Miter cut on tablesaw

[lwhughes149]

Can someone give me a link for safely cutting the miter cuts for large legs on the tablesaw? I am looking for the 45 degree cut. I have made this cut twice in the past but time has gone by and I just need a little confidence that I am doing it safely. thanks

 

[Joe Scharle]

Where are these miters? Do you have a pic or sketch?
Looks like you got the tilt worm loosened from your other post. Next chance you get, you might want to spray it well with a dry lube from the BORG.

 

[lwhughes149]

Joe, I solved the problem with the tilt, I just had to work it lose. It had sat up and just needed some pressure. I am not very good with pics on this site, can you pull up my walnut nightstand in my picture gallery? Those are the same legs, they are also on my walnut secretary. I am looking at books with examples so I know how to do it just trying to get a safe process. Thought maybe someone might have a video link that I could view. I believe my mentor stood by me when I made the other legs (he passed away last week). Great loss.

 

[Joe Scharle]

First, I'm sorry for the loss of Larry. Sounds like someone we would have loved to have known.


These are called bracket feet and I assume this is what you want to make?

Google bracket feet and see if you find what you're looking for, then get back to this thread.
Joe

 

[lwhughes149]

Yes, Larry would have been an asset to the site. He kept busy in his shop and I guess just didn't find the time to come on board. He taught me a lot. Yes, the bracket feet are the ones I need to miter. I know about how to go about it, I am just looking for something to help guide me safely through the process. I will be going through WoodSmith magazines tonight looking for one of their examples. I am a show me person, need to see it as I do it. Maybe someone out there can find me a link.

 

[lwhughes149]

I found an example in WoodSmith for cutting the miter however they made the cut prior to shaping. I have the feet completed and now need to make the miter. Did I make a mistake?

 

[Joe Scharle]

Since you've already cut the shapes, you'll have better success cutting the miters on a (S)CMS where you can position the long straight edges down.

My procedure; probably similar to Woodsmith's:
Run 4-6 ft. of foot stock through a TS cove cutting jig until I get the profile desired.
Cut the front foot sections ...1 butt end and 1 miter end.
Cut the miter spline slots.
Cut the back side feet.(2 butt ends)
Bandsaw the profiles.
Glue up fronts.
Sand profiles, including cove cuts so that the corners have a fine edge.

 

[Gofor]

If you still have the bandsaw cutoffs from shaping the legs, you can attach those back on the finished ones with 2 sided tape to give you a square flat edge to set the leg up for the miter cut. Another method would be to glue them back together with a brown paper spacer (think grocery bag) to get a square piece for cutting the miter. Afterwards, split with a chisel on the paper, and clean up with a card scraper. Use minimal glue or a hot glue gun. The hot glue will allow you to heat it (heat gun or in the oven) and pull the pieces apart without using a chisel. (Hide glue will also work for this method).

The other option is to turn them upside down, and cut with a hand miter saw/box. In that case, I would use 2-sided tape to keep them secure to the miter box bottom while cutting.

Just a thought

Go

 

[Gotcha6]

What about a tall fence on a bevel square set up on a band saw? With the legs upside down you could pass them through the blade & clean up the cut on a belt sander.

 

[lwhughes149]

Here is what I am looking at. I have Glen Huey's Building Period Furniture where he makes the miter cut after shaping. By the way, he also puts a spline in to give support during glue up. I have a surface, top of foot and bottom of foot in which to put up to the miter gage. It is just a matter of holding the foot securly while running it through the blade. My extra stock from the bandsaw wasn't a full piece so that wouldn't help me. I used a 1/4" blade and had to replace it with a half inch because the mahagony ate up the blade. I guess there are cheap blades on the market and I got one. I am going to carefully follow the example in this book and cut my miter. I want to think that this is the way I did it before.
Dennis, I don't have faith in my bandsaw when it comes to something like this.
I go through this everytime I find myself doing something new, especially on the tablesaw, or when I do something that I haven't done in a while, case in point. Thanks for the suggestions. I will come back and report in when the process is completed.

 

[lwhughes149]

Mark, a hand miter saw box would probably work but I don't have a good one and my arm would not stand up to the challenge. Good thought though.