Hexagon Box

[lalkie01]

I am in the process of building some hexagon boxes and would like some advice. I am aware that end grain joints do not glue well and planning on using my joint-matic. Do the ends need to be cut at 30 degrees? I thought I could cut the ends longer then sand the off to get a good fit. I also have to find a good way to clamp the pieces together. Is there a small band clamp that would work well? I do not have the angle piece for my joint-matic. If anyone has this piece I would be interested in purchasing it Any help would be appreciated. Thank Larry

[wa2crk]

Larry
The included angle would be 60 degrees. 6 times 60 equals 360 so the miter angle will be 30 deg. Automotive hose clamps work OK and you can find large ones at HVAC shops. It will be difficult to sand the pieces unless you have a good sanding jig. I assemble half circles for segmented turning and the true up the half circles to put them together. The end grain gluing is strong enough to handle the pieces for assembly but if you are making deep boxes the gluing should be edge grain to edge grain will be very strong
Bill V

[br549]

Knowing more details about your box might help others make suggestions. Such as, size of the box, including height? Thickness of sides? How refined do you want the corners to look? Type of finish? Type of wood? You mentioned end grain ... is grain directon of sides already decided? Pictures of any parts already cut might be helpful too. In addition to automotive type hose clamps, large rubber bands cut from automotive tire intertubes make good clamps for certain size projects.

[masonsailor2]

They sell banding clamps made of webbing that work pretty well. A lot depends on how many and how big the boxes are. Another idea you may want to consider is splining the joints using a saw blade. It is a very simple jig and the SS does it very well. It will make assembly much quicker and infinitely stronger. The jig takes about 15 min to make. We can walk you through the building of the jig if you are interested in using that method.
Paul

[reible]

Hi,

The angle gauge for the jointmatic are about the rarest parts I've every found. I made a wooden version that I used for a while until I finally found a prototype one that was made by shopsmith before they discontinued the line.

Now again without knowing the details I thought I show you a project I started a few years back but still haven't got back to. The joints are made with a router bit designed to make in my case an octagon. They make the bits for hexagons as well.

This is a wren house and it is ready for glue but I just haven't got back on it. I see it picked up a few dents and scrapes in storage but it is a bird house so....... I have these band clamps that it is held together with and with the joints it just pulls together. It also helps that I made a inset bottom that also helps to hold things together.

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The bits are in the $40 range as I recall so it is no small investment if you are doing a one time project but they provide a lot of glue area and easier assembly.

Ed

[JPG]

Is that not the same as a rabbet cut at 30°(for a hex box) on one edge?

[lalkie01]

The box will be about 12 inches wide by 3.5 inches deep out of 3/4 oak. I liked the box pictured I may look into it. I haven't been able to find an angle plate for the joint matic. There is a man in Kansas that has the plate but wants to sell it with his shopsmith. I will probably have to make one. Thanks Larry

[wa2crk]

OK so here is a burial urn that I made for someone ( not the person in the vessel ) a few years back.The sides (cherry) were cut on the table saw function with the table set at 30 deg. The highlight stripes were thin cuts of purple heart. These cuts were side grain to side grain when the vessel was glued up. I used large automotive hose clamps connected back to back so as to have enough length to go around.

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If you are contemplating a 4 or 6" deep box then the sides can be cross cut from a 4 or 6" wide board and this will cause end grain gluing but sufficient strength should be provided when the box bottom is added.
Bill V

[lalkie01]

The urn is beautiful. I hope I can build something that nice. Looks like hose clamps will work. I have done some segmented turning and they seem to work pretty well. I will probably use one on the bottom and one on the top. I wont have any problem with strength if I can get box joints at the proper angle. It is just a matter of experimenting. Thanks for the help. Larry

[JPG]

You are adding box joints to the 'mix' and you are concerned re end grain glue joints???