To an open mind the woodshop is a cornucopia of novelty. A new approach, an improved jig, a shift in methodology all provide considerable joy. Tapering, as an example, is typically accomplished with
a sliding jig on a table saw. I would usually make a quick jig out
of 3/4” plywood for the required angle...never did own one of those
new-fangled adjustable tapering jigs. Given the commission, however,
of making short solid maple tapered legs for a couch, the thought of
pushing a small block of wood into a table saw blade set 4” high
did not seem appealing. The idea occurred to me of using a miter saw
to cut the tapers as shown below:
Rather than rotating the blade to the desired angle, cut a guide board to the correct angle. Use the
horizontal vice to hold this piece firmly. The saw blade is simply
locked on a 90º cut (see above photo). The
leg stock is then placed against the scrap wood angle and secured
with the vertical vice pressing down upon a wooden bridge between the
leg stock and another scrap piece of such a height that the bridge is
roughly horizontal. With this set up cut one of every pair of tapers for however many legs you need.
The next step is to rotate the blade toward the left the number of degrees of the taper angle. By flipping the guide board forward to back you can use it to set the blade precisely. Clamp the guide board back in its original position adjusting it left or right as necessary. Place the cut side against the guide board and cut the opposite side of each pair. Really, this is not as hard as it sounds and becomes obvious when you do the set up.
Voilà...you
have a short tapered leg. Do realize that a sharp blade on the miter saw really helps
as your machine struggles to cut through some 8” or so of hardwood!
Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at: FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com
