The MagPi - February 2020

04

Making the sides

To complete the box, cut out the six sides.

You will notice that one side has a very small slot

in it: this is for the ribbon cable to leave the box

and is only 1 mm deep – make it with a couple of

strokes of a flat file. Each edge of each side piece

needs to be bevelled at 60 degrees; we did this

using a disc sander with the guide set to this angle

using a 30/60 set square. The shape is shown in

Figure 2; make sure the bevelled edges are done so

that the side with the ribbon cable exit slot rests on

the bottom of the case.

05

Fixing the sides

Each side is glued on initially using

superglue. If you have used a laser cutter, it is

important to sand the base edge to remove the

crystallised resin from the wood, otherwise the

glue will not stick. Carefully align the piece using

three set squares, as shown in Figure 3, before

applying glue to the base of the side and any

adjoining side piece. Manoeuvre into place and

press down (Figure 4). You might have to make the

pieces slightly shorter if they are too big. When you

have stuck all the pieces down, reinforce them with

a fillet of glue around the inside edges. If you have

a gap in any of the corner pieces, use wood filler

and sand down for a smooth finish.

03

Making the cover

Take the cover plate and drill two holes

on opposite sides of the hexagon from the paper

template. Then fasten the top plate and cover

together using a nut and bolt through each hole.

Next, drill through all the 3 mm holes in the top

plate into the cover plate to make sure that they

line up exactly. Then countersink the six holes that

are in the centre of each hexagon side closest to

the edge, and also the holes at the top and bottom

of the slots. Finally, drill, and countersink, the two

2.5 mm holes in the top plate.

Top Tip

The control

brass strips

When cutting

the control brass

strips, you don’t

have to be too

accurate with

the 10 mm width

because the strip

can overlap the

control slot.

60º

1.5" Slot at bottom of 1 piece

Set disc sander to

60º

1.5" Slot at bottom of 1 piece

Set disc sander to

60º

1.5" Slot at bottom of 1 piece

Set disc sander to

Figure 2 Lining up

the side piece with

the base

Figure 2

These are the six

sound triggers

Software-controlled

red/green/orange LED

Control or extra

sound trigger

TUTORIAL

48 magpi.cc Make beats in style with Hex-A-Pad