Tapered Cuts

[Mark18PLL]

Evening all,

I have a few tapered cuts to make on material that is only 50mm wide but is 3m long. Can anyone suggest a way to do this safely and accurately please?

I have tried with my track saw with rails connected together and material supporting it so it wont tip but just seemed like hard work. I also have a Axminster AW254 table saw but that just seems impossible due to the length of material.

Cheers
Mark

 

[RobNichols]

I've taken to planing taper legs for chairs and tables I've been making recently. I think it works well and is easy to control. I mark the line I want to cut down to, get down to about 2-3mm from the line with a scrub plane (Rapier 500 with a blade cut with a curved edge), then switch to a jack or longer to get near to the line (typically I use a number 6), and then use a plane finely set (Stanley 5) to finesse down to the line.

3 metres is longer than I've been doing recently, but I'd still look to trying it with planes. It's very controllable, easy and safe.

 

[Cabinetman]

If I’ve understood correctly, I would push it through the table saw following the line and then finish it off by hand plane.

 

[Doug71]

Do as @Cabinetman suggests above for the first one then you can use that one as a pattern for the rest by running it alongside the table saw fence with another piece to be cut next to it if that makes any sense?

 

[Cabinetman]

Do as @Cabinetman suggests above for the first one then you can use that one as a pattern for the rest by running it alongside the table saw fence with another piece to be cut next to it if that makes any sense?

Oh good, I did consider that but I’ve never actually tried it so kept shtum.
Ian

 

[Orraloon]

I would not try to follow a line freehand on the tablesaw because thats asking for a big kick back. All rip cuts have to use the fence. Its a job for the bandsaw or even rip to a line with a hand saw. Refine cut with a handplane. After you get one done then that one can be the template and paired to the next one and ran through the tablesaw against the fence. At 3m long you will need infeed and outfeed support.
Regards
John

 

[Cabinetman]

I would not try to follow a line freehand on the tablesaw because thats asking for a big kick back. All rip cuts have to use the fence. Its a job for the bandsaw or even rip to a line with a hand saw. Refine cut with a handplane. After you get one done then that one can be the template and paired to the next one and ran through the tablesaw against the fence. At 3m long you will need infeed and outfeed support.
Regards
John

Hi John, the main reasons for kickbacks are 1. a small - ish piece of wood caught between the fence and blade and 2. wood closing tight onto the blade (which the riving knife should deal with).
Freehand cutting isn’t something I had associated with kickbacks, what is the mechanism for it in your estimation? I certainly agree you will need an outfeed table.
Ian

 

[johnnyb]

This is a track saw job for me but I use a long rail for the taper then table saw from the straight side(the back) then repeat.track saw....table saw.

 

[johnnyb]

I use fairly coarse tracksaw blades for ripping solid wood btw

 

[Orraloon]

Hi John, the main reasons for kickbacks are 1. a small - ish piece of wood caught between the fence and blade and 2. wood closing tight onto the blade (which the riving knife should deal with).
Freehand cutting isn’t something I had associated with kickbacks, what is the mechanism for it in your estimation? I certainly agree you will need an outfeed table.
Ian

I would say the mechanism for kickback is that by not using the fence there is not enough control to push it strait. I dont intend starting a tablesaw safety argument but its not something I would feel safe doing.
Regards
John

 

[Jacob]

Pin it to a 3m straight and parallel piece of say 4" wide board and run it past the TS?
You could mark up the board for the taper and set the workpieces to it, to a line or to stops.
You'd need rollers or some form of extension table/support etc

 

[Cabinetman]

I would say the mechanism for kickback is that by not using the fence there is not enough control to push it strait. I dont intend starting a tablesaw safety argument but its not something I would feel safe doing.
Regards
John

That’s absolutely fine thanks , I’ve done it lots and lots of times but only long cuts, and I thought I was well versed with safety, but can’t quite see how it’s not safe, anyone?

 

[Mark18PLL]

Thanks for all of the replies, looks like which ever way I choose it will be a bit of a bugger lol. Do you think this sort of thing might help on the table saw?
https://www.axminstertools.com/trade/axminster-taper-cutting-jig-310078

 

[John Brown]

Thanks for all of the replies, looks like which ever way I choose it will be a bit of a pipper lol. Do you think this sort of thing might help on the table saw?
https://www.axminstertools.com/trade/axminster-taper-cutting-jig-310078

I'm fairly certain there are DIY versions of such a jig to be found on the web.

 

[Jacob]

Thanks for all of the replies, looks like which ever way I choose it will be a bit of a pipper lol. Do you think this sort of thing might help on the table saw?
https://www.axminstertools.com/trade/axminster-taper-cutting-jig-310078

Just another daft gadget. Make (or bodge up) your own?

 

[pulleyt]

Thanks for all of the replies, looks like which ever way I choose it will be a bit of a pipper lol. Do you think this sort of thing might help on the table saw?
https://www.axminstertools.com/trade/axminster-taper-cutting-jig-310078

That wouldn't work with a 3m length. As a matter of interest, what kind of taper are you aiming for along a 3m length? 50mm down to ??mm

 

[recipio]

You can use the thicknesser to taper wood although for a 3 meter length a helper would be useful. Just make a jig to glide the piece through on a false bed - preferably an old piece of kitchen worktop -to stop it twisting. Raise the piece up a little at the operator end by glueing a piece of thin ply to the bed. I make shaker table legs like this and find that 3 mm takes off enough wood. If you need the opposite side tapered as well just flip the piece but use a 6 mm piece of ply as you are referencing off the tapered side. Pencil marks will tell you what is being taken off so a practice piece is a good idea . As long as the piece doesn't flex it gives a very clean result.

 

[Mark18PLL]

That wouldn't work with a 3m length. As a matter of interest, what kind of taper are you aiming for along a 3m length? 50mm down to ??mm

35mm down to 10 mm

 

[Mark18PLL]

You can use the thicknesser to taper wood although for a 3 meter length a helper would be useful. Just make a jig to glide the piece through on a false bed - preferably an old piece of kitchen worktop -to stop it twisting. Raise the piece up a little at the operator end by glueing a piece of thin ply to the bed. I make shaker table legs like this and find that 3 mm takes off enough wood. If you need the opposite side tapered as well just flip the piece but use a 6 mm piece of ply as you are referencing off the tapered side. Pencil marks will tell you what is being taken off so a practice piece is a good idea . As long as the piece doesn't flex it gives a very clean result.

Dont have a thicknesser unfortunately

 

[pulleyt]

35mm down to 10 mm

That's a seriously ambitious cut in my opinion and not one I would attempt on a table saw. Depending on the depth of cut and the material being cut I would revisit the track saw route. If it's solid timber and the cut is hard work I'd look at changing the blade to a rip tooth. how many do you have to cut and do you have a 3m bench on which to set up the track saw?