Enter the octogon

This project  by Nancy ( https://permies.com/t/231302/Pallet-yurt-simple-shed )has me looking at my dimensional lumber differently.
Understanding that a simple 45° cut will create the 135° angle for the corner of an octogon is exciting!

A typical pallet deck board is 48" long.
A 45° cut on either end puts the length between vertices at 41".
Overlapping/sistering the boards at the vertices should give us an octogon that is about 100" across on the inside.
We could add more layers of deck board to make this octagonal  ring stronger.
Because the wood being joined is petty thin, we can use a pneumatic staples gun and really go to town laminating this wood together, without breaking the bank

What might one do with such a ring?

Make two, one for a bond beam/bottom plate, the other the top plate.
Use stone or block to level and  support the bottom ring, anchor it  inplace and frame up the walls.
Top with the second ring.

Alternatively make two or three and use them like the hoops of a barrel.
The resulting hollow octagonal cylinder can be lined and used for water storage or it could be  the basis for a round hut/shed.

We could also make 4 sides of that octogon and use that for a hoop in a hoophouse.

From Nancy's thread:



These corner blocks are great for indexing pallets to one another.
What if they could do that and be posts as well?
If we cut a 45 degree angle along the length of a post or even a 2x4 , we would form that same 135 degree angle.
That is a more difficult cut than what it takes to make the internal corner blocks, so probably not worth it.
If we cut all the internal corner blocks the same, we can use the flat end to index exactly where to drive post.
So:
-Cut 16 internal corner blocks.
-Use them to assemble your octogone
-Level the octagon with rocks, block , etc.
-Pin it in place horizontally with stakes.
-Drive posts in the corners formed by the blocks and the pallet deck boards.
-Screw the posts to the pallets deck boards and  internal corner blocks.
-Move on to roofing, etc.

This should work with any roughly  identical rectangular wood, from pallets to doors.
Regular sized doors would make for a small octagon, good for a tunnel or tower.

William Bronson wrote:
If we cut all the internal corner blocks the same, we can use the flat end to index exactly where to drive post.
So:
-Cut 16 internal corner blocks.
-Use them to assemble your octogon

Yep! that would have made life a lot easier - what a good idea! The structure would have been self orienting (give or take the slope I was dealing with). The second construction is always easier than the first, and particularly if you have a few differently thinking brains involved.

Nancy Reading wrote:The second construction is always easier than the first, and particularly if you have a few differently thinking brains involved.

Yes!
Exactly!
I wish I had seen your build years ago, I might have a nice finished octo shed of my own by now!
Unlikely , but hey,I am getting a lot of joy just chewing on this the ideas and methods you've  shared.
I love that we, as humans, stand on a tower of techniques we have shared and developed over thousands of years, and I fervently wish to contribute, (even if it's only as a cautionary tale!)