Shop-made wedges make compound miters easy
Boxes and trays look more interesting when their sides angle out toward the top because of corners cut at compound miters. Fortunately, you can turn yaour tablesaw's plain-Jane 90° cutoff sled into an easy-to-control and spot-on accurate jig for cutting compound miters by just adding wedges of any desired angle. (I keep on hand wedges cut at various angles, with 8° being one of my favorites. Experiment with wedges a few degrees different from that to discover what you like best.)
You'll need a mirrored pair of wedges—one with the key at the narrow end of the wedge and the other with the key at the wide end—for cutting opposite ends of each box or tray side. To anchor each wedge, notch one side of the sled's fence to accept a 1⁄8 "-thick key. For four-sided boxes, set the blade at a 45° bevel. Cut one end of the workpiece, as shown in Step 1, then substitute the mirrored wedge and cut the opposite end, as shown in Step 2.
—Joe Godfrey, Forest City, N.C.