Tapered Laminations Made Easy
A single jig tapers the plies on the bandsaw and then guides them through the planer
Synopsis:Open up a new range of design possibilities by incorporating tapered curved laminations into your furniture. The best technique for making these laminations, Michael Fortune says, is to taper each ply before they are glued together. If you glued up the lamination first and then tapered it, ugly gluelines would show up along the tapered surfaces, weakening the structure. Fortune’s jig makes it easy to cut the tapered plies on the bandsaw and clean them up on the planer. Another ingenious jig simplifies the job of cutting mortises in the curved pieces.
Incorporating tapered, curved laminations in your furniture opens up an incredible range of designs. However, tapering the component after it has been laminated has two disadvantages. If too many gluelines are broken, then the part will begin to straighten. Also, the severed gluelines are likely to show as a series of ugly lines.
A better way…
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