Hexsticks - Stewart Coffin (1968)

[Canuck]

Well, finally took a serious look at making my own accurate 'Hex' stock...many jigs later and countless hours of anxiety...success!!!  So of course I had my sights set on Stewart's 'Hexsticks in four woods' 25-C (this is the one that started it all for Stewart some 40 years ago!)

I'm thrilled with how it turned out and will be making some available soon on Davans   

P.S. have a look at the jigs needed for the 'notching' of the pieces   ( I really do hate making jigs  )

Woods used are: Wenge/Lacewood/Purpleheart/Benge 

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[Chinnomotto]

OOeee, I like, I want

Nice work man, how many did you make, and how big are they

Good wood selection too

Lacewood, I think we call it Sheoak here,,,,,Arcadia family??

[Roby]

Looks like you got the jig thing taken care of quite nicely.  What are those, 22 1/2 degree cuts.  Do you have to put a special piece of wood behind the hex for backing in order to take care of tear out.  It seems as if tear out would be a problem on hex pieces.

[Canuck]

OOeee, I like, I want

Nice work man, how many did you make, and how big are they

Good wood selection too

Lacewood, I think we call it Sheoak here,,,,,Arcadia family??

Thanks Chinny...I'll be making enough to go around and they're just a little bigger than Stewart's original '3M Hectix' version...3" with 3/4" hex stock

My wood supplier says the Lacewood is from 'South America', here's a description from Paul Hinds (Woodpics):

"Cardwellia sublimia (also reported as sublimis) of the family Proteaceae [the same family as South American lacewood], which also has the common name (Australian) silky oak, which is its common designation in most of the world outside the USA. In the USA it is called lacewood or Australian lacewood"

[Canuck]

Looks like you got the jig thing taken care of quite nicely.  What are those, 22 1/2 degree cuts.  Do you have to put a special piece of wood behind the hex for backing in order to take care of tear out.  It seems as if tear out would be a problem on hex pieces.

Yeah, jigs what can I say...a necessary evil 

The blade is set at 30% and the piece is notched at an angle of 70-1/2% to the blade, the back-up of the piece is simply the jig itself, before I rout the bottom flat, I simply pop off the excess with a chisel...I also have a specially made notcher from Jerry McFarland but it's for 7/8" hex stock, but that's for another day   

[Canuck]

Here's a pic showing what the notches look like...it takes 9 - 2 notch pieces (standard piece) and 3 - 3 notch pieces (odd piece)...

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[rolly_wood]

    Great John! Please reserve one for me when you will start to sell them. Why do you hate doing jigs? it is the most interesting part of the work..

Roby, as tell JD, it is 19.47 that is the angle whose tangent is 1/(2*sqrt(2)) that is the complementary of 70.53 degrees, one of the angles of the rhombus of RD (the other one is obviously 109.47). The ratio between diagonals in RD rhombi is indeed sqrt(2). hexsticks is based on RD.. in fact it should have a dodecahedral cavity at the center, am I correct, John? (I never handled one)

[Canuck]

Yes, yes...you're right on the math and yes indeed there is a 'DC' cavity in the middle 

Oh Chinny's not goin' to like hearing about cavities   

I have special 'Hex' puzzles set aside for my peeps....

[Canuck]

 Why do you hate doing jigs? it is the most interesting part of the work..

My 'strong' dislike of making jigs stems from my Dad...he used to spend countless hours making jigs, tweaking, realigning, adjusting, etc... that I became so impatient waiting to see the end result, he drove me absolutely crazy!    I always look for 'shortcuts' when making jigs, I just can't help myself, I have absolutely no patience when it comes to jig making    For me the end result is ALL that matters, I couldn't care less how I got there!   

[rolly_wood]

Oh John I am at the opposite side... THe final object is for me only the physical proof that the method worked out well.  Almost it is more important the process than the final product ... that's why I did many types of puzzles but very few samples for each type, often just one 

[Roby]

Chinnney, you are doing it all wrong.  You can't say "I want - I want".  You have to disguise yourself as a baby chicken and say "peep peep"     

Forgive my ignorance, but I just assumed that hex pieces would be cut with the blade at 22.5 or 67.5 degrees depending on if you were cutting slices off of the top or bottom.  45 degress makes a pefect square, so half of that should make a perfect octagon - wait I just answered my own question.  You are not making octagons, but hexagons.  Now I see the light. 

This is in the wrong place - but my thread is boring so I am just putting it here.  I just wanted to point out that the tree branches I had innoculated last fall with shitake mushroom spores is now properly "spartled" - what is the word I am looking for here John?  I don't think I got it right.   Anyway, my first lathe project will be made out of this special wood that John told me how to produce.  Go John, and Go mushroom power.  I will post pics if I am not too embarrased with my first attempts as the wicked lathe, and if you don't hear from me again, it means that a heavy beam has worked itself free and launched itself at my head.

 

[Roby]

Hey, tell me if this will work or not.  Since John does not like to take a long time making jigs, could he not just make a firm backing by pouring plaster of paris in a mold and putting one of his hex pieces in there to make a form.  Would plaster actually be strong enough to serve as a backing and prevent tear out, or would it be too dense and dull a blade when the first cut was made.  Has anyone ever attempted such an approach before for odd shaped pieces?

[Canuck]

Well, that's actually not a bad idea    The pen guys have been using 'Alumilite' for their unique poured mold resins, and I was thinking of asking some of them if they could pour it into the hex shaped piece with notches and all, man that would be cool 

If any of you blank casters have your ears on, let me know if that's remotely possible?  I might be interested in having some special casts made...

Thanks for bringing that up Roby, if it works it shall be called the 'Hexstickman' version, you gotta' like the sound of that! 

[Canuck]

 
Forgive my ignorance, but I just assumed that hex pieces would be cut with the blade at 22.5 or 67.5 degrees depending on if you were cutting slices off of the top or bottom.  45 degress makes a pefect square, so half of that should make a perfect octagon - wait I just answered my own question.  You are not making octagons, but hexagons.  Now I see the light. 
 

Well since you brought it up, the other shape I was interested in was 'Pentagon', but not right now, I just got my brain around the 'hex' shape 

[Canuck]

This is in the wrong place - but my thread is boring so I am just putting it here.  I just wanted to point out that the tree branches I had innoculated last fall with shitake mushroom spores is now properly "spartled" - what is the word I am looking for here John?  I don't think I got it right.   Anyway, my first lathe project will be made out of this special wood that John told me how to produce.  Go John, and Go mushroom power.  I will post pics if I am not too embarrased with my first attempts as the wicked lathe, and if you don't hear from me again, it means that a heavy beam has worked itself free and launched itself at my head.
 

I'm quite interested in seeing how that 'spalted' wood turned out...don't be afraid of the lathe, use it like you own it!!