DIY $9 Set of Flag Swivel Rods

Yesterday I got the news that I can officially be a part of the flag team in our congregation.  Yay!  With that, I had been scoping out what type of flags they use.  Most often I see the swivel sorts, with the ball on the end that helps rolling the rod in the hand, probably saving the wrist.  I bought some cheaper ones that have flags already attached (though swivel), outside of the beautiful non-swivel ones I shared in a previous post for $12.  For cost efficiency, I wanted swivel rods that didn't have their flags permanently attached, that way I could interchange the same rod with multiple flags.  I had did online window shopping for a while and could not find these any cheaper than $18 a rod.  That's $36/set.  Perhaps if that included the flags, that would have been the most I was comfortable spending, but it didn't (flags were still ranging around $14 just for one detachable/$28 a set!).  A praise session could easily turn into $64+.  I'm just a little more economical than that.  I ventured to make my own.

The blueprint I used was from ones that I had previously purchased, whose flags were not removable.  First of the all, it wasn't just the luxury of changing flags on one rod that made me want more rods, but it was the fact that the dowels of the ones I had purchased were thin and caused hand cramping.  However, they were an example for me in the task I was undertaking.  They are pictured below.

It took just 2 stores -- Home Depot and Hobby Lobby.

At Hobby Lobby, I picked up 2 5x8 dowels and the ball caps in the same aisle.  Those balls can only fit over a 5x8, hence that is the dowel size I had to get.  Note, the dowels are 36 inches long, which is rather heavy-duty.  You could always use a rotary tool to cut it down a few inches, but not too much because you will still need it long enough for the poly pipe and your hands.  Or, you could take it to Home Depot (which was my next stop) and use their aisle saw for free.  You can also get a strip of velcro here for less than a dollar.

At Home Depot, I really only needed the poly pipes that spin over the dowels.  These pipes were in the PVC pipe section, under the bundles of lightweight pipes that are sold in rolls.  These are much thinner and lighter, and $.90 a pipe.  I purchased 2 at the 3/4 size, 24 inches long.  Again, you can have these cut shorter at Home Depot (even their tools department will help you out for free) or do at home if you have the tools.  If you don't already have it, you can also pick up electrical tape and wood glue (I already had these).

Use wood glue to cap off one end with the wooden ball.  Put dowel through the pipe.  Secure the other end of it in place with electrical tape, as pictured below.  This will allow free spinning without friction.

Then I secured the other end of dowel with the same wood glue and wooden ball.  There are a few options you can do to secure a flag to the swivel pipe.  The option I chose was to use the soft side of velcro.  Just a wrap around on the 2 ends of the pipe is sufficent to stick to a flag made of certain materials.  Or you could always use the other side of the velcro and sew it into the end of the flag that wraps around the pole/rod.

Grand total?  For both rods, all things considering... $9, and still with plenty of balls left over for another project.  That's $27 dollar savings!