Tapering Jig

[Jerry Thompson]

I hoed out a neglected corner of my shop and found a metal Sears tapering jig. There is an inch scale on the handle end. Being mathematically challanged how does one use them?

[Todd Burch]

If it's one of the hinged varieties, put that sucker up on ebay - too dangerous.

Todd

[Jerry Thompson]

That is why it was stuffed away. I am just courious about the numbers.

[Mike Cutler]

Each inch of movement on the opposite side (the handle), with a adjacent that stays the same (because of the pivot point distance), can be mathematically converted to an angle. Or to a ratio if it's easier.
Measure the pivot point length and the inch measurement offset from 90 degrees and you can use a triangle calculator to get the angle. Or you can use some old High School Trig'.
S=O/H
C=A/H
T=O/A

[Jerry Thompson]

As I noted in my OP I am mathematically challanged. I never even took Alg in high school. All I had was one semester fo general math. I am now 70 and think I'll let further math learning ride.
Thanks for trying.

[Pat Barry]

I don't think I've seen any that were not hinged in some way. Also never knew they were all that much more dangerous than other table saw jigs.

[Mike Cutler]

As I noted in my OP I am mathematically challanged. I never even took Alg in high school. All I had was one semester fo general math. I am now 70 and think I'll let further math learning ride.
Thanks for trying.

Apologies Jerry. I wasn't trying to be glib, or offend.
Any internet triangle calculator can do the math for you. Just plug in the numbers, in inches, that you know, and the calculator will tell you everything else.
I've got a pretty strong math background and use the calculators frequently. Why do the work, if someone else will do it for you ?
Here is one for right triangles, which is usually what is being cut on a taper jig.

http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/scol/calrtri.htm

The ratio reference was for practical furniture making, especially Arts and Crafts style and Mission.
Many times the angles are expressed as a ratio 1:3, 1;6, etc, which simply means that for a given length the material will slope 1 inch. Stickley's trestle designs are based on 1:6, and the angled mortises are 1:6. A tusk tenon is 1:6. Just examples.

Once again, apologies if I offended you. It was truly not my intent.

Mike.

[Todd Burch]

I don't think I've seen any that were not hinged in some way. Also never knew they were all that much more dangerous than other table saw jigs.

I make and use sled jigs for cutting tapers. I afix stops (glue small blocks of scrap) to a long rectangle sled (plywood, typically) and set and clamp (de-sta-co)the leg to be tapered onto the sled and then push the sled through the blade.

Todd

[Michael W. Clark]

Just curious why the hinged type would be considered dangerous?

[Todd Burch]

Just curious why the hinged type would be considered dangerous?

Ever use one?

You are pushing 2 things through a saw blade cut, and they are not connected to each other, and both are at angles to the blade, and both are in between the blade and the fence. There is nothing (but you) holding the taper jig to the fence, and there is nothing (but you) holding the piece to be tapered down. So, both hands are now occupied and committed to holding two independently movable things. Heaven forbid you slip, and when pushing two loose pieces through the tablesaw, you WILL be leaning more towards the saw than normal to clear the backside of the blade with this setup.

Watch this video, and ask yourself... after he pushes a loose hinged taper jig, and a loose board through the saw, how does he let go and retrieve his work? (Especially since he has no outfeed table). I think there's a reason they don't show him going through the whole motion. The parts they cut out were the dangerous bits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3_sOUoNbpw

This is why I make a sled which the piece to be tapered rides on. The item (sled) you are pushing is square (not angled) and there is only one piece between the blade and the fence.

Todd

[Joseph Tarantino]

+1 for todd's comment. i've used almost any piece of scrap with two parallel edges as a tapering sled, as long as it's wider than the workpiece. much easier than a hinged tapering jig.

[Jerry Thompson]

Mike, I took no offence and I apprreceate everyone's input. The new FWW has a tapering jig I think I will build. Not much math either.:D

[Michael W. Clark]

Ever use one?

You are pushing 2 things through a saw blade cut, and they are not connected to each other, and both are at angles to the blade, and both are in between the blade and the fence. There is nothing (but you) holding the taper jig to the fence, and there is nothing (but you) holding the piece to be tapered down. So, both hands are now occupied and committed to holding two independently movable things. Heaven forbid you slip, and when pushing two loose pieces through the tablesaw, you WILL be leaning more towards the saw than normal to clear the backside of the blade with this setup.

