Quick taper jig.

[Tom Pritchard]

Last night the cheap aluminum taper jig that I bought at one of those bargain tool sales that you vow to never go to scratched my new saw! It's not a bad scratch, but I promised myself to never let that jig touch my saw again! Tonight I used some scrap rock maple and the parts off the aluminum cheapie jig to make a new taper jig, and I'm glad I did! Many WW'ers have told me to make my own jigs whenever I need one, and now I can see why. It was fun, quick, and it's exactly the way I wanted it. My son helped me, and now we can cut the tapered legs for a little cherry/maple hall table we're making. Here's what it looks like.

[Roy Wall]

Tom -

NICE!! Now that looks like a WW'ers Jig!!:)

[Lamar Horton]

That looks a lot better then the one I slammed together. Do you have a little heel on the end to hold the stock as you push though the saw?

[Tom Pritchard]

That looks a lot better then the one I slammed together. Do you have a little heel on the end to hold the stock as you push though the saw?

Hi Lamar! Yes, I have a small piece of 1/2" aluminum angle 1" long attached to the heel of the jig. It's hard to see in the picture from the angle that I took it in. Here's a picture of it from the other side that shows it better.

[Lamar Horton]

Oh! there it is. Do you use it on the left side of the blade? If so are you left handed? or is it more comfortable that way? Sorry for all the questions, I just need to remake mine and need as much input as I can get. Thanks

[Tom Pritchard]

Oh! there it is. Do you use it on the left side of the blade? If so are you left handed? or is it more comfortable that way? Sorry for all the questions, I just need to remake mine and need as much input as I can get. Thanks

Yes, I do use it on the left side of the blade, but I'm not left handed. It just feels more comfortable to me that way. Kinda weird, huh? I can move the little stop to the other side of the jig if I needed to.

[Lamar Horton]

Thanks Tom, I may try give that a try.

[Corey Hallagan]

Tom, that looks great! I think I will take my Craftsman apart, use the hardware and make one out of hardwood. Never have liked the metal body. Never thought to just canabilize the CMan one. Thanks for the pics!

Corey

[Tom Pritchard]

Tom, that looks great! I think I will take my Craftsman apart, use the hardware and make one out of hardwood. Never have liked the metal body. Never thought to just canabilize the CMan one. Thanks for the pics!

Corey

Corey, I was so mad at that ol' aluminum one that it felt really good to strip off the useful parts and throw the rest in the scrap bin! :D I used 2 studs to mount the sliding arc, and pocket holes for the handle.

[scott spencer]

Hey Lefty, err Tom - The jig looks good! Bet it's alot heavier than the cheapo aluminum one I've got. Using my aluminum one is one of the scariest things I do in the shop. It just doesn't feel right. I even loaded the tubes with hardwood to weight it down....your's looks alot heavier. I've got to do something different....it'd be nice to build in some sort of hold down. It'd be nice to do lots of things, but the last time I counted there's only 168 hours in a week! ;) ...one of these days!

Suggestion to others....don't buy the 4oz aluminum taper jigs for ~ $15. (even if it's on sale for $11!) :D