Enter the notching angle or the number of sides into the calculator to determine the missing variable.
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Notching Angle Formula
Notching angle = 180° - (360° / n)
Reverse formulas used by the calculator:
n = 360° / (180° - notch) n = 360° / exterior n = 180° / miter
- n — number of sides in the regular polygon
- Notching angle — the inside angle of the corner you cut into the material
- Exterior angle — the outside turn between two adjacent sides (360° / n)
- Miter setting — the saw angle for each of the two cuts that form one corner (exterior / 2)
The formula assumes a regular polygon with equal sides and equal angles. For tube or bar notching where two pieces meet at a joint, the notching angle is the included angle between the two pieces. Convert radians to degrees with deg = rad × 180 / π before applying the side-count formulas.
Common Notching Angles by Shape
Use these as a quick reference when laying out a frame or a segmented ring.
| Sides | Shape | Notch angle | Miter setting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Triangle | 60° | 60° |
| 4 | Square | 90° | 45° |
| 5 | Pentagon | 108° | 36° |
| 6 | Hexagon | 120° | 30° |
| 8 | Octagon | 135° | 22.5° |
| 10 | Decagon | 144° | 18° |
| 12 | Dodecagon | 150° | 15° |
| 16 | Hexadecagon | 157.5° | 11.25° |
Which angle to enter on the saw or layout depends on how the tool is calibrated.
| Angle name | What it measures | Hexagon example |
|---|---|---|
| Notch / inside angle | Opening between two sides at the joint | 120° |
| Exterior angle | How much you turn at each corner | 60° |
| Miter setting | Saw angle for each of the two cuts | 30° |
| Cut from edge | Half the notch, measured off the side | 60° |
Worked Example
You want to build a hexagonal planter from six equal boards. Plug n = 6 into the formula:
Notching angle = 180° − (360° / 6) = 180° − 60° = 120°.
Each board needs a 30° miter cut on both ends, since 60° / 2 = 30°. The two miter cuts meet to form the 120° interior corner.
FAQ
Is the notching angle the same as the miter angle? No. The notch is the full inside angle. The miter setting is half of the exterior angle, because two cuts share the corner.
What if my saw measures from 0° as a square cut? Most miter saws read the deflection from 90°, which equals the miter setting in the table. Set a hexagon corner to 30° on that scale.
Can I use this for tube notching where two pipes meet? Yes for the angle math. Enter the included angle between the pipes as the notch angle. The cut profile itself depends on tube diameters and is a separate calculation.
Why does the calculator round the side count? A regular polygon must have a whole number of equal sides. If your measured angle gives 5.7 sides, the closest practical layout is 6.