Popular Post Eric. Posted October 23, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Usually I make my tapering jigs "disposable" and build them to cut one specific taper for one particular leg. But I'm working on a project that requires two different tapers, so instead of building two jigs or having to modify the jig halfway through the process, I built this one that is a little more versatile and can be used for future projects. The sled is approximately 36" long by 12" wide. Three t-bolts and star knobs secure the leg to the sled. Use scraps for the clamps. These might get chewed up if you're not careful about their placement but they're easily replaceable. I made three rows of holes for the t-bolts in case I need to taper anything wider down the road. Cut slots in the clamps so you have more flexibility for placement. Use a runner of whatever material you prefer. I like BB ply for my runners but I don't have any scraps laying around at the moment so I used a piece of riftsawn bubinga instead. I don't care for using solid wood runners because as the seasons come and go they expand and contract just a hair and can produce a slightly too tight or slightly too loose fit. For tapering this probably doesn't matter as much as a crosscut sled where you're trying to get dead nut accurate cuts. Tapers will always need to be cleaned up with a hand plane after the table saw so just leave yourself a tiny bit of wiggle room. Countersink the bottom of the holes to receive the heads of the t-bolts. Two minor drawbacks to this jig: It is not "repeatable" in the sense that you have to line up the marks on your legs with the edge of the sled on each cut. You could certainly make L-shaped cleats and screw them at the front and rear of the leg but it takes no time to line it up by eye. Also you have to use pieces of scrap to counter-balance the clamp. Like I said...minor drawback. It's handy. I'm gonna hang this one on the wall and keep it around for a while. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Clever jig 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Pretty cool. How did you make/counter sink the shape of the t-bolts? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Nice jig Eric! What is with pressure? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 36 minutes ago, Chet said: Pretty cool. How did you make/counter sink the shape of the t-bolts? Two side-by-side holes with a forstner then cleaned out the middle with a chisel. 29 minutes ago, Woodenskye said: Nice jig Eric! What is with pressure? Because it's a fairly long jig you have to pull it pretty far back to start the cut. This leaves not a whole lot of runner in the miter slot so there's a tiny bit of slop as I approach the cut. By the time the workpiece is being cut the runner is fully engaged so it's not a big deal, but I wanted to remind myself to always have slight pressure in the marked direction so that the sled always approaches the blade in an identical way...just to be on the safe side. OCD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Good one. I like the fact you used a runner instead of just riding it against your fence, like most people do. I think it makes setup easier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 That'll do the trick. I am thinking that a stop in the lower let corner of the jig (on the face near edge of the sled) would be nice just to futher restrain the work piece against the push of the blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 31 minutes ago, Ronn W said: That'll do the trick. I am thinking that a stop in the lower let corner of the jig (on the face near edge of the sled) would be nice just to futher restrain the work piece against the push of the blade. Yeah that's what I was talking about when I said "L-shaped cleats." That's usually what I use on my disposable jigs and just hold the workpiece down with toggle clamps. You can certainly add cleats to one or both ends to make the jig repeatable if you have a bunch of one taper you need to do. But it's not necessary to secure the workpiece...I can assure you the three clamps lock it down rock hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 How well do you suppose it would work just running the jig against the fence as opposed to using a runner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 I like it. Much more respectable than some fancy, red powdercoated aluminum one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 2 hours ago, drzaius said: How well do you suppose it would work just running the jig against the fence as opposed to using a runner? It would work but every time you do that you lose a tiny bit of sled since you have to re-establish the zero clearance point in order to line your marks up accurately. For my disposable jigs I usually do use the fence, but this is a more permanent solution. It also eliminates any possibility of an errant cut if your jig drifts away from the fence at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Makes sense. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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