How to Cut Tapered Shims on a Table Saw

Select two pieces of wood. One will be the base to hold and guide the material to be cut and the other is the piece out of which the shims will be cut. As an example, have a piece of 1-by-2-inch wood, 12 inches long, from which to cut four 8-inch shims tapering from 1/2 inch at the thick end. For a base, have a nice piece of 3/4-inch plywood, measuring 6-by-18 inches.

Mark the shape of your shims on the wood to be cut, using a straight edge and a pencil. To account for the thickness of the saw blade, the line should be 5/8 of an inch from the side of the board and taper to a point 8 1/2 inches from the start. The result will be a 1/2-by-8-inch taper. You will have one shim drawn at each of the four corners of the board.

Set the rip fence of the table saw at the same distance from the blade as the width of your base board; in this case, 6 inches. The base board should just fit between the fence and the blade.

Attach the shim stock board to the base board, using one of the lines as a guide to have the shim material extending out from the base board. Use brad nails or slim wood screws to fix the shim material board to the base.

Adjust the saw blade height to be just above the combined height of the base board and shim material board.

Saw the first shim by pushing the base board between the running saw blade and the rip fence. The shim material will be protruding from the base, and the saw blade will cut the shim as measured, as the base slides past the blade.

Remove the shim material from the base and reposition and attach the shim board to expose another drawn shim, and repeat the sawing process. Repeat again for the other two shims to be sawed from the board.