Taper Jig

[evandro]

I need to taper cut a strip of hardwood floor and I tried this jig

and found it to be quite imprecise. Does anyone have a better recommendation or perhaps a taper cutting technique to share?

TIA

[lwasserm]

One of the easiest ways: Get a straight board (piece of plywood works well) a little longer than the workpiece. Set your tablesaw fence to the width of this board. Mark the cut line on the workpiece. Tack, double-side tape, or otherwise affix the workpiece to the long board such that the cut line aligns with the side of the board closer to the blade, then run the whole thing through the table saw.

[Lew Hodgett]

Had an old Craftsman POS, with a broken pivot, that looked just like the one you tried.

Threw it in the trash and built the one from the NYW along with a few of my own upgrades.

Worked just fine, but could have bought one for less money.

Lew

[Mort Stevens]

Define imprecise?

I have one exactly like the one Woodcraft sells, and it pretty much works as advertised.

Mort

[e-mail] wrote:

[Swingman]

For one-off tapering, Larry's suggestion is pretty hard to beat. However, if you need to cut tapers often, take a look at the one I finally settled on:

scroll down to "tapering jig".

I fussed for years with many different types and have been very satisfied with the accuracy, repeatability, and safety, of this one.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Just copied the photos for future use. I like the design.

[Perfection In Wood]

I use a shop-made version of this from time-to-time and it works quite well. I do notice some slight jamming but a good saw can over come this. I use a 5hp with good tooling. If you are using a small capacity T/S the inconsistencies might be due to the saw.

In any case use caution.

J

[RayV]

I use the same type and it works great with no need to *tweak* the fence. Just place the cut line on the edge of the plywood and run it down the miter slot.

[evandro]

This is a fantastic idea! I don't need to taper cut more than a single piece, so it should do.

Thanks a bunch.

[evandro]

Yep. I bought a Craftsman one and it had a wobbly pivot and unaligned "legs". It's been returned without my being able to make a single cut with it. It just boiled my blood to see such a poorly made piece of manure.

Thanks.

[evandro]

Good for you. I myself couldn't handle such a heavy jig overhanging about 2' from the table saw and feed the stock.

Thanks.