Drilling Square Holes

Drilling Square Holes
by Scott Smith
published in The Mathematics Teacher, October 1993 (Volume 86 Number 7)
A bit that drills square holes ... it defies common sense. How can a revolving edge cut
anything but a circular hole? Not only do such bits exist (as well as bits for pentagonal,
hexagonal and octagonal holes), but they derive their shape from a simple geometric
construction known as a Reuleaux triangle (after Franz Reuleaux, 1829-1905).
To construct a Reuleaux triangle, start with an equilateral triangle of side s

(Figure 1). With a radius equal to s and the center at one of the vertices,
draw an arc connecting the other two vertices. Similarly, draw arcs
connecting the endpoints of the other two sides. The three arcs form the
Reuleaux triangle. One of its properties is that of constant width, meaning
the figure could be rotated completely around between two parallel lines
separated by distance s.
It was with this property of constant width that the Reuleaux triangle was introduced in a
sidebar of our geometry text (Moise and Downs, Teachers' Edition, p. 555). "This figure
has constant width," I lectured, "just like a circle." Without thinking, I volunteered,
"Imagine it as wheels on a cart." "What sort of cart?" "Why, a math cart, to carry my
board compass and protractor," I replied, digging myself in deeper. This was the first of
several impulsive misstatements I made about the Reuleaux triangle, only to admit after a
little reflection that it wasn't so. Not in twenty years of teaching had my intuition failed
me so completely.
The constant width property can be used to transport

loads, but not by using Reuleaux triangles as wheels. If
several poles had congruent Reuleaux triangles as cross
sections, bulky items could ride atop them (Figure 2).
Movement would occur as poles were transferred from
back to front, providing a moveable base of constant
height.
But the Reuleaux triangle cannot be a wheel. The only

conceivable point for the axle, at the triangle's centroid, is not the
same distance from the Reuleaux triangle's "sides" (Figure
3). If the sides of the equilateral triangle are s, then
2 s sqrt(3)
(1) AP = - - sqrt(3) = ------- s » 0.577s,
3 2 3
while
sqrt(3) sqrt(3)
PB = s - ------- s = s(1 - -------) » 0.423s.
3 3
Even if four Reuleaux triangle wheels were synchronized, the load would rise and fall
continuously -- you'd need Dramamine to ride this cart!
"And since it has constant width, it would just fit inside a

square whose sides are that width," I continued, trying to
regain their attention. I carefully drew a square
circumscribing the Reuleaux triangle (Figure 4). The triangle
is normally tangent to two sides of the square with two
vertices touching the square directly opposite the points of
tangency (why?), as in Figure 4a. The exception is Figure 4b,
where the Reuleaux triangle has one point of tangency and all three vertices on the square
(one directly opposite that point of tangency).
"If the Reuleaux triangle just fits inside the square, no matter what position it's in,
couldn't it rotate around the inside of the square?" They needed convincing -- a model
would have to be built. "But if it did rotate around the inside, doesn't that mean that a
sharp Reuleaux triangle could carve out a square as it rotated?" I had them. "Drill a
square hole?", one countered. "No way!"
That night I cut a four inch Reuleaux triangle from a manila folder to take to class the
next day. With a lot of effort, I was able to show the triangle rotate around the inside of a
four inch square. "And if this was metal at the end of a rotating shaft, it would cut out a
square", I continued, racking up two more falsehoods. Firstly, it was implied that the
center of the Reuleaux triangle would coincide with the center of a drill's shaft; it cannot.
And secondly, the corners of the holes are not right angles, but slightly rounded.
Trying to show the triangle should be centered at the end of a

rotating shaft, I stuck a pen through the triangle's center which,
while a student manually rotated the triangle within the square,
traced the center's path on paper beneath (Figure 5). "It's
definitely not a single point," I had to admit, holding up the
traced curve, "but it sure looks like a circle!" Falsehood #4.
Just what is the path of the centroid of a Reuleaux triangle
boring a square hole? Assume the square and the equilateral
triangle have sides of length 1. Center the square about the
origin and position the Reuleaux triangle so vertex A is at (-
1/2,0), as in Figure 6a. Using (1), the triangle's centroid will
be P (-1/2+sqrt(3)/3,0). Now imagine rotating the triangle
clockwise through the position in Figure 6b, and ending up in
Figure 6c, where the centroid is P''(0,-1/2+sqrt(3)/3). The path
from P to P'' lies in quadrant I. Let a be angle MA'B', ß the
angle formed by A'P' and a horizontal line through A', and c
the y-coordinate of point A'. We are interested in the
coordinates of P'. Note that cosa=1/2+c and that
ß=270°+a+30°=300°+a. Also note that during this rotation, a
goes from 60° to 30°. Because A'P'=sqrt(3)/3, if we measure
from the coordinates of A'(-1/2,c), the x and y coordinates of
P' can be found.
-1 sqrt(3) -3 + sqrt(3)
cos(a) + 3 sin(a)
(2) x = - + ------- cos(300°+a) =
------------------------------,
2 3 6
and
sqrt(3)
(3) y = c + ------- sin(300°+a)
3
sqrt(3)
= (cosa - 1/2) + ------- sin(300°+a)
3
-3 + 3 cos(a) + sqrt(3) sin(a)

