How to Cut Wood into Beveled Triangles

Start with a square cut on a table saw, when creating a beveled triangle.

A beveled triangle may seem like a woodworking challenge that is beyond your skills. However, as with most woodworking challenges, it is simply a matter of knowing how. Creating any cut piece with a beveled edge is typically a compound, or multistep, process. In this case, cutting the triangles comes first, then the edges of the triangle can be beveled. The simplest triangle is a right triangle with a 90-degree corner. You can create two of these, by cutting a square in half diagonally.

Things You'll Need

• 3/4 inch thick plywood
• Tape measure
• Table saw
• Band saw
• Pin nailer
• Router table
• Beveled bit
• Sander

Instructions

Making triangles

1. Set the fence of your table saw 24 inches from the blade. Adjust the blade depth to one inch. Start the saw and push a sheet of 3/4-inch plywood through the blade. Stop the saw and let the blade stop turning before retrieving your pieces.

2. Set the 24-inch-wide strip perpendicular to the fence. Start the saw again and run one end of the strip through the blade to create a 24-inch square.

3. Use a straight edge to mark a line from corner to corner across the square to create two triangles. Set the square on the band saw table and adjust the upper blade guide's height, to barely more than the thickness of the wood. Start the saw and cut through the square along the line.

4. Position the two triangles on top of each other with all edges flush. Drive two 1 1/4 inch pin nails through the top triangle to pin it to the piece beneath temporarily.

Adding the bevel

1. Use two wrenches to open the collet in your table router. Turn the outside nut clockwise and the inside nut counterclockwise to loosen it. Fit a 3/4-inch bevel bit, with the bearing into the router. Tighten the collet in the opposite direction you loosened it.

2. Set the depth of the router so that the bearing is 3/4 inch from the table top. Start the router and run the triangle along the bit, with the top triangle riding on the bearing. Pass the wood from right to left over the bit, turning it to route all three edges.

3. Use a putty knife to pry the two triangles apart. Sand the beveled edge with a random orbit sander and 150-grit sandpaper.

References

• "Jim Tolpin's Table Saw Magic"; Jim Tolpin; 2004
• Popular Woodworking: Band saws
• Family Handyman: Router Basics