Octagon Columns

Determining the width of staves. January 24, 2005

Question
I need to make some 8 1/2" regular octagon columns and would like to know the formula for figuring the width of the staves.

Forum Responses
From contributor J:
I’m guessing you don’t have AutoCAD.

We could get into how to calculate, sin, cosine and tangents, but the easiest way is to grab a piece of plywood, draw your 90 degrees crosshairs, then draw an “X” at 45 degrees off axis of the crosshairs, use the center point and draw the diameter of the circle and measure the intersecting lines.



From contributor T:
It is always best to lay out your polygons mechanically or by cad, full size.



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