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How to Make Tapered Legs on a Table Saw

Tapered table legs demonstrate a lightness and elegance that blunt, straight legs do not. An example of the elegance of tapered legs can be found in surviving examples of Shaker furniture and the reproductions they have inspired. Making tapered legs on a table saw requires ingenuity that the Shakers would have admired. One of the tried and true methods is creating a jig which, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, is "a device used to maintain mechanically the correct positional relationship between a piece of work and the tool."

Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape
  • Pencil
  • Table saw
  • 1/4-inch plywood
  • 3/4-by-1-by-21 1/4-inch scrap wood
  • 3/4-by-1-by-3 5/8-inch scrap wood
  • Wood screws
  • 2 pieces of 1/4-by-1-by-2-inch scrap wood
  • Yardstick
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Instructions

    • 1

      Create the base of a jig for the tapered legs by cutting a 7 1/2-by-24-inch piece from the 1/4-inch plywood.

    • 2

      Secure the 21 1/4- and 3 5/8-inch scraps of wood together to create the jig. Place the shorter scrap of wood against the top of the longer end so the two resemble an upside-down "L." Secure the foot of the "L" with two wood screws through the top of the shorter piece into the end of the longer piece.

    • 3

      Add guides or arms to the jig by placing two 1/2-by-1-by-2-inch scraps of wood on top of the leg. They should extend in the same direction as the bottom of the "L," with their ends even with the back edge of the leg. Secure them with screws driven through the top of the arms. Try to space them as evenly as possible.

    • 4

      Create the tapered leg by drawing its outline on the plywood base. Use the outer edge of the plywood as a guide for the outer edge of the leg. Do not start the drawing of the leg in the middle or on the left-hand edge of the plywood. Line up the jig along the drawn tapered leg length on the plywood base; secure it with two wood screws. Make sure the screws extend through the jig and into the plywood.

    • 5

      Place the wood you wish to use for the tapered leg inside the jig and cut it with the table saw.

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