Best Taper Leg Jig

[Dok Yager]

I am looking for a really good taper leg jig. I made one but it`s just not accurate enough for me to do repeatable cuts. I have been looking at the Rockler jig as well as the Micro Line jig. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[Steve Kohn]

I've found the homemade version far superior to the manufactured jig I had bought. The problem with the production jigs is that they were pretty light duty and too short to safely do a longer leg. By making my own I solved both problems. I believe the plan came from Wood magazine.

[Mark W Pugh]

Steve,

Any pix or guidance?

[Nelson Howe]

I like the one Alan Turner makes at FWW.com. It's quick and easy.

Nelson

[Don Huffer]

I agree with the rest here. Shop built will be your best plan.

I make mine to just do the project I'm working on at the time. Made to run against the fence with a stop to push the stock through the blade. I also try to build it so the stock lays on the fixture. This aids in safety and accuracy.

[Bob Wingard]

Charles Neil has a free plan for a very nice one ...

[Lee Schierer]

I just watched Ask This Old House and Tommy was showing how to make a tall table with tapered legs (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/ask-toh/video/0,,,00.html) and he made a jig for cutting the legs that was very simple and effective.

[Joe Scharle]

This one's 36". I prefer using a miter slot instead of fence. You wont need T-track, slots work too. 2 hours should do it.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/1438/Taper_Jig1.JPG

[dan sherman]

I like the one Alan Turner makes at FWW.com. It's quick and easy.

Nelson

I second this, I have one just like it.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/workshop/video/a-simple-tapering-jig.aspx

[Bill Huber]

I agree with all about making your own, I think you can make one that will do all you need.

This is the one I made and once set up I can repeat the cuts with no problem. It slides on the fence and not in the miter slot, that way I can have much wider boards when I need it.
This is a link to more images. http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/taper

287248

[Steve Kohn]

Steve,

Any pix or guidance?

It's almost identical to the Fine Woodworking link provided. The only difference is I used a purchased clamp instead of making my own.

[Bernie Kopfer]

I too have built and used several times the Allan Turner jig from FWW. It's consistent repeatability makes it one of the better models.

[Andy kerra]

I agree with all about making your own, I think you can make one that will do all you need.

This is the one I made and once set up I can repeat the cuts with no problem. It slides on the fence and not in the miter slot, that way I can have much wider boards when I need it.
This is a link to more images. http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/taper

287248

I made one very similar to this from scraps around the shop and it works like a charm. I have used a couple different designs over the the years and this one has been the best for me in terms of safety, adjustibility and repeatability.

[Curt Harms]

I agree with all about making your own, I think you can make one that will do all you need.

This is the one I made and once set up I can repeat the cuts with no problem. It slides on the fence and not in the miter slot, that way I can have much wider boards when I need it.
This is a link to more images. http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/taper

287248

In addition to table legs, a jig like that works for getting a straight edge on rough stock, tapers on sheet goods and lots of useful functions.

[Prashun Patel]

Bill, I'm curious about this jig. Does it work well for thick, narrow stock, like table legs? Also, how does it fare on tapers that are on 2 sides of the leg? I only ask because I currently taper on the bandsaw, and then smooth on the jointer. While it's controllable, I would prefer a safer method...

[Peter Quinn]

Double, or quad taper? For double, I like the jointer, no jig involved. For anything short or 4 sided I screw a skewed block to a scrap of plywood. Done. No rockets, no science just lay out the taper, add a back stop and a hold down.

[Bill Huber]

Bill, I'm curious about this jig. Does it work well for thick, narrow stock, like table legs? Also, how does it fare on tapers that are on 2 sides of the leg? I only ask because I currently taper on the bandsaw, and then smooth on the jointer. While it's controllable, I would prefer a safer method...

I have only done a taper on 2 sides of a leg which was 2" stock and it came out just fine. I use the jig most for getting a straight edge on ruff cut boards. With some really wide boards and plywood I do have to put a strip of 3/4" MDF under the board but that has never been a problem.

With those clamps I can only go to about 2 1/2" thick stock.

[greg hallquist]

Here's one I make as I go - whenever i need to cut tapers. i made this in about 10 minutes and reuse it for all of my tapers. Granted it's adjustment is to realign the fence and screw down, but I find this is simple and forces me to think through everything carefully (measure twice and all).
I have a sliding table saw, but one could easily use the sled against a fence or with a miter slot with some minor adjustment.

See video below.

Greg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G600qTC-YX8&feature=youtu.be

[greg hallquist]

So it's a 1/2" piece of plywood as a base - bolted to sliding table (or could be free standing for use against a fence or miter slot).
I bolt down the plywood proud of the blade and ripped the plywood while bolted down to get the line of the blade.
Then, screw down fence (3/4" plywood strip). then, place leg and position hold-downs. The blocking for hold-downs should be the same as the height of the table leg - in this case, 2 1/4". You can just use scraps from the legs you are cutting as I did. Secure the hold-downs, and off you go.

The readjustment of the jig for each leg scenario takes about 10 minutes, but the legs are held down fast - fingers are no where near the saw blade.

Now, the cut-off does slide back to the right after the cut which is not ideal, but not sure how one would avoid this with a leg tapering jig anyway.

[Phil Thien]

My straight-line ripping guide serves double duty as my taper jig. I just clamp blocks to the jig to align the pieces I'm tapering.