Thread: How to crosscut an angle on a turned, tapered, splayed leg?

I would use a handsaw.
Mark a line right round it then carefully cut.
Table saw or bandsaw may be problematic.
Lyle

and here's how to build your own tool for drawing that line
YouTube

Make up two holding jigs like this, put them on the tablesaw, and cut. Or just use a handsaw, scribe all the way around to break the grain first though.

Make up two holding jigs like this, put them on the tablesaw, and cut. Or just use a handsaw, scribe all the way around to break the grain first though.

Originally Posted by wsal

Hey all,
I feel like that question is quite a mouthful - looking at a leg for a table similar to this image (picture is of a couch, but it's the same principle albeit with a more aggressive splay angle). The leg is turned, and tapers towards the foot, and splays out. How do you safely and accurately execute the cross cuts, at the foot end and at the tabletop end? The thought of the stock wanting to roll makes me nervous about using the tablesaw. Also having so much of the wood unsupported sounds like a recipe for lots of chipout. Thoughts?
IMG_5336.jpg

some questions to start with
do you know how to mark the legs for the top and bottom cuts?
do you own, or can you borrow, a mitre gauge?

I'd make the cuts for the top of the legs first.
make two V-block cradles. one bigger than the other so that the leg lies horizontally in the cradle.

trim the top of each leg to the desired slant.
mark each leg so that the table doesn't rock.
Use the V-block cradles to trim the bottom of the legs to length.



Or use a hand saw, as suggested by Lyle, scribing the entire cut line before trimming the legs to length.
The V-block cradles will come in handy for holding each leg as you cut it.

This is how I do it ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...feeTable7.html

First level the work ..



Then mark the legs all the way around ..



That creates a clear mark to aim the saw at the compound angle. I use a Japanese saw for this (fine teeth).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks for all the quick solutions folks! Drawing a clean line around was one of the things I was grappling with so I'm liking Derek and Poundy's solutions for that. And V-Blocks! I always forget about V-blocks for handling round materials, and really should know better by now - thanks for reminding me Ian.