Bonjour Jonathan, Having just moved to a smaller house, smaller land area and smaller shed I could not fit a table saw in. Would not fit my wallet either. So I bought a Rikon 10-324 bandsaw and a Festool track saw, the powered version. I have not used it for tapers yet but will doubtless set up a jig to do so. When I do I’ll forward details to you if you like. I have one of your dovetail 6:1 dovetail jigs and used it to make a small box, using Tasmanian Celery Top Pine insert in Tasmanian Myrtle mitred top, Camphor Laurel sides and Tas Blackwood base. Big enough to hold the TV controllers. Tung oil finish,can send a photo if you would like to se the results of your jig. Regards John

For one, it’s hard to stabilize the track on narrow legs. You can use the other legs to help create even support, and that can work ok.

Secondly, it’s difficult to get super repeatable results. You can definitely get close, but the tapers might not be identical.

Cutting at odd angles can lead to weird pressure on the workpiece. Clamp it securely in place, and if you can, clamp a stop on the back so it can’t shift.

Nice article, I spent ages figuring out how to do a taper at 45 on an already tapered leg. I almost did it with a table saw, but I backed out at the last moment because I didn’t have confidence my holding jig would work.

But figuring out the best way to cut a taper takes a bit of creativity. Afterall, so much of woodworking is cutting straight and square.

If you have a double-sided Ryoba saw, I like to start the kerf with the crosscut side. Once the kerf’s established, switch to the ripping side with bigger teeth.

Put a flush trim bit in your router or router table. Set it up so the bearing will ride along the straight edge. Now make the cut.

If you plan on using hand tools, also mark a line on the long grain edge where the taper will be. Use this line and the end grain line to set up a straight edge and mark the other edge's taper line.

Follow up by scribing a line on the end grain at the bottom of the leg with a square that lines up with where your taper line ends.

Double-stick tape a straight edge onto your workpiece. Make sure its edge is perfectly aligned to your marking knife line.

I agree the jointer approach in the video looks really dangerous, but I ended up using the jointer in a very different way. I 3d printed a jig to hold the leg at 45 and canted at the correct angle, very slightly down so the taper to be cut was below the “bottom” of the jig. Then I stood behind the jointer with hands braced on the fence and drew the piece back towards me over the blade. This way I could only trim a small sliver at a time working down to the final taper depth, all with keeping my hands far from the blade.

Nice article, I spent ages figuring out how to do a taper at 45 on an already tapered leg. I almost did it with a table saw, but I backed out at the last moment because I didn’t have confidence my holding jig would work.

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Stop and check your work with a square and straight edge. Pay attention to grain direction to avoid tearout as much as possible.

I agree the jointer approach in the video looks really dangerous, but I ended up using the jointer in a very different way. I 3d printed a jig to hold the leg at 45 and canted at the correct angle, very slightly down so the taper to be cut was below the “bottom” of the jig. Then I stood behind the jointer with hands braced on the fence and drew the piece back towards me over the blade. This way I could only trim a small sliver at a time working down to the final taper depth, all with keeping my hands far from the blade.

I can’t imagine anyone understanding my explanation without a couple pictures or a diagram, but at the time I couldn’t figure out a way that I felt was safe or accurate given my 3d modeling and woodworking skills and tools. Which I’m sure doesn’t say much for the WW skills :)

Used in everything from Shaker Style to Mid-Century Modern, tapers trim up the profile of your furniture — making it more elegant, refined, and just plain good-lookin’.

A tapering sled can be as simple or complex as you like. The critical parts are a zero clearance edge and a fence to support the workpiece at the correct angle.

Bonjour Jonathan, Having just moved to a smaller house, smaller land area and smaller shed I could not fit a table saw in. Would not fit my wallet either. So I bought a Rikon 10-324 bandsaw and a Festool track saw, the powered version. I have not used it for tapers yet but will doubtless set up a jig to do so. When I do I’ll forward details to you if you like. I have one of your dovetail 6:1 dovetail jigs and used it to make a small box, using Tasmanian Celery Top Pine insert in Tasmanian Myrtle mitred top, Camphor Laurel sides and Tas Blackwood base. Big enough to hold the TV controllers. Tung oil finish,can send a photo if you would like to se the results of your jig. Regards John

For the rest of your legs, use the first leg as your template. Make sure the back edges are correctly aligned, and everything should come out identically.

The multi-sled I built is the ultimate tapering machine. It lets you cut tapers at any angle and is dead simple to build (free plans available).

Make your first pass lightly, then follow up with successively more pressure. If you push too hard on the first pass, the wood grain can pull the knife blade out of line.

It’ll then work as your reference for the others. The less measuring you have to do, the more accurate and consistent your woodworking will be.

Trace light pencil lines you can erase and test different angles. Walk a few steps away so you can see the bigger picture.

Make sure to support the offcut as you get close to finishing. You don’t want it to fall and rip off a bunch of fibers past the end of the taper.

I can’t imagine anyone understanding my explanation without a couple pictures or a diagram, but at the time I couldn’t figure out a way that I felt was safe or accurate given my 3d modeling and woodworking skills and tools. Which I’m sure doesn’t say much for the WW skills :)

Start by flipping the leg upside down in a vise. It’s easier to start sawing in the end grain than to come into the long grain at an angle. Angle the leg so you can cut straight down.