# Hex-Box



## bcfunburst (Jan 14, 2012)

Trying to expand my skills a little with the basic tools I have, and some poor eyesight to challenge me a little more, I came up with this hex-box idea inspired by others I have seen. At first glance this looks decent, but....I used 5 minute epoxy to attach the bottom plate onto this box and taped it in place while the epoxy set. That was a rookie mistake, as the glue keeps shifting as it cures. The bottom plate is crooked due to that fact! I would rather not use screws or nails if I can help it. Perhaps a small brad or two next try. The wood is Maple and Padauk, teak under lid with some type of Malysian Mahogany top and bottom. Coating is Teak oil outside and Butcher Block Food Safe inside the box, for Tea, Etc.. dimensions: 7.5" high X6" wide. Inside measures 5" wide by 6" deep.


----------



## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

That looks great, Reg! 

David


----------



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Good looking box, good job. I didn't notice any misalignment. 
You might try to mark the bottom position on the bottom board drill a hole the size of a toothpick in the bottom in a couple of places and match them in the ends of the sides put your glue on and press them together, like small toothpick dowels will hold it in pace from moving. I hate epoxy. I use CA when ever I need to glue things other than wood.
You can use this method when attaching small handles too. Mark the center of the side/top and the center of the handle ,drill a small hole in each, put glue of your choice on and stick a short toothpick pin in to align and press together, sometimes you don't need to clamp Just a suggestion.
Herb


----------



## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Very nice. Hex boxes are never easy. Well done.


----------



## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Nice outcome Reg.


----------



## kywoodchopper (Jul 18, 2013)

Hi Reg, did you use a bird-mouth router bit to aline the 8-edges? Another way to do the bottom is to have an insert bottom instead of one to attach from the outside. I think you did an outstanding job.


----------



## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

Excellent project. And guess who sees this "misalignment"? Most likely only you.....I can look at most projects and see the mistakes (personal touches) that no others see. It's the first place my eye goes.......If you do another and place them side by side they still would not likely see the difference unless it's major.


----------



## Oscar36 (Feb 23, 2019)

Sharp looking project. Love the wood grain pattern you chose.


----------



## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

Very nice, and like they said, only you will notice the problem. No one else looks that closely at anything. 

To solve this problem, I frequently use pin nails or brads with the heads cut off to form a pin across the joint being glued. Even a few grains of salt placed in the wet glue will help keep the pieces from shifting in glue-up. These are never seen after assembly, so nobody sees it but you at assembly time, and it keeps things from shifting while the glue is drying. For octagonal or hexagonal boxes, you can make some clamping pieces the shape needed to hold the pieces together while only clamping these with band clamps or standard clamps. These clamping pieces would be cut to the outside shape of the project to hold all of the pieces in alignment. The band clamp wrapped around the outer perimeter of these would apply equal pressure from all sides.

The more boxes you make, the more refined your glue-up techniques will become, and the faster and easier doing it becomes. You will also learn many shortcuts in the process. The first one or two of a new design are frequently frustrating and slow to go together. After a few it becomes fun to do. I'm hooked on making boxes, and do them frequently. I now look at things and think about how I can make a box for it, maybe adding something different to the design for a little added challenge and interest and I learn something new from each box that I build.

Charley


----------



## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Nicely done. Like the contrasting woods. You made a mistake? I can't see it.


----------



## bcfunburst (Jan 14, 2012)

kywoodchopper said:


> Hi Reg, did you use a bird-mouth router bit to aline the 8-edges? Another way to do the bottom is to have an insert bottom instead of one to attach from the outside. I think you did an outstanding job.


Thanks for your interest! I just used my table saw with 30 degree tilt, very carefully adjusted with a "Tilt-Box" digital angle gage to align the blade. I did the insert bottom, but only set it on the base with the epoxy glue. I even stood by to be sure the glue was mostly set before walking away; I still got burned. The top was also done with an add-on insert to position the lid. These little projects are great for using up a lot of left over bits of wood. I am doing two more much smaller hex-boxes with different bits of wood. I'll post their photos when there is something to show. I use elastic bands to hold the joints for multi-sided projects. When your angles are cut correctly, the rubber bands hold the glue joints securely, much to my surprise!!


----------



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I have had good luck by laying blue tape sticky side up onto the bench. Then laying the wood inside up and points of the miters touching. Apply the glue to the joints, roll the whole thing up and tape it shut. no clamps needed. If you want you can also have 2 plywood plugs cut the shape of the inside and insert them in each end to assure a uniform glue-up. 
Just a suggestion.
The largest I have done with this method is a 32 sided tapered bucket.
Herb


----------



## pigpen60 (Aug 14, 2020)

Like the hex box, still havent found the misalignment. The bucket is cool but dealing with 2 angles sounds like a math problem. I was terrible in math!


----------



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

pigpen60 said:


> Like the hex box, still havent found the misalignment. The bucket is cool but dealing with 2 angles sounds like a math problem. I was terrible in math!


Math aside I was trying to illistrate how to easily glue up a many sided project without a lot of clamps. Band clamps work too, but I have had them collapse in towards the center unless an inside form was inserted. A person only has so many hands to work with and the glue is slippery, trying to clamp and hold everything in place in the meantime can be challenging.