= ------------------------------
6
as a goes from 60° to 30°. Finding the path of the triangle's center in the other three
quadrants is similar in procedure and produces equations symmetric to the origin and
both axes.
3 - sqrt(3) cos(a) - 3 sin(a)
Quadrant II: x = -----------------------------
6
-3 + 3 cos(a) + sqrt(3) sin(a)

y = ------------------------------
6
3 - sqrt(3) cos(a) - 3 sin(a)

Quadrant III: x = -----------------------------
6
3 - 3 cos(a) - sqrt(3) sin(a)

y = -----------------------------
6
-3 + sqrt(3) cos(a) + 3 sin(a)

Quadrant IV: x = ------------------------------
6
3 - 3 cos(a) - sqrt(3) sin(a)

y = -----------------------------
6
But these equations do not describe a circle. In equations (2) and (3), when a=30°, P is on
the x-axis at approximately (0.07735,0). But when a=45°,
-6 + sqrt(6) + 3sqrt(2)
x = y = ------------------------,
6
which makes the distance from P' to the origin about

0.08168. This non-circularity is also shown by graphing the
four parametric equations above with a circle whose radius
is slightly smaller or larger. In Figure 7, the circle is the
outer curve. Notice that the centroid's path is farther from
the circle at the axes than mid-quadrant.
So the Reuleaux triangle's centroid does not follow a circular

path. How then is the Reuleaux bit contained within the
square outline it's to cut? Harry Watts designed a drill in 1914
with a patented "full floating chuck" to accommodate his irregular
bits. Bits for square, pentagonal, hexagonal and
octagonal holes are still sold by the Watts Brothers Tool Works
in Wilmerding PA. The actual drill bit for the square is a
Reuleaux triangle made concave in three spots to allow for
unobstructed corner-cutting and the discharge of shavings
(Figure 8).
Even the modified bit leaves slightly

rounded corners. How rounded?
Assume the starting position in
Figure 9a, in which the Reuleaux
triangle is just tangent at point C. As
the triangle rotates
counterclockwise, C leaves that edge
of the square temporarily (labeled C' in
Figure 9b) only to rejoin another at
position C'' in Figure 9c. In Figure
9b, let a be angle MA'B', ß be the
angle formed by A'C' and the
horizontal line through A', and c the y-coordinate of A'. Then ß = a+60°-90° = a-30° and
cosa = 1/2+c. To generate the corner by C, a starts at 30° in Figure 9a and ends up at 60°
in Figure 9c. Using A'C' = 1 and measuring from the coordinates of A', the coordinates of
C' are described by
-1 -1 + sqrt(3) cos(a) + sin(a)

x = - + 1 cos(a-30°) = ----------------------------,
2 2
and
1
y = c + 1 sin(a-30°) = (cosa - -) + sin(a-30°)
2
-1 + cos(a) + sqrt(3) sin(a)

= ----------------------------.
2
The equations for the other three corners are similar, and when
graphed with the rest of the square yield Figure 10.
Not only does the Reuleaux triangle have practical and interesting
applications, and is easy to describe geometrically, but it generates
a lot of discussion due to its nonintuitive properties. With this
background, you can avoid the blunders I made. Further
explorations into the topic might include other figures of constant width (see Gardner and
Rademacher/Toeplitz); further identifying the curve of the Reuleaux triangle's center as it
cuts a square; and the shapes of bits for pentagonal, hexagonal and octagonal holes.

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Drilling Square Holes

published in The Mathematics Teacher, October 1993 (Volume 86 Number 7)

To construct a Reuleaux triangle, start with an equilateral triangle of side s

The constant width property can be used to transport

But the Reuleaux triangle cannot be a wheel. The only

"And since it has constant width, it would just fit inside a

Trying to show the triangle should be centered at the end of a

-3 + 3 cos(a) + sqrt(3) sin(a)

-3 + 3 cos(a) + sqrt(3) sin(a)

3 - sqrt(3) cos(a) - 3 sin(a)

3 - 3 cos(a) - sqrt(3) sin(a)

-3 + sqrt(3) cos(a) + 3 sin(a)

3 - 3 cos(a) - sqrt(3) sin(a)

which makes the distance from P' to the origin about

So the Reuleaux triangle's centroid does not follow a circular

Even the modified bit leaves slightly

-1 -1 + sqrt(3) cos(a) + sin(a)

-1 + cos(a) + sqrt(3) sin(a)

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