How To Build a Hexastix

I saw a video on this a little while ago and thought it looked really cool so I just had to build one myself. Turned out to be a lot easier to build than you might think, Hope this helps you build one too!
Music : NCS
• Video

[@Mindraker1]

1:39 TIP -- it helps to have a rubber band around the other side, too. 4:31 Can't find the holes? Maybe you have too many rubber bands, or you simply need to push from a different direction. 8:10 Use a different color rubber band for the second ring. Otherwise you can get confused. 9:15 Without the middle pencil, you should have 3 on the top row; 4 on the second row; 2 to the left of the hole, 2 to the right of the hole on the third row; 4 on the fourth row; and 3 on the fifth row. 10:34 At this point, you should have hexagons with 6 sides with a length of 3 pencils. 12:28 At this point, the hexagon should have a length of 4 pencils. If a rubber band manages to get stuck in the structure, you can grab it out with tweezers. I superglued mine together and let it dry before removing the rubber bands. I removed the strongest rubber bands first and on opposite sides of the structure.

[@DerekLeClair]

Mindraker1 wow! Thanks for all the tips.

[@rkool2005]

@@DerekLeClair i think you can also remove the rubber bands

[@Noobzilla_MMORPG]

Started off browsing reddit an hour ago looking for a new game to play and ended up here, learning how to build a hexastix.

[@DerekLeClair]

Haha, apparently you and a lot of others last night!

[@RouteDeTours]

By far the best hexastix video. Very easy to follow unlike most of the others. Thanks!.

[@DerekLeClair]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful

[@luketeichert9700]

I first saw a hexastix in a Standup Maths video. As a challenge to myself I tried to make one using only that video as a guide (it's not a true tutorial, it just shows the guy making one). But I kept running into problems on the very last step. After restarting more than once I caved and searched for a tutorial and found yours. That was all I needed. It was really pretty easy to do following your steps. The finished hexastix looks awesome and my geometry students were impressed by it too. I'd like to see if I can redo it and get a Rubik's cube inside

[@DerekLeClair]

That is awesome to hear! Standupmaths video inspired me as well, because it seemed so cool. I actually have built one and managed to get a tennis ball inside, so a Rubik’s cube should fit. I’d recommend building it first then pick one of the cylinders of pencils and try to work it down to the core by removing some of the surrounding pencils. It’s not easy but can be done! Good luck.

[@sandraramirez2137]

Hi....thank you so much. I can do it for my kid.....Saludos from Spain!!!

[@DerekLeClair]

That’s awesome! Glad I could help

[@user-ew7gl2kn8i]

thank you so much, I understood quickly

[@DerekLeClair]

glad it helped!

[@josephmiguelcruz1313]

greetings from reddit- ee're from that one dude who made this during quarantine

[@DerekLeClair]

Hello there, it’s a nice quarantine project

[@user-on1pn4xn1j]

你好厲害👍真的是部有幫助的影片！

[@diohelenduran8582]

Lo hicimos y quedó hermoso. Tus explicaciones estuvieron exactas y claras. Muchas gracias!!!!!!!

[@DerekLeClair]

de nada. :)

[@dansihvonen8218]

What a magnificent procrastination project.🤔 Of course one have to see if it's possible before other important things.🙄 😄

[@alphaarcher4723]

"The inside is hollow, about the size of a tennis ball". New challenge, get a tennis ball in one

[@luketeichert9700]

I'm gonna try a Rubik's cube

[@DeathByAutoscroll]

@@luketeichert9700 Bonus points if you're able to scramble and solve one while it's inside

[@DeathByAutoscroll]

Quick question: Is it possible to expand the hexagons further than this (with more pencils) or is this the absolute limit in size?

[@DerekLeClair]

It could be expanded as big as you want if you had longer pencils or something similar.

[@rustycherkas8229]

@@DerekLeClair Based on the idea that the first steps make a 6x1 hexagon ("1st order" appearing as 2 elements/side) requiring 4 axis * 6 elements = 24 elements, expanding to a 6x3 ("2nd order" with 48 elements), and so on, adding 24 elements each expansion, I have on my desk a 12th order example made with bar-b-que skewers... The limit comes from the width to length proportion of each element (and thick pencils top-out at about 4th order involving 96 pencils)... Another "limiting factor" is, of course, how much monotony one can tolerate... Cheers!

[@dennisbrannvalls1fan964]

Hi Reddit

[@Mindraker1]

That's a lot of pencils. I'mma do this

[@Mindraker1]

4:43 about here the pencils stop rolling off your desk

[@DerekLeClair]

haha, yes it is. Good luck, they're really cool!

[@martinpohl2383]

i tried it with pretzel sticks and it freaked me out

[@DerekLeClair]

Haha, that’d be interesting!

[@moh5938]

Day 50 of quarantine:

[@iamyourmother71]

thanks !

[@DerekLeClair]

No problem! glad you liked it

[@xenonemesis5337]

I have trouble on one part. When i build the second layer of hexagon, im missing holes. Why is that?

[@DerekLeClair]

Sometimes there won't be a complete hole if pencils from other hexagons haven't been moved out yet. Just focus more on making the hexagon and it will work out.

[@xenonemesis5337]

thanks! BTW, is there any way for the hexastix to stay still with out the rubber band when completed?

[@DerekLeClair]

No it needs that tension to hold it together. Unless you glued it or something.

[@sirosilver5381]

Imma buy some pencils and try this

[@DerekLeClair]

It’s pretty fun!

[@sirosilver5381]

@@DerekLeClair just made it today. I want to make another but that means me going to the store to buy more pencils

[@sebthecuber5238]

Good Vid

[@DerekLeClair]

Thanks

[@lumunyekassim-hx5vv]

Thank you fr ur help Sir But l am still struggling

[@MinecraftPotato07]

Just a quick question, was it my video that inspired you?

[@DerekLeClair]

No, there are tons of videos that show how to build this.

[@MinecraftPotato07]

Derek LeClair Ok thanks!

[@AJOlesen]

125th like!!!

[@DerekLeClair]

+AJ Olesen thanks! :)

[@loganquinn9452]

if you remove the rubber bands does it fall apart?

[@DerekLeClair]

Yep

[@Deansmumsson]

I'm making one of these for a birthday gift, I'm curious as to whether It's possible to hide something in the middle? Has anyone tried this?

[@DerekLeClair]

Yes! I have actually done so, I’ve been able to get a tennis ball inside and you probably couldn’t get anything much larger than that. It’s a little tricky, but just slowly removed some pencils to make a hole a somewhere while keeping its overall shape, it can be done

[@luketeichert9700]

I'd like to put a Rubik's cube inside

[@MattNeufy]

Luke Teichert LOL you psychopath

[@n3wty]

Who tf made this up?

[@DerekLeClair]

Some mathematician probably