Herb


----------



## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

I agree with Herb on the "tape" approach. I've used it on a wide variety of glue ups and it works very well. Also provide time for doing a double glue application to those end joints.


----------



## dwcon1431 (Jun 16, 2017)

bcfunburst said:


> Trying to expand my skills a little with the basic tools I have, and some poor eyesight to challenge me a little more, I came up with this hex-box idea inspired by others I have seen. At first glance this looks decent, but....I used 5 minute epoxy to attach the bottom plate onto this box and taped it in place while the epoxy set. That was a rookie mistake, as the glue keeps shifting as it cures. The bottom plate is crooked due to that fact! I would rather not use screws or nails if I can help it. Perhaps a small brad or two next try. The wood is Maple and Padauk, teak under lid with some type of Malysian Mahogany top and bottom. Coating is Teak oil outside and Butcher Block Food Safe inside the box, for Tea, Etc.. dimensions: 7.5" high X6" wide. Inside measures 5" wide by 6" deep.


Excellent job! As for any misalignment, I'm my own worst critic, too. If people don't notice it when they see it in person, it never happened. 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk


----------



## bfblack (May 2, 2012)

Herb Stoops said:


> I have had good luck by laying blue tape sticky side up onto the bench. Then laying the wood inside up and points of the miters touching. Apply the glue to the joints, roll the whole thing up and tape it shut. no clamps needed. If you want you can also have 2 plywood plugs cut the shape of the inside and insert them in each end to assure a uniform glue-up.
> Just a suggestion.
> The largest I have done with this method is a 32 sided tapered bucket.
> Herb


That is an impressive bucket!


----------



## Kral (Sep 30, 2009)

That’s a lesson that I also learned the hard way. One trick that I’ve found useful for joints that don’t need to be air tight: Put a couple of dabs of CA glue on the pieces to be joined. Apply the main adhesive to the rest of the joint, keeping it away from the CA. Hold the pieces together by hand until the CA glue cures. The CA will prevent the pieces from sliding while the main adhesive cures.


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Very nice box, Reg...nice grain and contrast wood...!

BTW...I looked out my window in Pennsylvania and can't see any misalignment...:grin:


----------



## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Good job!


----------



## bfblack (May 2, 2012)

Herb Stoops said:


> Math aside I was trying to illistrate how to easily glue up a many sided project without a lot of clamps.
> 
> Herb


Herb, do you have a good reference for the "Math" aspect of the problem?


----------



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

bfblack said:


> Herb, do you have a good reference for the "Math" aspect of the problem?


I will try and describe how I arrive at it. This was a contest called the 2X4 challenge where we had it make an item out of a 2X4X8'.
Top OD=13
Bottom OD=10
Height=12"
Circumference of the top C=╥d, =╥13,=3.14X13=40.82"
Circumference of bottom C=╥10= 3.14X10=31.4"
width of each stave =1.25"@top
number of staves = 40.82/1.25 =32.65 ( round off to32 staves) 
New Top circumference = 32 X 1.25 =40"
Bottom C/#staves=width of bottom of stave=31.4"/32=.981", (round off to 1")
New Bottom C =32"
The degree of bevel each side is C/#staves/2= 360°/32/2= 11.25°/2=5.62° each side

I ripped the staves 3/4"thick X 1 1/2"X12"
Using 2 jigs I made to then rip each side, on a tapered angle and bevel.

I hope you can understand this.

Herb


----------



## bcfunburst (Jan 14, 2012)

*Hex Boxes*

Two More smaller Hex Boxes; Ready for Teak Oil. Dementions are 5" by 4", Maple and Padauk; smaller one is 4" by 4" Maple and Zebrawood. Just playing with scrap pieces of hardwood. Got the glue -ups solved with tiny dowels holding bottom plate in place while glue dries. Thanks for all your help & Thanks for looking in!


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Herb Stoops said:


> I will try and describe how I arrive at it. This was a contest called the 2X4 challenge where we had it make an item out of a 2X4X8'.
> Top OD=13
> Bottom OD=10
> Height=12"
> ...




Herb...isn't it 360/32=11.25...? Rather than 360/32/2=11.25...?


----------



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

bcfunburst said:


> Two More smaller Hex Boxes; Ready for Teak Oil. Dementions are 5" by 4", Maple and Padauk; smaller one is 4" by 4" Maple and Zebrawood. Just playing with scrap pieces of hardwood. Got the glue -ups solved with tiny dowels holding bottom plate in place while glue dries. Thanks for all your help & Thanks for looking in!


Outstanding job, Those are beautiful.
Herb


----------



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Nickp said:


> Herb...isn't it 360/32=11.25...? Rather than 360/32/2=11.25...?


You are right, Nick the interior angle of the triangle is 11.25°, which means the other two angles of the triangle are 84.375° each, then the angle of cut is 90°-84.375°=5.625°.

My memory is slipping.
Herb


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Herb Stoops said:


> You are right, Nick the interior angle of the triangle is 11.25°, which means the other two angles of the triangle are 84.375° each, then the angle of cut is 90°-84.375°=5.625°.
> 
> My memory is slipping.
> Herb



Don't think it's memory...it was the center slide on your Cooke Radio Slide Rule that slipped...:grin::grin::grin:


----------



## pigpen60 (Aug 14, 2020)

Those hex boxes look good! Didnt think about the dowels.


----------

