5 Minute taper jig

[Cherryville Chuck]

Every so often I need to taper something but not often enough to want to keep a jig around for that purpose and I can make one in 5 minutes that is tailor made for the job I'm doing. Plus a permanent one might be too long for some jobs or too short or too wide or narrow and they take up a lot of room.

All you have to do is mark the taper out on one of your pieces and then lay it on the edge of a piece of panel (ply, mdf, OSB) so that the layout line runs along the edge of it. Clamp it in place and screw stops at one end and one on the sides at each end. Set the fence on your saw so that the panel is almost touching the blade and that's it.

In one set of pictures I tapered some legs for a night stand I made for my wife. Since only part of the leg got tapered I put the end stop in front and held the leg on the jig as I pushed the leg through the saw cut. In the other picture where I'm tapering a piece of osb I put the stop and the back. I didn't need to clamp the piece down in that one either. That picture is a little hard to figure out with osb on osb but if you look closely you'll see the layout line on the piece on top. Once done you can unscrew the stop blocks and put the bottom panel back in the scrap pile.

[Bushwhacker]

I recently made several cutting boards and plan to send them out for Christmas. I want to cut the juice groove in them. I found a gig on Utube that I made. But, it will only work for the narrow end of my boards since they are too wide to to cut the long edges with out running off my router table. I am unable to put a stop on the guide. I could add a sacrificial guide but then the stop would be hanging out in the air and would still have to be reset for each board.
Does anyone have an idea of a simple gig that is adjustable for different size boards and can be cut with a hand held router?

Thanks, Bushwhacker

[Nickp]

If I have the right picture in my mind, couldn't you use the router's edge guide...? And run it around the board's edge...? No jig or straight edge required...freehand, no table...

[Bushwhacker]

That might get messy at the corners of the board.
The last time I did some, I simply marked my stop point on the guide, but these are too big for that.
Hmmm?? Maybe if I mark the START points. either side of the bit. That might work.
I'll run a piece of scrap and see how that works out.
Thanks for the help Nick

Bushwhacker

[Nickp]

Yes...an external stop would help but you might just be on the right track with a "Start" point.

I'm thinking of an "L-shaped" piece under the cutting board. The L would be placed under the board perpendicular to the router travel. Extend the L past the end of the board about a 1/4" and use that as the stop...then attach a 1/4" strip to the router edge guide so that the guide hits the L and stops. That would keep the stops uniform for each of the corners...

[Bushwhacker]

I am trying to get a visual of that.

Bushwhacker

[Nickp]

Wish I could draw...

Let's try this...lay your cutting board down so that North will be the side away from you...and let's say the North edge is 24" long, East edge is 18" long...

Lay a 1/2" thick, 1" wide, 20" long piece of wood along the North edge with the 1/2" face pointing up. Underneath that and the board lay a 20"x20" piece of 1/4" ply. Attach the ply to the bottom of the strip on the North edge...like an L.

Now the board can sit on this, extend the L past the North corner Eastward 1/4"...now you have a stop and a surface for the board to sit on securely.

Then place a strip of wood on the router edge guide strategically located so that when the strip hits the North edge, it stops where you want the juice groove to end...

Sizes are only used to try to explain what's in my head...keyboard hasn't caught up yet...

EDIT: Sort of like a shooting board...

[Cherryville Chuck]

I'll try and describe what I have in mind. If it's not clear I'll either make a drawing or go slap one together in the shop. Take some ply or solid wood and rip it to the same thickness as the cutting board plus a bit. Glue a lip on it that will sit on top of the board. The lip needs to be the thickness of the router guide bushing that you will be using with your round nose bit. The width of the lip needs to work with the od and id of the bushing to locate the center of the groove where you want it. You'll also need some spacer material that is the same thickness as the guide bushing is long to sit on the cutting board to give the far side of the router something to sit on. You could rip a strip or two off a two by for that. Take one of the lipped strips and clamp it on the end of the board. Take two more and butt them to the end one and clamp them to the board. Plunge near the open end on one side and work your way around to near the end on the other side. Unclamp everything and move the end jig to the other end and take the two sides and butt them against it again. Start plunging back a few inches from where you stopped and as you go down move towards the stop point. That should eliminate anything that looks a transition. Carry on around past where you started and rise as you finish.

That's about the easiest method of jigging up for more than one size board that I can think of. Since they are a few separate pieces the jigs won't take much room and it should only take a few minutes to make them.

