MICRODIAL Tapering Jig
The table saw can be such a versatile tool. And it’s when we start looking at the variety of jigs that are either available to buy or make, You can see why the table saw is the one tool woodworkers wouldn’t want to be without. One of the most common jigs and first to be added to your jig collection is a tapering jig.
Now there are plenty of plans available that will enable you to make your own tapering jig, and this can be a lot of fun and a great learning experience. But a lot of woodworkers don’t have the time to spend on making tools and jigs for their woodworking and would prefer to see what is commercially available. Because at the end of the day most people would prefer to spend their time working on their ever growing project lists than spending time making a jig to help them.
Which brings us to today’s review. The MICRODIAL tapering jig from MICROJIG. If you are familiar with the awesome MICROJIG GRR-RIPPER pushblock you will instantly recognize this bright yellow taper jig as being from the same company. So lets have a look at this brilliant little jig.
Now don’t let the price of this jig put you off, It is, in my opinion one of the best tapering jigs available. There are cheaper jigs available, but as with anything you buy, you do get what you pay for.
This jig is primarily designed to be used on the table saw, but it can also be used with your router table as long as you have a wide enough fence to accommodate the jig on the surface. It is capable of making one, two, four and eight sided tapers. You will be able to dial in and set your jig so that it is capable of making incredibly accurate and repeatable tapers time after time. There are three ways that you can set your taper. If you know what the angle of the taper should be you can dial it in using the first dial. If, however you know the rise over run, in other words the amount of rise per foot. You can set this using the second dial. The MICRODIAL tapering jig has a ‘Memory Lock’ system that allows these angles to be remembered. You can also set the jig up by laying out the taper on the face and end of the work piece and then simply adjusting the jig to these lines.
The MICRODIAL taper jig can also be used to joint boards that don’t have a straight edge on either side. When ripping on a table saw it can be very dangerous if you have an uneven edge running against the fence as you have very little control over work piece which could result in kick back. But this can be solved by placing the MICRODIAL jig on the board and using the edge of the jig as the straight edge that runs against the fence. So you are now getting two jigs in one.
What’s In The Box?
- The MICRODIAL Tapering Jig
- Instructional DVD (22 Mins)
- Instructional Manual
- Project Log
- Warrenty Registration
- Grr-Ripper Mounting Hardware (Grr-Ripper not included)
The jig itself is made from rugged plastic that feels very well made. If you have any MICROJIG products you will probably already appreciate the quality of manufacture. Both the printed instructional manual and DVD are very good and both show you the correct set up and use of the jig. It’s worth watching the DVD to appreciate how the jig is used in conjunction with a router table. The ‘Project Log’ is supplied to you so that you can use it to record the various taper angles, fence settings and blade angles for each piece of your project.
So we have already mentioned that their are three methods of setting the angle and I wanted to just spend a little time looking at those in a bit more detail. There are two dials on the jig. One that lets you set an angle and one that lets you set the rise over run. to set an angle, simply dial in the angle from 0-10 degrees with a turn of a dial. MICRODIAL claim to be the only taper jig manufacturer with incremental and exact measurement markings. It is such a precise jig that you can actually lock in angles down to 1/8 of a degree. Their color match technology means accurate and simple setup using the color coded markings.
When you use rise over run, you simply specify the amount of material that you want to remove. You can set it to remove up to 2″ per foot in 1/16″ increments.
The other method to use is to set a start and finish position for you taper. If i know the thickness that I want at one end and the thickness at the other I can mark these on the work piece and then use the straight edge of the miter slot to set the angle. I then adjust the MICRODIAL Taper jig so that it lines up with these marks and then lock the jig in place.
Using the MICRODIAL Taper Jig with the Grr-Ripper
You can attach up to two MICROJIG GRR-RIPPERS with the taper jig to give you even greater control of your tapers as well as greatly improving safety both on the table saw and on a router table.
Conclusion
The MICROJIG MICRODIAL Taper Jig is brilliant. You may find the features a little daunting to start with, but once you get hands on and realize that these features are there to make your life easier, you’ll wonder how you ever did without it. The fact that it can also serve as a jointer allowing you to put a straight edge on a piece of timber means that you are getting two tools in one. By being able to add GRR_RIPPER’s to the jig will not only give you greater control but will also increase safety when using your table saw or router. If you are already an owner of one or more GRR_RIPPER’s I would say choosing this jig is a bit of a no brainer.
In theory, taper jigs are very simple devices, but what MICROJIG have done here is take that very simple design and build on it to give us a jig that will quickly set a very accurate taper angle in a number of ways to suit our woodworking and in doing so will save us time and money and increase our woodworking pleasure.
For more information check out MICROJIG’s website
Here is a great video of the MICRODIAL Taper Jig in action.