Watch this video, and ask yourself... after he pushes a loose hinged taper jig, and a loose board through the saw, how does he let go and retrieve his work? (Especially since he has no outfeed table). I think there's a reason they don't show him going through the whole motion. The parts they cut out were the dangerous bits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3_sOUoNbpw

This is why I make a sled which the piece to be tapered rides on. The item (sled) you are pushing is square (not angled) and there is only one piece between the blade and the fence.

Todd

Todd,
No, I have not used one. I was just asking a question for information. I was not supporting the use of one, just wanted to know why it was considered unsafe. Didn't mean to push your button. Bill Huber on another thread has a very good concept for one that looks much safer and easier to use.

[Steve Wurster]

More importantly with that video, the piece he's running through there is nice and wide, keeping his hands well away from the blade and allowing better control. If that were a table leg I would be wincing watching that.

[Michael W. Clark]

More importantly with that video, the piece he's running through there is nice and wide, keeping his hands well away from the blade and allowing better control. If that were a table leg I would be wincing watching that.

I agree, a table leg in the setup would make me uncomfortable, but others may be used to it. However, the panel he is doing does not look bad to me. I know others may disagree, but it really doesn't look that much different than cross-cutting a sufficiently long board with a miter gauge. I still use two hands on the miter gauge as I do on most cuts, so having two hands on the work is not unusual for me. I have a kick stop on the saw I can lean against if I sense things going bad. However, just like a thin table leg would make me nervous on the setup in the video, I also wouldn't cross-cut a short piece of stock that is not sufficiently supported on the miter gauge.

I guess what I am saying is, if I were to put the time in to build a taper jig, I would go the sled route because it will work for both scenarios and be safer fo rmost. However, If I already had the metal taper jig, I wouldn't hesitate to use it on wider panels where I can keep my hands away from the blade. Not sure I would feel comfortable with table legs in it though. Just like I wouldn't feel comfortable cross-cutting stock 3" long and 6" wide with a miter gauge.

The reason I asked in the first place is that I have a project coming up with some tapers and am considering building a jig for the table saw or bandsaw.

Mike

[Todd Burch]

Hi Michael - no, you didn't push my button. You asked the question, and I had to assume you had not used one, so I took the long road to explain the hazards.

It's definitely an experience to use one - I used a hinged tapering jig several times before I got uncomfortable enough with it to decide it was not for me - ever again.

The last time I used one, right at the end of my cut to taper a table leg, I was putting all my pressure on the jig and my stock to keep them up tight against the fence, the top end of the hinged jig actually pivoted out away from the fence a few inches. It was almost "doo-doo my pants" time when that happened.

[Steven Hsieh]

I agree is what Todd is saying.

If I was doing it I would have cut it on the bandsaw and sand it to the line.

[Kenneth Speed]

Tapering with the table saw is actually easy and safe but I wouldn't use one of those hinged aluminum jigs on a bet! I did have one and used it to make maybe two cuts before I set it aside and eventually threw it away.

I have a homemade jig that slides against my saw fence and clamps the piece to be cut down to a plywood platform, much safer to use, more versatile and makes repeat cuts easier to perform.

Ken

[Carl Beckett]

I don't like the hinged tapered type. Again, safety concern if they move in relation to each other.

A little sandpaper glued to it would help reduce sliding of the workpiece ( essentially a wedge, and any movement is jamming the blade)

So +1 on a sled imo

[John Coloccia]

Ditto on everything said. I'm redoing my my shop (new shop tour coming soon!) and I found one of the aluminum jigs in a corner. I used it exactly once, and tossed it in a corner never to be seen again. What a nightmarish little tool. For tapering, I now use a piece of MDF with a couple of toggle clamps. Put the piece in, lining up the edge with the line I want to taper to, clamp, set my fence for 6", and run it through. I have a sacrificial piece on the edge so I could conceivably true it up every time I use it, but I'm never found the need to do that. Also works on the router table with a flush cut bit.

[Bill White]

I've got 2 of 'em. Anybody want 'em? I used them with the RAS for years, and I guess that I was just plain lucky.
Bill