This is ingenious! I'm making custom spindles for a customer that have octagonal tops and bottoms. This is exactly the video I need. Thanks for posting!
Porsche924Tim - that gauge is a great little tool - moderate price, really works and jumps up the accuracy of your cuts and set ups. Good to hear from you - DFJ
Sir, thanks for this delightful technique that I really like. I love to achieve good results without many complicated trigonometry! Thanks for your kind and detailed teaching methods too! Please keep posting your videos and take care!
Thanks Gabriele G. We value the art of teaching AND learning. I am a life-long learner and am always looking for the next new thing to master. Keep watching and commenting my friend. Best, DFJ
Evan, LOL! Love those blanks you gifted me. I've been able to make several things. I look forward to catching up with you! I miss our conversations. Jay
I wanted to buy an octagon hickory blank to make a walking cane. I intend to do the steaming, and bending in the crook myself. The blanks cost too much. I bet square stock blanks costs less. Thanks. I subbed and rang that bell.
Sure thing! If you look at the thumbnail of the video, you can see I am using the fence of my table saw to put a flat against, while making sure the piece being cut off is on the waste side of the blade. This eliminates kickback or the piece being thrown out. Be sure to run the stock through while putting moderate pressure down on the table as well as sideways to the fence. Best, DFJ
I've been looking for how to make 1 inch hexagonal wood bars. I'm sure it's possible to angle the blade at 60 degrees and just cut the two opposite faces.
Jo, you are correct - almost. We will be doing a video on this in the future. Because you can't set your table saw to cut 60°, you need to use the complimentary angle to equal the sum of 90°. So, you need to set your saw precisely to 30°. I don't have any further advice on this yet for you, as I am working out the ratio of the flat to flat distance on the hexagon to the distance you would set the fence from the blade. Once we have it worked out and all the bugs worked out of the technique, we'll get it published. If you are working on it as well and want to share your thoughts, that would be most welcome. You can correspond directly at jay@dirtfarmerjay.com. Best Regards, DFJ
Amy, the technique can be scaled up or down - simply set the fence on the "away" side of the angled blade, set the blade precisely to 45 degrees, put a section of the post on the table saw surface, bring it to the blade and rest it across the teeth of the blade, and then move the fence to touch the opposing corner and lock it in. Lower the blade to the lowest setting to do the job and start your cuts. I'd recommend perfecting the technique on some set up stock before using the real thing. Watch the video a couple of times to get your process down, including safety (unplug and plug in the saw to safe, placement of hands, where to stand, etc.). Let me know how it turns out! Best, DFJ
Thanks for watching. This method is for cutting an eight-sided column - an octagon. To cut a six-sided column is another matter. Here's a link to a discussion group called Lumberjocks that you may find to be helpful: www.lumberjocks.com/threads/need-help-ripping-a-hexagon-post-from-a-4x4.40996/
K.M., indeed annual maintenance is needed or the saw gets gummed up and becomes difficult to operate. What to use to lubricate is controversial. Some say that you should use wax or a dry spray lube so as to not attract dust to the surface of the lubricant - and many take that path. However, let's remember the parts and gears in question are slow moving parts when they are being adjusted, so even if wood-dust gets on the grease, it's probably not a big deal. It's worth noting that when you get a saw new, it comes with grease on the gears, and this is from the manufacturer - the one that designed it! So, if you use sprays, they will work well initially, but not last that long - you'll have to reapply more often. If you use grease or a light oil, you will have dust gumming up on the surface, but the surfaces of the gears and trunnions will be clean - and you don't need to apply the oil or grease very often. If you are going to clean everything and then lubricate, use a soft metal bristle brush to clean up everything. If everything is really gummed up and hard to brush off, consider spraying the gummy areas with a bit of mineral spirits or concentrated cleaner, such as Simple Green. Let it sit and then brush. A couple other areas of maintenance are making sure the fence is accurate ongoing, as well as keeping the top clean and waxed, along with the miter bar grooves being clean. I hope that helps! Thanks for watching our video and taking time to write! Best, DFJ
@@DirtFarmerJay WOW thank you for such a thorough answer. I really never expected that, just thought it might be a good video idea for you. Thanks for your time and outstanding content!
You may find this to be helpful, depending on the size of the hexagon post you want. Best, DFJ www.instructables.com/Easy-Hexagonal-Wood-Post-From-a-2-by-4/
Thanks for writing. Are you talking about joining two sections of the same octagon to make one complete octagon or are you joining two completed octogons together? And what material are the octogons made from? Let me know this info and I'll get you your answer. Best, DFJ
