Well, that was easy. Using a table saw on an 8 sided one was not difficult all. You simply tilt the blade to 45° and set the fence and depth so that the long side of the bird's mouth matches the thickness of the boards. Flip it end for end and adjust the height and fence position to meet at the previous kerf. It was easy to sneak up on. The sides are straight so there is no taper in the first test. This is just held together with a rubber band.
So I decided to taper the square edge to see how that works. The pieces are only about 2" long so I made a quick and dirty taper jig using a scrap that already had a taper on it and cut the taper on the band saw. It was a little more difficult to assemble compared to the straight version. It took me a few minutes to realize that because I cut the taper on just one side after cutting the bird's mouth, the top and bottom ends will not line up with the next board. They will need to be trimmed flush after assembly or beveled before assembly to make the glue up a little easier.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
