Is there some mathmatical formula on how to do this? It is the one floor I have never done, I have 2 rooms at my house to do some trial and error on lol.

I know it would be TONS of cutting, and routing/splinig etc. Just wondering if there is a way to figue out what angle to rip the boards at.

Exactly what are you trying to do? A type of medallion in the center or an entire room? Every man's idea of a "star burst" can be different.

I was planning on puttin either a circle, or a square in the middle of the room, then taking the starburst from there to the border.


I was thinking that I would mark the center of the room Using a chalk like and nail, then go out 6 feet. TO make a 6 foot circle, in order to mark every 4 inches (to use 4 inch wood) Wich would taper down to 2 inches outside the cneter peice. I could figure this out if I just laid it all out, But I didnt know if there is some formula to make it easier

like W/#of boards x L or something, that would give me the angle to rip the boards on, Of if every job was completley different, or If most places had it milled for them.

No "formula" I am aware of because of the variances involved. I think you will need to use boards wider the 4" unless 4" represent one side of the "ray" For example, use a 4" maple boards with one side taper ripped from 4" to 0". The the other side of the "ray" could be a dark wood also taper ripped to the same dimensions. Butt the two boards straight edges together and now you have a "shaded ray". Sorta like this:

The width of the "rays" at the widest depends on your design and taste. You will need a tapering jig similar to this. You could make your own or buy one.

Or, if the boards are long, use a straight edge and a circular saw. Although I do not own one, I hear the Festool set up is the best.

I have a fesstool, I hardly use it after buying my fien multimaster. That tablesaw jig is exactly what I am looking for though. I knew all the rips would have to be at 1 or 2 degrees or so, Always wondered how I could do that with that stupid miter gauge that comes with tablesaws, and realized I never could LOL.

Thanks for all the help, that one picture helped me more than you know.


I think I have figured some formula though.

A circle is 360 degrees now if I wanted a starburst pattern consisting of 90 boards around, That would mean each board needs to be ripped on a 4 degree angle. 2 on each side. I think...


This picture is what I consider a starburs pattern, not the medalion, but the floor itself (feild) I know they did alternatine widths, and used some very wide wood, But I have seen it done across 12x12 rooms with 4 or 6 inch boards at the thickest.

The info you might be looking for is as follows;

General Formula for Dividing a circumference into arcs (sections):

By Length C/length of arc= number of arcs
By Degrees 360degrees/(x)degrees = number of arcs
By arcs 360degrees/arcs = (x) degrees per arc
By arcs C/number of arcs= length of arc

Hope this helps.
Curtis E. Whipple