I’d like to build a lighthouse lawn ornament. The base will look like the picture I’ve sent. However, I can’t quite figure out how to make the cuts since each side piece needs to be tapered as well as cut at an angle. I have a left-tilt saw and am able to cut a taper on one edge of each side. However, whenever I try to taper the other side, my saw blade is tipped in the wrong direction now. – Luke Steeves
Tim Inman: I would suggest making a sled to carry the workpiece through the saw. Precut the tapered pieces, then clamp them securely to the sled with the edge parallel to the blade to make the angle cut.
Chris Marshall: Following on Tim’s suggestion (and after the pieces are tapered), you’ll need to make the two beveled-edge cuts on your base workpieces by flipping them from one face to the other and end-over-end on your jig to make two passes: one with the “bottom” wide portion of your lighthouse base entering the blade first, then a second with the “top” narrow portion entering the blade first. You can’t make both bevel cuts without changing the workpiece orientation on the jig. That might mean you’ll need to make two jigs — one for each of the cutting positions. Or use some toggle clamps that can be unscrewed and switched to the second configuration after you make all of the first cuts.
