Right-On Octagons

If you’ve ever cut an octagonal piece for a project, you probably “snuck up on it.” You drew the shape, shaved off the corners with a jig-saw, and sanded to the line. Next time, clamp this plywood holder to your table saw’s miter gauge and you’ll be able to cut perfect octagons of various sizes in seconds. Cut a square corner in the plywood and, adjust-ing the miter gauge, set it 45 degrees to the saw blade. (Screw a strip of wood to the jig so it’s easy to clamp to the miter gauge.) Hold the square workpiece firmly in the corner cutout and push it through the blade to snip off a corner. Rotate a quarter turn and push it through again to clip off the next corner. If you start with truly square workpieces, this jig will cut perfect octagons every time. Cut a few extra squares to practice on! Our thanks to reader Walter Andrews for this cool tip.