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Can you use the Kreg to put together a hexigon box with the screws on the inside?

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Hi Stephanie, first of all Welcome to the Community and to your new venture in wood working.   In answer to your question, " is possible to use the kreg jig to make a hexagon box."  Yes it is and the most difficult thing is being able to screw your screws inside the box and the second difficulty will be determine on the size of the material for the box your are building.  As I'm sure you realize that you will be dealing with miters that must be cut accurately and then assembled accurately.  In my example you will be using 3/4 inch thick material.  For thinner material you will need to use the micro jig for boring the pocket holes.

In building the box you will NOT be cutting 30 degree angles  as a person thinks you would and that you would be cutting both ends of the material at 30 degrees and boring pockets holes in all of the ends and then placing screws in all of the ends.  You will suddenly find that it is pretty much impossible to bore the pocket hole into a mitered end.

The easy way to do this is to cut one end at the angle of 60 degrees and leave the other end at a 90 degree angle.  Once all six pieces are done bore the pocket holes on the 90 degree end and be sure to bore the pocket holes on the correct side of the material.  In the case you bore the holes on the short toe side of the material which will be come the inside of your hexagon box.  Be sure the jig is set correctly and if anything bore the holes a little short of the requires setting.   The reason is that you will be screwing into the miter which will be thinner.  Remember I mentioned that one of the difficult things that you will encounter will be determining on how long to make each side for a certain size of hexagon box.  It this example a 7 & 1/2 inch piece will result in a 7 & 1/4 inch side box.  The reason is that the material grows when you cut an angle and attach another piece of material the same thickness.  In this example you will be letting the long end of the miter run long and keep the inside of the miters a lined.   The long end of the miter is known as the toe and the short end of the miter is known as the heel.

Below is a series of photos of  which will show you how to proceed.

This is a 60 degree miter and material is 7 and 1/2 inch long.  All...

The photos below is all six pieces mitered on one end and pocket hole bored on the other.  This is what the hexagon should look like.  The ends of the miters that extend out past the opposing side will be cut off or sanded off square with the side of the material.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo shows a simple jig you screw down to the bench top that will allow you to assemble the sides. To use you simply a line your two pieces and screw together after you apply some glue to the joint.

Note the red line is where you cut off the miter toe after the box is done.  Also the two small red arrows is where you a line the two pieces.  Keep these a lined at the inside or heel of the miter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Showing two pieces ready to screw together.  Here I am using a drill attachment that is a right angel tool made by Milwaukee tools.  I allows you the ease of applying screws in tight places.  There is also another tool pictured in one of the these pictures that is a small ratchet that is less expensive.  Both tools are well worth the investment as the are necessary if working in tight places.

The glue (top and right) is what I use for miters.  It is strong and has a fast tack and will not run and sag out of the miters.  It is called "tight bond molding and trim".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Showing the two angle drivers that are excellent tools for the woodworker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the hexagon full assembled and the corners cut or sanded off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Showing a light sanding of the joint gives you a nice appearing finish.  By picking your wood and keep the end in order as you cut it and assemble the same way and it is a very nice looking result and appears as it is a continuing piece of wood around the hexagon.

 

Any questions, feel free to contact me.   Have a nice day and enjoy your work.

 

 

Jay,

Very well illustrated.

 

Jay, that is an awesome illustration.  Just one more thing that you can do with your Kreg Jig!  Thanks for posting photos along with directions.   Lorrie

OMGosh, thank you Jay for the information.  I have made the boxes with 30 degree cuts, connected corner to corner, two high using regular screws on the outside. I had to made ribs to hold things together.  They do look nice.  But now that I have the Kreg Jig I definately want to clean up the look.  Make them more professional looking.  I greatly appreciate the information and the pictures.  That is very useful and generous of you to take the time to explain this all to me.  This is all very exciting to try. 

Great pics!   I am going to have to add a right angle attachment to my ever growing want list!

Stephanie, You are certainly welcome and I'm glad this has been of help to you and given you some insight as to other things the jig is capable of doing.  If interested this is the method I use to build custom cabinets and other wood working project where I need to build an angle and make it appear as a single piece of wood.  This would be in such things as extending a cabinet out from others to either make it fit an occasion or just to give it some added custom look.

I use this method all the time and the same method can be used to make inside corners as well.

I just posted some cabinets last night in which I used the method to extend the sink cabinet outward and also turn a corner to mate up a cabinet that is not as deep as the other.  This is to the left of the dishwasher, you will see a curved piece that is about 5 inches deep and makes an 90 degree bend connecting the next cabinet.

