Well, it looks like I am going to have to wait till next weekend to finish my flag. I had bought just enough black walnut to finish the project. With the first two failed attempts I did not have enough left for the stripes.
I cut some beech and mahogany for the stripes but they are too close in color. I thought the mahogany would stand out more.
First time I've used beech. My tools do not like it. Fairly hard but a lot of internal stresses. Kept grabbing at my table saw blade as I cut it causing even some smoke.
But super happy with the maple star inlays in the walnut. Labor intensive but results are excellent. My opinion is this technique will work with other shapes easily for more advanced inlay work.