. I also added a round over on the larger implements at the router table before final sanding them by hand.

To finish the utensils, I applied a coat of our SoCal Woodshop Board Wax which really brought out the color and grain of the Cherry. Myself and the rest of SoCal Woodshop make each batch of this wax by hand. It’s 100% food safe so it’s perfect for kitchen projects like this, as well as cutting boards, and butcher blocks. If you’re interested in testing it out for yourself, you can find it here. 

I think my favorite piece is the tiny little spread knife. I don’t know why I like it so much but I haven’t seen anything like it before.

And here are the finished cherry kitchen utensils. I’m really happy with the way these came out. I’ve never made a set like this before and as a first project with the Shaper, I couldn’t be happier. This tool is definitely something that has a ton of possibilities. Any software that can create SVG files can be used to create working files for the tool. The designs can be scaled to virtually any size you can imagine. You’re not limited to how big you can make something.

I hope you guys enjoyed this project and getting a look at what the Shaper Origin is capable of. If you did enjoy this project, here are a few other woodworking projects you might enjoy. 

DIY Cheese Cutting Board

Wooden Banksy Wall Art

Thank you so much for checking out this project and I’ll see you next time!  

Download the Free Plans here