Tom McLaughlin’s tapering jig makes quick work of any taper, whether it is used on the tablesaw or bandsaw. Tom always leaves himself a little room to clean things up with a handplane, though. This gives him a finish-ready surface, but it’s easy to lose sight of where the handplane is starting on the taper.

To ensure that the plane is taking material from the tapered section only, Tom always starts with more pressure on the toe of his plane. Because it can be hard to see precisely where the blade is hitting, Tom draws some squiggles on the tapered leg, below the mortise. Then, as he planes the taper, he can easily see the squiggles being planed away, making it clear as can be where the taper begins.