Top Tips for Making A Fire Hose Flag- Tip 2
Now that you’ve cleaned your hose, your second tip is to spend the time planning your project and purchasing the other supplies you need to complete your fire hose flag. I’ve done the backing a few different ways. On another upcoming blog, I’ll go through each step of the process. This is definitely one of the steps but, it is also a tip. The time you spend planning your project will have a great impact on the quality of your fire hose flag. Since there are several different types of fire hose you can utilize to make a fire hose flag, the dimensions of the flag are impacted by the dimensions of the fire hose. I’ve had people tell me I want a cross lay USA hose flag, but I don’t want it that big. It won’t fit in the space I need it in (over a mantle). All I can say is “It is what it is”. My husband says I say that a lot about many different subjects! But with a USA flag, it truly is what it is.
You have 13 stripes and the hose is going to be a certain width when laid flat. You can’t make it smaller than it is designed to be. Since I love using a cross lay hose most of all for my USA flags, we will use that as our example. A flat lay of the hose width is about 3″ to 3 1/8″. If I have 13 stripes, the width of my horizontal layout would be 39″ approximately (give or take a 1/4″ difference probably). Part of this tip is to know the dimensions of a USA flag. Everything is based on that 39″ as it is the HOIST (width of the flag). The FLY (length) of the flag is supposed to be 1.9 of the hoist. Which would make the fly portion of your flag 74.1″. I do think this is the one measurement I alter a tad. The fly visually looks good a little shorter. Sometimes I choose to make it 72″ just so it’s an even 6′ board. The hoist (width) of the UNION is 7 of the 13 stripes. That is easy to determine and layout. The fly (length) of the UNION is .76 of the fly. That would make the fly portion of the union almost 30″. If I have shorted the fly length from 74.1 to 72, I typically shorten this measurement a little as well. The last measurement you need to attain for your fire hose project plan is the size of your star. The star is supposed to be roughly .0616 of the fly. Like I said… Everything is based on that fly section when you are making a USA flag.
The one flag that you can totally make to a specific size is the Texas flag. You just keep your proportions the same but it is easy to utilize smaller layouts. Stay tuned because I will show you the steps of a Texas flag in a future post.
So a good tip is to plan your design out before you just randomly start creating it. This helps you to determine how big your flag will end up being when it is complete as well as how much materials and wood to buy.
Stay safe,
The Mother Trucker
Hi,
Your fire hose flags are awesome.
I made a red/white/blue fire hose swing (we saw it on HGTV and my wife wanted one so viola) and I have leftover hose and want to make my own fire hose flag. Do you have a step by step or pictures to show how to do these.
Keep up the good work…Tim
Thank you. I keep meaning to find the time to do a full tutorial. I have some tips on making them which would help you get started. It goes over the dimensions etc. To make a full size USA flag, you will need 2 sections of cross lay hose (considered to be 1 3/4″ hose when filled with water. But actually 3 – 3.125″ in diameter when laid flat. Good luck with making one. Or maybe you already have since I just saw that your comment was from May. Attach a picture of your completed hose flag. I’d love to see it!
Mother Trucker
How does a person, who doesn’t know a fireman or have a firefighter relative, get a fire hose?
You’d be surprised what you can find on sites like Facebook MarketPlace or Craigslist (if that site still exists). However, I think your best option is to check for city equipment auctions. I know many municipalities will have city equipment auctions online and in person. I am still very thankful that I have access to a good amount of hose even though I am retired. I think it’s because I don’t sell items and my firehose items go to members in need or for firefighter auctions benefitting other members. Either way, luckily, I still have those that believe in what I do and make sure that I have the needed firehose. I supply all the rest of the materials. Good luck hunting for firehose and I’d love to hear and see what you end up creating!