Taper Jig - Straight Rip Jig

glenn bradley

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I have percolated on a Taper / Rip jig for quite awhile. I try to render down all the ideas I see on other versions and take the points that will work best for what I want to do. After a few design versions I came to realize that Woodsmith's version had everything I was after and had a simpler, more elegant centering pin mechanism. I scrapped my designs and went with theirs :thumb:. Some dimensions are modified as I will use this for more than just tapering legs but, except for that, the jig is basically unchanged.

Since this is a combination "build those jigs I've been meaning to get to" and "get rid of some of that scrap" effort, I used some old plywood that has been around way too long. How long? It measures 3/4" in thickness!?! Anyway, a piece of straight-grained pecan will do for a runner. I dado about 1.8: deep to set the runner and make it solid. I have shellac'd these surfaces and given them a good coat of paste wax.

Taper Jig (1).jpg . Taper Jig (3).jpg

I noticed something funny while cutting the dados for the t-track. I keep using my original 'beater' dado jig to make more jigs . . . why don't I make a better one of these? Maybe he's next. You can see that I have given the shop plywood substrate a tempered hardboard laminate surface for wear purposes. I did the same for the fence.

Taper Jig (2).jpg

The recently made sled support comes into play to cut the 'zero' reference side of the base.

Taper Jig (4).jpg . Taper Jig (5).jpg . Taper Jig (6).jpg

The t-track goes on the base.

Taper Jig (7).jpg

A dado, slots and t-track for the fence.

Taper Jig (8).jpg . Taper Jig (9).jpg

cont'd . . . . . .
 
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Its funny that I got this far and failed to take pics of the end stop/centering block. Oh well. I dug out a piece of redwood to use for a test leg. This is at the smaller end of what I scaled the jig to taper but, it will give you the idea. I find the center of the "floor end" of the 'leg' since this will be a four-sided taper (you pin the top end of the leg for two sided tapers). Drill a 1/4" hole about 5/8" deep, blow the sawdust back in your face and mark the amount of taper that will be made (again, this is very slight since the blank is already about 1-1/4" square). I also mark where I want the taper to start; that is, how much shoulder will remain at the top of the taper.

Taper Jig (10).jpg . Taper Jig (11).jpg . Taper Jig (12).jpg

Slip the hole over the loose centering pin, align it with the amount to be removed and the 'zero' edge of the base. Adjust the fence so that the shoulder mark also aligns with the 'zero' edge of the base.

Taper Jig (13).jpg . Taper Jig (14).jpg

Secure the blank with your holddowns and run the whole rig through the saw. I will observe that it is very stable and controlled feeling in operation.

Taper Jig (15).jpg

Loosen the holddowns, rotate the leg on the pin, re-secure and re-run the rig through the cut. Something about the geometry of this thing combined with shaving a small amount off a face really overrides my dust collection and makes quite a mess. Anyway, rinse and repeat till you run out of sides to cut and you end up with a nice four-sided taper.

Taper Jig (16).jpg . Taper Jig (17).jpg

Another use is putting a quick straight-line rip on a board that has two irregular sides. This is my main purpose in building the jig. There are other ways to achieve this goal but, this one is quicker for me when breaking down material into oversized blanks prior to cutting out parts. The ability to taper legs is just a bonus :).

Taper Jig (18).jpg
 
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Looks good, Glenn!

I made one from that design a while back also. Like you, I've seen a lot of versions but this one appealed to me the most. It works, too!!!
 
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