Cutting tapers on the table saw. I thought about how to do this for a long time. Then I read or heard an article on one of Larry's cds, (Isn't he great), about making legs or a table that were cut on a taper using a table saw and a taper jig. After hearing this and a lot more research, I could not figure out how this jig would look. So I googled it and found one at sears for twenty bucks. This seemed like a small risk to learn something new, so I ordered it. When I saw how simple it was I realized I could have made one. Maybe this description will help someone else. Picture a step latter. You know how it looks like a triangle when you set it up. This is how a taper jig looks. If you took a couple 2 by 2's and put a hinge at one end you have a taper jig. As you spread out the legs, (like a step latter), the angle gets larger.
If you want a 1 inch taper in 2 feet like I did, you measure down from the hinge 2 feet. Then spread out the legs until you have a 1 inch gap between the inside edges at the 2 foot mark and lock it in place and you are ready to cut. The jig also would have a stop on the outside end of the leg. The work piece goes against the side of the jig furtherest away from the fence and the end of it buts up to the stop. To make a cut you push the jig and the stop pushes the work piece.
Craftsman Taper Jig
The Jig is made of steel. The legs are twenty inches long. It has a curved adjustment bracket. This is so when you close the legs the adjustment bracket will curve in. This way the bar does not stick out past the legs. There is a small L shaped stop to push the stock through the blade. This stop can be attached to either leg. This allows the table saw fence to be on the right or left of the blade. It has a round handle about five inches tall that screws in the top side of the legs for pushing the jig through the cut. It can go on either leg, again depending on which side of the blade the fence is on. It has a scale and a pointer at the top of the jig, (the end with the hinge). If you have sighted help you can set the amount of taper using this scale.
Using the Jig.
When you use the jig the hinge end is furtherest away from you and the work piece stop and handle is closest to you Decide how much taper you want to cut. For example if you want a one half inch taper per foot, measure down from the hinge one foot. Then at this point measure the distance between the insides of the legs to be one half inch and lock the adjustment bracket in place. When you make your cut make sure one side of the jig is against the fence, (which side depends on which side of the blade the fence is on.) Slide the board against the other side of the jig. Make sure the end of the board that will go through the blade last is against the stop. Note: A thirty inch work piece is about the maximum length board you can safely cut with this jig. Depending how wide of a board you are cutting you may want to push the jig with one hand and use a push stick with the other hand to hold the board down. In most cases the jig will work with a blade guard and splitter. Submitted by Darrel Vickers