leg jig part 1

The first part I decided to work on for the end tables, was the legs. They are the most visually dominant parts, and one of the most complex to make. Since they are set set at 45 degrees to to the aprons, the require massive chamfers cut down their back. As you can see below, the chamfers also have mortises cut into them. These two design features posed an interesting challenge, how do I cut chamfers outside the capacity of my table saw, and how do I accurately mill mortises into them.

What I decided on was a planer sled that holds the leg blanks at the proper angle to mill the chamfers. The sled consists of two strait edges that help feed the sled through the planer, and will support the router when milling the mortises. The other key components are the triangle shaped supports that hold the blanks as the proper angle. The jig is a piece of cake to use, lock down the blank with the clamping blocks, and run the sled through the planer. when one edge is done flip the blank end over end and repeat the process.