Steve Guenzel is used to challenges. His company, Advanced Stair Systems supplies stairs and handrails for custom projects in the greater Philadelphia area. “We specialize in creating reproduction handrails using the Tangent Handrail Method and 3D modeling, which is an art and science unto itself,” he said.

But he tackled a different kind of challenge when he started making flags that are made mostly of solid American hardwoods but look like they are flying in the breeze. “We have been making American hardwood flags for a few years now,” he said. “The original idea was a personal challenge to do better than a few that I saw on the internet. They make a stunning statement of beauty and patriotism.”

His most recent project really stretched the limits since the flag is 6 feet long and 2 inches thick.

“This particular flag is a lot larger than most flags we made previously and is 39”x 72” and 2” thick,” he said. “I had designed the waving profile a few years ago, and just had to modify a few things for the larger size. The stars are the greatest challenge, but I feel also they are the key element that had to have the right look to them. Getting the stars to a sharp point is difficult, and took a little trial and error, but in the end, I think we nailed it.”

The stripes are 3 inches tall with the white stripes crafted of hard maple and the red stripes from sapele mahogany. For the star field, they chose black walnut, using hard maple again for the stars.

“The stars are a little more than 2 inches point to point and ¾-inch thick, with care taken to align the grain correctly with the stripes,” he said. “They are cut out, and then inlayed into the walnut star field with a lot of precision, as any gaps or poor fits are extremely visible.”

Gluing up the parts of the flag requires three stages, then the whole thing is planed to the finish thickness of 2 inches.

The next step is what really makes the flag distinctive: carving the waves to make the flag look like it is flapping in the wind.

“The machining of the wave and the final cutout of the flag is done on our 22-foot CNT Motion CNC router,” Guenzel said. “For this project we used Aspire CAM software to program the CNC and Autodesk Inventor for the 3D modeling to get the wave just right.”

Guenzel says it is impressive seeing the flag take shape on the bed of the CNC.

“Watching the CNC cut the wave is amazing and is surpassed only by the spraying of the first coats of clear coat on the flags, and watching the true colors just pop,” he said. “This stage almost brings you to tears.”

For maximum effect, the flags use only the natural wood coloring.

“Cutting the waves across the wood brings out an interesting grain pattern and lets the natural beauty of the wood come out,” he said. “No stains are used on our flags, as the genuine tones of the wood are incredible on their own.”

This flag will be proudly displayed in the showroom at Advanced Stair Systems’ new shop north of Philadelphia. For more on the company, you can visit their website at advancedstairsystems.com.