Opposing Arch Table #4: Tapered Legs and Joinery

On my Sewing Table I tapered the legs on only two sides. I made the cuts freehand on the bandsaw and then cleaned them up on the Jointer and sander. For this table I really wanted to taper the legs on all four sides for a more refined look.

So I decided the easiest way to make the tapers would be to build a simple “5 minute jig.” So this is the quick, cheap, disposable, dedicated taper jig I made:

Here it is set up on the table saw… The rip fence is being used as a guide:

Done… This taper jig worked really well. I got surprisingly smooth cuts which will cut down on sanding time.

Its not an optical illusion, those are tapered legs!

Here’s how I cut the haunches of the tenons on the table saw:

And the waste on the bandsaw:

Because of how small my legs are I decided to make ”Mitered Tenons” where the tenons actually meet as a miter inside the mortise. Here is a Sketchup of the joinery:

I cut the miters on the table saw:

Here is what it will look like inside:

There’s one of the mitered tenons in the mortise…

After a little trimming all the joinery fits great in the dry-fit. I have a lot of sanding and other work to do before I glue it up:

This was another 2 1/2 hours. Total project time: 10.5 hours

-- Happy woodworking! http://www.blakeweber.us