Greetings ~
For some time now I have wanted to make a flagpole for indoors. I have one in the front yard but I wanted one for in my den. What I needed was a long, round wooden pole for the project.
I checked out some metal pipes in the garage but they looked really tacky for a flagpole. Using metal in the yard outside is great! But indoors you really want a wooden pole. But getting something long enough is hard unless you go and buy something. And as far as buying it, a thick wooden dowl rod like I need for this project is costly. And yes, I'm cheap!
So, the other day I was walking outside and, all of a sudden, I spotted our old picnic table umbrella and how it had torn and needed to be thrown out. And then it hit me. No, not crap from a bird, the pole! It's eight feet long and wooden and straight and in great condition. So I took it down to the workshop in the basement and began taking the umbrella parts off of it. It was a great pole. And it was sturdy.
All I had to do was make a base. So I pulled out some old wood leftover from a shelving project that I did a few years ago and wa-la! I made a wooden base and put the pole in it and had my indoor flagpole. Now I can display my 9-11 flag, or any other, and the pole works just fine.
This blog shows the process of the pole and base building. I already had the base together before I decided to start taking pictures and posting them here. So, guys, never throw out anything that you may be able to use later on. Where else would I have found a pole large enough for this? The cool part is, I have two of these umbrellas that has gone bad. Both poles are in good condition. So I plan to make another one for another flag.