Woodworking Design Software Does Tapered Legs

Just a Small Cut Makes a Big Difference

A long time SketchList 3D user emailed asking how I would do a leg with multiple tapers.  I took a few minutes to do a video to show the steps.

So that’s the digital world.  In the physical world the Woodworkers Guild of America has a decent video on You Tube (CLICK).

Tapering two versus four sides is a matter of taste and eye.  Of course cutting the four sides give you a more delicate look.    One advantage of doing the legs in woodworking design software is you can do it both ways and compare the two approaches.

Now a word on process.  What I do is design one leg and position it as necessary.  The slider bars in SketchList 3D V4 are great for that.  Then I clone it and position the clone.

If the leg has four tapers – then the way it sits in the design doesn’t matter.  There’s a taper on every edge.  BUT if your leg has two tapers – well after you clone it  or use the clone and mirror function – you may want to rotate it to have the tapered sides face the right directions.

Because Version 4 allows changing all three sizes of a board (width, height, depth) it is easy to size the board as necessary.