[Bushwhacker]

OK, now I feel stupid. I just can't seem to visualize what you have in mind.
I ordered the 3/4 inch cove bit on line. It does not have a bushing. and I do not have a plunge router.
I have the edge of my bit set at 3/4 " from the guide. If I mark, 3/4 " to each side of the edge of the
bit along the router table guide, and lay the board down with the bit running, short of this point, I should be able to cut every side this with square corners no matter what the size of the various boards are.
Should this work?
Seems to me that the cut should begin and end in the same place on all sides.
The hairy part would be stopping at the proper spot each time.

Bushwhacker

[Bushwhacker]

My thought is to lay the board down with the bit running in the center of the cut, slide it carefully to the mark on one end, then reverse it to the mark on the other end side it back a bit and lift it while moving, Then do the same thing on all 4 sides.
Does this make sense.?

Bushwhacker

[Nickp]

OK, now I feel stupid. I just can't seem to visualize what you have in mind.
I ordered the 3/4 inch cove bit on line. It does not have a bushing. and I do not have a plunge router.
I have the edge of my bit set at 3/4 " from the guide. If I mark, 3/4 " to each side of the edge of the
bit along the router table guide, and lay the board down with the bit running, short of this point, I should be able to cut every side this with square corners no matter what the size of the various boards are.
Should this work?
Seems to me that the cut should begin and end in the same place on all sides.
The hairy part would be stopping at the proper spot each time.

Bushwhacker

Short answer is yes but with consideration of the size of the bit. If you mark the 3/4" and route to the mark the bit could cut further by 1/2 the diameter of the bit. Setting the fence would also need the same consideration. I assume you had that in mind anyway...

The other is to make sure you route smoothly to prevent burning especially on the start and stop. Depending on the size of the board it might be tough to get your fingers under it to lift it quickly without moving it past the mark...

And yes...it should not make a difference to the size of the board...

[Nickp]

My thought is to lay the board down with the bit running in the center of the cut, slide it carefully to the mark on one end, then reverse it to the mark on the other end side it back a bit and lift it while moving, Then do the same thing on all 4 sides.
Does this make sense.?

Bushwhacker

Be very careful in reverse...the bit will cut a bit differently and may want to push the board away from the fence...

[Bushwhacker]

I plan to begin as close to the right hand side as possible so my cut in the wrong direction will be minimal.
I understand the necessity of keeping it moving to avoid burning the wood. and I have planned for the 3/4 to be from the outside tip of the cutter.
I really appreciate the help I have received with this. The strange thing about this is that THIS IS NOT MY FIRST JUICE GROOVE, Sandra tells me to just do what you did before, they all turned out fine.
I think I just stressed my self into think this will go wrong
Like I told Sandra, the only problem with messing up on one , is that It will be a shorter board then how it was planned.
and, who ever gets that one will never know it is shorter then the way it was planned.

Bushwhacker

[Nickp]

I plan to begin as close to the right hand side as possible so my cut in the wrong direction will be minimal.
I understand the necessity of keeping it moving to avoid burning the wood. and I have planned for the 3/4 to be from the outside tip of the cutter.
I really appreciate the help I have received with this. The strange thing about this is that THIS IS NOT MY FIRST JUICE GROOVE, Sandra tells me to just do what you did before, they all turned out fine.
I think I just stressed my self into think this will go wrong
Like I told Sandra, the only problem with messing up on one , is that It will be a shorter board then how it was planned.
and, who ever gets that one will never know it is shorter then the way it was planned.

Bushwhacker

LOL...good plan...there are no mistakes...only design and aesthetic presentation...I'm sure all the boards will come out fine...

[Herb Stoops]

I messed a 30" long board up .I stopped and the router backed up and started its own path. Maybe it was because I routed full depth on one pass. The only safe way is to make a template and a slot for the guided bearing to follow.
The way I corrected and saved the board was to make the misgroove into a pocket about 2 1/2'X 3" for the juice to run into.
Herb

[Cherryville Chuck]

I wasn't talking about a bushing on the bit but one you attach to the router but if you are using a 3/4" bit I'm not sure if there is one in a set that has a large enough ID to accommodate a bit that size.This is one of those jobs that is best done with a plunge because you have to tilt a fixed base into the cut and there is always a possibility to be off axis as you do.

Personally I'm not a big fan of juice grooves and I haven't cut them into a board in a long time.

[Herb Stoops]

I agree with Chuck on the need for juice grooves. Most of my boards are w/o.
This board mentioned above was for my double sink to clean salmon and fillet codfish. It had cleats on the bottom to keep it from sliding around on the sinks.
Herb