D.C. Flags in Steel Rings

Dimensions: Diameter, 21.75 inches; Thickness, 1 inch, Weight, 13 pounds. These upcycled items allow you to show your pride in D.C.—no matter how outsiders shamefully and politically denigrate us—with a unique, somewhat industrial version of our popular city flag. It would look great in many rooms of a house or in an office, as well as in commercial establishments like a local bar or restaurant. Two D-rings are attached to the back, so all you need to hang one on your wall is a hammer and a couple of nails.

D.C. Flag in Steel Ring #3. Sold at a neighborhood art show.

D.C. Flag in Steel Ring #2. $150. Click here to purchase.

D.C Flag in Steel Ring #1. Sold at a neighborhood art show.

The Story

I’ve found several rings like this on a nearby sidewalk—interesting artifacst. It takes a lot of paint stripper and scraping to get them down to raw steel on the visible side of the final product. When the design idea came to me one night like a proverbial light bulb going on, I sketched it out and started on the first one the next day. It sold really quickly, so I followed and made more.

I use reclaimed pallet wood in my stock, selecting and cutting lighter wood for the white stripes and darker wood, such as red oak, for the red stripes. The relative widths of the main five stripes adhere to the official dimensions of the D.C. flag. I lay out the pallet wood under the ring, trace the perimeter, and cut those curved edges with my jigsaw. I also use that tool to cut a slightly smaller circle out of a sheet of 5-millimeter-thick underlayment, which I get from The Home Depot, to serve as the backing piece. If the wood is warped, I’ll use my router to cut some grooves in the back; this makes it more flexible so it will glue flat. I use a Minwax Sedona Red stain to color the two red stripes. On the white pieces I use Watco Natural [clear] Danish Oil just to bring out the subtle grain. I don’t use any varnish or polycrylic on the wood, because I want a natural, non-shiny finish to complement the metal. After those treatments, I glue the pallet wood to the backing piece one or two at a time. On the D.C. flag the stars are the same red as the stripes, but when I realized that the little cast iron stars I had (leftover from other projects) nicely matched the tone of the steel ring, I decided to leave them just like that. I drilled small holes and carefully hammered them into place, adding a dab of thick adhesive under each one, for extra security. Finally, I attach the steel ring to the front of the piece with three small bolts and nuts.

Related Items: Reclaimed Wood D.C .Flags; Found Metal and Reclaimed Wood Circular Wall Art #1, #2 and #3.