Setting up a Table Saw Taper Jig Properly

A taper jig is an effective tool to use in your shop to create perfect and consistent tapers on projects such as table legs that require a precise angle to achieve the look that you are going for. Setting up a taper jig, on the other hand, can be a frustrating experience. They often have a built-in angle gauge to provide a frame of reference for setting the correct angle, but the scales are often poor quality and inaccurate. This video explains a much better approach to cutting single angle tapers on your projects. If you have a desire to take this to the next level and cut a double taper using a taper jig, we’ve got you covered there too.

Of course before diving directly into cutting tapers using a taper jig, you’ll want to have a good grasp on some fundamental table saw techniques such as using a miter gauge. Once you have the hang of these skills, you can set up your taper jig using the technique that George describes.

Use the miter gauge.

The miter gauge on your table saw should be well calibrated and accurate to within one degree, which is one of the reasons why this technique will add a lot of accuracy to your taper jig setup process. Set the miter gauge to the angle that you want to cut your tapers to, and lock it into position.

Next Use the miter gauge as a setup tool.

Now that you have an accurate angle set on your miter gauge, use that as a reference tool to set the angle on the taper jib. Once you have set that angle, lock it down so that it doesn’t slip while you are cutting.

Then make your cuts and enjoy easy taper jig setup every time!