I have a 48 inch square piece of wood that I need to cut into an octagon, help. What's an easy way to just measure and cut it.

Thank you
Freddie

Freddie,

I drew a diagram and labeled some lengths.

From the diagram

x + 2 y = 48

The triangle in the upper right that is to be cut off is a right triangle and hence from Pythagoras theorem

y² + y² = x²

Thus 2 y² = x² and √2 y = x. Substituting into the first equation gives

√2 y + 2 y = 48 so y = ⁴⁸/_{(√2 + 2)}  = 14.06 inches or 14 ¹/₁₆ inches.

Penny