Best Way to Make Blind Hexagonal Hole 1/2" Deep?

[Steve H Graham]

I want to make a six-sided cavity to hold a hex nut. The cavity would be blind. It's supposed to be a little tight, so friction will hold the nut in it when it is pounded in. It's for a nut for a Moxon-style vise.

Today I decided to try chiseling a hole in a piece of scrap, and while it worked, it was pretty atrocious. Apparently stuff that works well for chiseling a straight mortise aligned with the wood's grain gets a little iffy when you're chiseling a hexagon. Also, this is like the third thing I've chiseled, which may be a small part of the problem.

Am I better off cutting pieces on the table saw and glueing them to a bigger piece of wood? I could cut four long pieces with 60-degree cuts on the ends and glue them so they face each other and form a hexagonal hole.

I Googled and saw some people recommend drilling a round hole and opening the corners with a chisel.

[Roy Harding]

I'd hog out most of the mortise with a forstner bit, then cut the remainder with a chisel.

If your chisels only work when aligned with the grain, then they need sharpening.

Your table saw solution seems overly complicated.

[Garrett Ellis]

x2. drill the hole, then chisel. i would center the nut on the hole and trace around it as a guide.

[Dan Hahr]

If it wasn't massive or really hard wood, I'd drill a hole and pound it in with a hammer and block of wood.

Dan

[Keith Outten]

You might try cutting a hex shaped routing template then trim the sharp corners with a chisel.

[Bill Adamsen]

If it wasn't massive or really hard wood, I'd drill a hole and pound it in with a hammer and block of wood.

Dan

Hate to admit it ... I was thinking the same thing. Use the bolt threaded in to align, and a piece of hard wood (maple, ebony) as a platen or anvil against the nut.

[Steve H Graham]

The router idea is good. I have a tendency to destroy things when I use it, though.

I didn't consider forcing it. I do have a hydraulic press.

[Max Neu]

How big is the overall size? you might be able to use a multi-tool around the edges,then use a router and chisel to clean out the rest in the middle.Or try free handing it with a dremel and an 1/8" straight cutter.Either way,you will probably have to finish it with a chisel.

[Steve H Graham]

I don't have the nut yet, but today I practiced on one which is basically similar. The one I'm waiting for (two, actually) is an acme 3/4" nut. The one I practiced on is a 3/4" standard thread, and it's 1.1" across, from flat to flat.

[Andre Packwood]

As others have suggested, how about drilling a barely undersized hole and use your handy press to set the nut, THEN add expoy to keep the nut captive? If that is on the showing side, I am sure you can find something to hide the glue (and the nut). A veneer patch with a hole for the bolt?

Regards, André

[Roy Harding]

I like the pounding in or pressing in idea - unless you're working with ironwood or something else hard like that.

[Rick Lizek]

Use a t slot nut instead. Cut a rectangular hole instead.

[Steve H Graham]

I don't want to have to make my own T-nut with an internal acme thread.

[Chad Johnson]

I used the following process a few months ago when I completed this task. 1) drilled the holes for the threaded rod; 2) inserted rod through hole and placed a nut on each side of the board tightening the nuts and orienting the nuts so they are symmetrically oriented; 3) used marking knife to trace the shape and orientation; 4) used a 3/4 in Forstner bit to "rough" out the bulk of the material, setting the depth stop to the necessary depth to counter bore the but; 5) used a chisel to remove waste to my knife line.

A little extra room 1/32" is good around the nut because you want the nut to sit in the hole flat. If the nut is angled the rod may not freely thread through the nut and hole.

[Rick Lizek]

I don't want to have to make my own T-nut with an internal acme thread.

https://www.fastenal.com/products;jsessionid=6784D2747732006176C49411161F33 07.jvm1?r=~%7Ccategoryl1:%22601071%20Cutting%20Too ls%209and%20Metalworking%22%7C~%20~%7Ccategoryl2:% 22601114%20Tooling%20Components%22%7C~%20~%7Ccateg oryl3:%22603339%20Workholding%20Fasteners%22%7C~%2 0~%7Ccategoryl4:%22601142%20T-Slot%20Nuts%22%7C~
You buy them. They have standard threads not acme. Mount wide side in pocket and fill narrow with epoxy.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I did this with the legs of my workbench to put in leveling feet. Sharpen your chisels, and do a practice piece first, you should do fine. Decide where you want it to be and trace the nut in that position. Then, hog out as much as your largest Forstner bit will that doesn't go out of the lines. Then chisel to the line.

Doc

[Ted Reischl]

There is no freakin' way you are going to pound a nut that size into a hole unless it barely grips the corners.

[Steve H Graham]

It may be time to get out the drill and a piece of scrap wood and go for it!

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Steve, I learn a lot from your posts.... even if you think that you are the one learning....

A trim router with a very small upcut bit might do the trick to hog out even more waste. Think they did that to a leaf pattern in one of the magazines that I read. The forstner bit may get you close enough to chisel, however.

Now if only you had a CNC machine :D

Regardless, if you can, post your results.

[Steve H Graham]

I want a nice balance between Neander and CNC.

Right now I'm busy working on a chisel. It turns out the tips are attracted strongly to concrete. I found this out today while trying to make a wooden router plane.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Get one of those inlay kits for your router.

[Robert Engel]

On mine I wanted the threaded rod to turn so I put a captured nut behind the inner chop face and double nutted the handwheels.

If this is what you're trying to do, here's how I did it:
First, drill the hole for the threaded rod.
Make center marks and align the nut and mark the outline:
317527

Then chisel it out:
317528
Cover captured nut with a cover plate.
It doesn't have to be super tight.
317529
Hope this helps.

317530

[Andrew Pitonyak]

It turns out the tips are attracted strongly to concrete. I found this out today while trying to make a wooden router plane.

Last time I dropped one, I was sitting.... It created a very nice slice in my leg as it headed tip first to the concrete below. Luckily I had some butterfly bandaids since the cut was pretty deep. The concrete did not do nice things to the previously supper nice edge.... I feel your pain!

[Dan Hahr]

There is no freakin' way you are going to pound a nut that size into a hole unless it barely grips the corners.

Ted, you just need a bigger hammer!

[Roy Harding]

Ted, you just need a bigger hammer!

Every woodworker needs a BFH in the shop!!

[Keith Hankins]

With my recent project of a Moxon Vice I had to do just that. i used a forstner bit to drill to desired depth. I used the largest that would fit the inside diameter of the hexagon nut that had to be seated in it.

once drilled, I used my chisel to get the rest out. In my application that nut had to sit pefectly parallel to the surface. To ensure that I used a router plane set to the dept of the nut. I then used that to make the bottom of the hole perfect.

I inlcuded a link to a photo from my vice build. It wont' take you long to get it perfect.

https://flic.kr/p/rHJEhV

[Ted Reischl]

Ted, you just need a bigger hammer!

I got one Dan! Here it is in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=12&v=7JtbrqFUccY

[lee cox]

I know this is an old thread but I am playing with some 5/8 threaded bar and I found they make square nuts. Nuts with 4 sides are easier to cut in than a hex nut.