Outdoor Table in Jatoba

Jatoba, loose tenons, and Teak oil finish.

I wanted a small table to go by the steamer chairs at the pool, and logged into LJ for some insperation. What a resource! In minutes I had found Dorje’s table: and I knew I wanted a smaller version. I had some Jatoba in the shop, and Dorje said I could copy his table, so here is my version.

I wanted tapered legs on this table, but had never done that before. I searched the web for “build a taper jig” and found all sorts of very nice jigs, but all would take more time than I wanted to invest. Then on a thread on Woodnet someone (sorry, can’t remember who) said “a taper jig is just a sled with blocking screwed to it” Well, that was simple enough even for me, and the gears got to turning.

A piece of ply with a runner screwed to the bottom, a maple stop block, and a block with hardware from my drill press table.

To set it up, I marked the leg with the start of the taper and where it would end at the bottom. I cut my jig to size by screwing on the runner, and cutting off the edge. That cut off edge will show where the taper will be cut. Then I put the leg on the sled in the correct position and screwed on the side block. Clamp the leg in place and you’re in business.

Then I got to use my new cabinet scraper, and that is a great tool. I’ve never been able to get shavings with a scraper before, but this worked perfectly.

First time using Jatoba, first tapered legs, first time starting and finishing a project in one week; must be progress.
Robb