If you have made or built furniture for a long time, there is every possibility you needed to make tapered cuts at some point in your furniture-making career. Tapered furniture legs are a good example. However, learning how to cut a taper on a table saw requires some process and materials.
The benefits of these processes are zero cost; fast configuration; strong versatility; quick and stable. The pitfalls are that the final piece must come from a wooden component that is oversized enough to receive at least two screws; the process cannot be replicated, which ensures that for every cut the same short installation time is used and that if you need multiple similar parts, these processes are not appropriate.
Below are the processes involved in how to cut a taper on a table saw/beginner table saw.
Table of Contents
What You Need for Cutting Taper on a Table Saw
1. Table saw jig
The table saw taper jig is produced using a couple of debarred aluminum rails and features a pliable work-piece stop. The tall handle wards off hands from the cutting edge. The simple to-gauge point measure makes it easy to set the correct taper edge from 0° to 15° or from 0″ to 3″ per foot of run in 1/4″.
The bent bolting section guarantees that the point you set is the edge you’ll get. A couple of wing nuts make bolting the setting a swift process.
2. A Good Blade
A fine blade is essential for clean cuts on the table saw. For tapers, a blade-like Infinity Thin-Kerf cutting Blade is recommended. Tapers are quite often a tear activity. The tooth magnitude and Thin-kerf are an ideal mix for perfect and easy cuts.
Making tapers doesn’t need to be a tedious or hard task as long as you have the correct tools for the task. With a high-quality table saw taper jig and best quality table saw blades, you can make precise taper cuts for your next carpentry venture.
The Cutting Process of “How to Cut a Taper on a Table Saw”
Steps 1. Installing the blade protector
Mount the blade protector that came along with the saw. Change the height of the blade such that even with the edge of the wood obstructing, you are cutting the base of the saw blade.
The normal equipment with each table saw is blade guard system that contains splitter and pawl to prevent kick-back. Now you can go get yours from wherever you might have abandoned it and reinstall with your user manual.
The rubber shield holds the knife away from your hands and deflects flying pieces. The splitter stops the deck from pinching the knife. The kickback pawl protective unit, which has small teeth that catch the board and prevent it from injuring you when the knife pinches or connects during the slice, also decreases kickback risk.
Steps 2. Using push stick
Close your finger at the back of the board and hold on to the fence with your little finger to tear 6 boards wider and broader. Concentrate on securing the board edge absolutely with best table saw fences as you move it through the knife slowly and steadily.
Move the board over and kickback the pawl completely. Then turn off the saw so that the ripped or cutoff part can catch the saw and then always carefully move aside in-case it kicks-back out of the saw.
Just make push sticks out of plywood, not lumber that might break and fall apart as you drive. The only safe way to secure a thin board past the spinning blade is to always move the sticks and boots. Make sure you keep a push stick or shoe close whenever you use the saw.
Steps 3. Layout the cut on the finished part
With a pencil and straightedge, spread out the tapered cut on the plain, including the kerf; that is, make a line to signify the two sides of the opening that the blade will make. In this demonstration, the completed part is on the left; materials disposed from the cut are on the right.
Steps 4. Attach a guide board to the plain/blank
For a guide board, utilize a piece of pressed wood or board wide enough to cover the waste, and sufficiently long to reach a couple of inches past the two ends of the blank. Adjust the guide board using the kerf line and attach it to the waste with several pins from the air nailery, or some screws.
Steps 5. Set the fence
Flick the board from one end to the other. The table saw fence should be set in position with the guide board.
Steps 6. Cut the parts
Pull back the guide board, start the saw and cut the part. The completed part drops off onto the table. Other than the two pinholes, the waste is recyclable. RIDGID R4512 or SKIL 3410-02 is best to get this opportunity.
Safety Tips
Practically most contractor table saws wounds are avoidable when you utilize the correct tearing strategies. Become familiar with the sheltered method in order to make an assortment of tear cuts like long tears, thin tears and equal tears to fix an abnormal board.
While cutting a taper using push sticks method, you don’t want your hand anywhere near the blade, even with a blade guard in place. It takes a moment to lose a finger in a loss of concentration. By tearing tiny bits, push sticks allow you to keep your hands at a safe distance from the blade. The handle on the side of the foot gives you better hold on the wood and reduces the chance of making your hand slip off. In terms of hybrid table saw, procedure are a bit different, we will discuss about it in next time.
FAQs
Q. How do I join the table saw and the taper jig?
Ans. The jig is not connected at all to the table saw. It works individually and moves the workpiece across the fence to make the tapered cuts.
Q. Can a 4×4 table leg taper with a table saw be used for the taper jig?
Ans. It depends heavily on your particular model like Powermatic PM1000 or hitachi-c10rj, Bosch GTS103 . The jig will operate though, as long as the blade is sufficiently large to accommodate the four-inch slice. If you are professional worker you should check best contractor table saw list.
Final Verdict
As seen above on how to cut a taper on a table saw, you find out it is easy to do on your own provided you follow the required steps. Don’t forget to keep yourself safe from accidents or the risk of getting your hand cut. But if you face any problem with a table saw you should go for the best benchtop bandsaw that would be a good alternative.