How to Make a Lathe Taper Attachment

Remove your tool rest from the carriage. Unscrew it or slide it out of its holder on the carriage.

Find the exact center of the carriage. Do this by drawing diagonal lines from one corner of the carriage to the next. The place where the lines cross is the exact center.

Drill a hole in the exact center of the carriage. Make the hole 1/4 inch in diameter.

Saw a wooden piece the exact size of the carriage. Use wood that is 1/4 inch in thickness. This should be a rectangle. Cut the wood to the same size as the carriage. This will be your swiveling carriage.

Locate the center of the swiveling carriage by drawing lines between the corners. Where these intersect is the exact center. Drill a 1/4 inch hole here.

Insert a dowel rod that is 1 inch long and 1/4 inch in diameter into the hole you drilled in the carriage. Place your swiveling carriage over the dowel rod. The swiveling carraige will now swivel around the dowel rod.

Attach your tool rest to the swiveling carriage piece. You can do this by screwing it down. Make sure the tool rest is at a 90-degree angle to the edge of the carriage piece. Use a square to adjust the tool rest to 90 degrees, then fasten it in place.

Swivel your new carriage piece while holding a tool in the tool rest. Decide how much of a taper you want. A good starting place is 1 inch of taper per 1 foot of length of the piece. Once you establish the amount of swivel that will give you the tapering you want, drill a hole in one end of your swiveling carriage and screw it in place by driving a screw through the swiveling carriage piece into the carriage below. This will lock the swiveling piece in place for uniform tapering.