Several months ago I did a write up about "turning corners in cabinets using angles"   that give more information using my method.  You can find it on my main page on the left side by scrolling down towards the bottom.  Other examples can be seen on my photos and project page.

Anytime I can help, please feel free to contact me.  Just keep on experimenting with the jig and you will keep finding uses for it.  Take care and enjoy the great weather and your wood working.
 
Stephanie H said:

OMGosh, thank you Jay for the information.  I have made the boxes with 30 degree cuts, connected corner to corner, two high using regular screws on the outside. I had to made ribs to hold things together.  They do look nice.  But now that I have the Kreg Jig I definately want to clean up the look.  Make them more professional looking.  I greatly appreciate the information and the pictures.  That is very useful and generous of you to take the time to explain this all to me.  This is all very exciting to try. 

Thank you Lorrie, I enjoy woodworking and teaching my methods to anyone interested in learning.  With that kreg jig, you can build about anything you can dream up.  I have been using this method for several years and several months ago I wrote a post called " turning corners in cabinets using angles".  it is located on my main page on the left side near the bottom. It is method I find useful all the time.  

Ever wonder how to clamp up some of these complicated angles?  One thing I find myself using a lot of is common plastic electrical tape.  I apply the glue and apply the electrical tape tight around the wood pulling the angles tight against one another.  It is pretty much like having an adjustable clamp that fits any object.   Since the tape seems to have a memory it will maintain a tight grip on the joints,  Glue does not stick to it very well so it is not a problem removing the tape.  Thanks again.
 
Lorrie said:

Jay, that is an awesome illustration.  Just one more thing that you can do with your Kreg Jig!  Thanks for posting photos along with directions.   Lorrie

Thank you Rita, Photos can tell a lot of information with no words.  These two tools are worth their weight in gold as in some cases are the only way to get a tough screw in place.  A person never seems to have enough tools and some are "have to have" to get the job done.  This is two of them that I treasure.
 
Rita Baske said:

Great pics!   I am going to have to add a right angle attachment to my ever growing want list!

Hi again Jay.  I spent the afternoon using your method to put together a garden box.  I happen to use 5/4 inch thick cedar.  So far so good.  I would like to ask how you cut off the end corners to make them flush?  Thank you again for sharing your knowledge.  I grealy appreciate it.  I hope you are having a great weekend. 

I also put this on my "must get" list.  Which is ever growing.  Today was a trip to Sears to add two more pieces to my Bolt-on drill what I LOVE!....cha ching!!  Does it ever end? 

Jay Boutwell said:

Thank you Rita, Photos can tell a lot of information with no words.  These two tools are worth their weight in gold as in some cases are the only way to get a tough screw in place.  A person never seems to have enough tools and some are "have to have" to get the job done.  This is two of them that I treasure.
 
Rita Baske said:

Great pics!   I am going to have to add a right angle attachment to my ever growing want list!

Hi Stephanie, the easy way is using a band saw and cut them just a little long so that you can sand them flush. you could also use a small hand saw such as the small bear brand saw that cuts on the back stroke.  Only hard thing is keeping the cut at a 90 degree.  Did you try the two pieces of wood screwed to a bench to hold the pieces for driving in the screws.   Have any trouble please contact me.    Your questions are always welcome.  Tomorrow is going to be nice again so  keep that Kreg jig working.
 
Stephanie H said:

Hi again Jay.  I spent the afternoon using your method to put together a garden box.  I happen to use 5/4 inch thick cedar.  So far so good.  I would like to ask how you cut off the end corners to make them flush?  Thank you again for sharing your knowledge.  I grealy appreciate it.  I hope you are having a great weekend. 

Stephanie, just checking back to see how your boxes were coming along and to see if you have any questions about how the method of cutting the miter angles.  Wanted to be sure you understood how this works.  One advantage I forgot to mention that helps you in hiding the angles is that when you cut off the overhang of the miter toe in the manner I explained, it fools the eye from seeing any small imperfections.  If you notice it actually moves the miter seam from the actual corner to about 1/4 inch a way.  Normally when someone sees a corner in a project they will assume that the miter is actually right in the corner and will try to see a miter seam that is actually not there.

Also when you do the final sanding of the piece as you sand put a little bit of wood glue in the miter and continue to sand allowing wood dust to mix in with the glue and you will make most minor imperfections disappear.  Once you are happy with the sanding then use a mixture of about equal parts of water and white vinegar to remove any glue residue that remains on the surface of the wood.  It will prevent most finish problems of the dreaded streak caused by glue residue.  Be sure to do this before the glue dries.

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