How to Cut Tapered Table Legs on a Table Saw
Almost anyone can cut wood on a table saw, but the the mark of true craftsmanship is in the details--especially in details that don't conform to square angles and parallel lines. The most basic design elements incorporate angles that can be done on a table saw with no special equipment. Using a rectangular piece of scrap plywood that you have cut into a pattern, you can produce angles that are consistent and reliable for reproduction time after time. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 4 square table legs
- 1 piece of 3/4-inch plywood, 10 inches by 48 inches
- Table saw
- Band saw
- Pencil
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Instructions
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Cut the plywood 3 inches longer than your table leg. Set your fence at 6 inches but do not lock it down. Lay your plywood down on the saw with the leading edge touching the saw blade and the inside edge flush with the fence.
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Lay your table leg down on the plywood, the top of the leg even with the top of the plywood with the left side of the leg even with the inside edge of the saw blade. Set your fence 1 inch from the leg. Parallel the leg with the fence all the way down.
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Draw a line with the pencil down the inside of the leg and stop at the bottom of the leg and remove the leg. Mark the place where the bottom of the leg terminates and make a mark 1 inch to the left. Now lay a straight edge from that mark to the point where the line begins, creating a 1-inch taper.
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Lay a framing square down on your plywood, aligning it with the new tapered line, starting where the bottom of the leg terminates, with the leg of the square pointing to the left. Now draw that angle tracing along the inside of the framing square with the pencil.
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Cut along the lines with a band saw. You should have a piece of plywood that looks like an L facing to the left with a 3-inch bottom.
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Lay your new jig on the table saw and place your table leg inside the newly formed backward L so that the table leg is resting on the saw with the butt end nestled into the 90 degree cut.
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Slide the fence over so that the outside of the leg is touching the inside of the saw blade. Lock the fence down. Turn on the saw. Use your right hand to push the jig as you use your left hand to steady the leg as you push it through the blade.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep a small stick on the right side of the fence to pick up and use for pushing the cut off piece of wood away from the blade after the cut has been made.
Your initial cut will also cut off the outside of the jig; discard it.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit lame de scie image by Christophe Fouquin from Fotolia.com
