Replies

1. 
   Major_H._Patterson | Jan 26, 2001 01:11pm | #1

   *
   Please give some idea of the diminsions involved.The number of parts required and the accuracy expected would also be helpful. PAT

1. 
   Danford_C._Jennings | Jan 26, 2001 04:42pm | #2

   *AGilron,Cut your work piece so that the hexagon can be layed out where the two paralell sides are on the edges and the two points are tangent to the other two edges. Set your mitre gauge to the proper angle (60 degrees), make your cut. Set your fence to the proper width from the cut you just made to the opposite side, place the side you just cut against the fence and make your cut. Repeat to finish the other two sides. This will give you a perfect hexagon, if you are contemplating an irregular hexagon more details will be required. It your work piece is to big to safely use the mitre gauge you will need to make an auxilary fence clamped to the table at 60 degrees, then follow the sequence as above. If you can't make the cut with the auxilary fence safely use a circular saw with a 4O T blade and straight edge for a guide. Dano

1. 
   hotsawdust_ | Jan 26, 2001 10:50pm | #3

   *Maybe I'm missing something, but I dont see how clamping a fence onto the saw table at 60 degrees is going to do much. Unless you have a sliding table that is.

1. 
   Danford_C._Jennings | Jan 27, 2001 02:23am | #4

   *Sawdust,Yup, you must be.;) If the work piece is too big for the mitre gauge to be used, and the table is wide enough, by clamping the aux. fence at 60 degrees will make the cut required, that is, of course, assuming that we are talking about a regular hexagon.DanoP.S. If you still don't get it, let me know and I'll draw a picture for you.

1. 
   hotsawdust_ | Jan 27, 2001 05:51am | #5

   *Draw!

2. 
   Danford_C._Jennings | Jan 27, 2001 06:13am | #6

   *Sawdust,Yeech, hate eating crow! Guess what's needed is a taper jig set at 60 degrees to ride against the fence. Don't know how my wires got crossed. I use the clamped aux. fence so much for making cove cuts...Any who, thanks for setting me straight. Some times I talk so fast I say things I haven't thought of. Hopefully, AGilron comes back, answers Pat's questions and we can start all over.:)Dano

3. 
   hotsawdust_ | Jan 27, 2001 07:16pm | #7

   *No troubles Danford! I thought maybe you knew some trick I hadn't thought of.My own wires are permanently crossed...

4. 
   Major_H._Patterson | Jan 27, 2001 09:14pm | #8

   *There was a reason for asking about quantities and precision.My life`s work has been precision oriented.one of the facts of life is,You must make all cuts using the same reference edge or surface if at all possible.In this illustration,a flat hexagon,is a good example.Any small error in the angular setting will be multiplied by a factor of 6 if you rotate and use the last cut surface as a reference for the next.In this case it might not make any difference,but if this was a project that required all these parts to be nested into an assembly,you will likely notice the slightly open spaces.Another example.In cutting tenons,it is usual to cut one side ,turn the piece over and cut the other side.You may not sweat tenons that are not exactly the same thickness.In a number of rails it is unlikely that each piece is EXACTLY the same thickness,there fore the tenons produced cannot all be all one thickness. If you mark the face side,and use it for the priamary reference,all tenons will be the same. they may all be wrong,but they will be the same.The fact that this will require another setup is a small price to pay for stiles and rails that all are flush on the face side. FWIW PAT

5. 
   AGilron | Jan 30, 2001 11:57pm | #9

   *I was making small hexagonal boxes with a dado near the top and bottom. I ended up making a parallelogram(60 degree), and then loping off the last 2 sides by measuring half of the width. Needless to say I came close, but that last angle was always "off" by just a bit, and that was annoying. I thought that there might be an easier way to get that last angle centered, and thereby getting a perfect hexagon.Another problem I have is with my table saw. It has a crosscut trolley that does not keep it's settings . It seems to be a problem of vibration when the saw is in use. However much I snug down the various nuts and bolts on the trolley, it all loosens up, and the end result is that my perfect angles are shot! With these hexagonal pieces, I worked to the right of the saw with the rip fence and a piece of ply and an auxillary fence that I squared to the blade. Trouble is that tho I get a good repeatable cut, I am not pleased with the safety aspects of it. I'd much prefer a dado milled into the table top. Can that be done to an old steel table top? Who does it and how can I be assured that the groove will be parallel to the saw blade?(The bolts that hold the table top onto the table do not leave room for adjustment.)

6. 
   Major_H._Patterson | Jan 31, 2001 02:40am | #10

   *I never trust the various crosscut guides or what you call trollys,for truly precision work. The fact that they are adjustable makes them subject to error. I s the saw table really steel,or is it as I suspect,cast iron? If you take the table off,I think you will see various ribs and stiffeners cast into the lower surface.In the location of the groove there is likely a bar of material to provide stock for the milled slot on the face side of the table.There is no way that a new slot could be milled without cutting thru the table. Now, if the table is off,take a tapered reamer and enlarge the 4 holes in the base.Now you should be able to adjust the slot in the table parallel to the plane of the saw blade.This adjustment is critical if you intend to do precision work on this machine.I had to do this same thing to my Unisaw when it was new a long time ago. Now you can make a variety of sleds to do precise work.I will assume that the table slot is straight and even in width thru its entire length.Now make a strip of hardwood to a close sliding fit in the slot,It will usually be 3/8X3/4 for most saws. It can be a little snug as it will loosen with use.Fasten this to the underside of a flat piece of sheet stock and you are almost home free.Now put on your smoothest cutting blade and make a saw cut the full length of your sled.Always use this same blade and this reference line,or edge, will never change.Lay out whatever angles required on the face of the sled. The locators that you place on the lines to locate the detail parts should have a slight bevel where they join the sled surface.This gives a little insurance that a stray piece of trash or sawdust does not prevent the detail from snuggling up to its locator. This is the way that I work.It is certainly not the only way,and may not be the best way.Woodworkers all have their own way of doing things.I am thankful for this forum that allows me to advance my knowledge of the craft. PAT

7. 
   Dennis_C | Feb 03, 2001 12:30am | #11

   *Just in case, here's a way to dimension ally lay out your hexagon:1. Layout the square that bounds the hexagon.2. Measure the diagonal of the square.3. Measure 1/2 of the length of the diagonal from each corner of the square (in both directions) on each edge to find the hexagon's corner points.4. Each side of the square will now have two marks; connect the marks on adjacent sides to get the cut lines.This is less risky than trying to do it solely by measuring angles.