The cool thing about biscuit joinery is that the biscuit is made from compressed wood. Biscuit joinery may not be for the DIYer who’s just building one cabinet, but if you have a lot of cabinets in your future, a biscuit joiner is a great tool to own. The Family Handyman editor, Ken Collier, shows you how to glue and clamp biscuit joints for a strong and nearly invisible joint.
Because biscuit joints are easy to mark out and quick to cut, using one almost seems like cheating. The safest way to cut biscuit slots is with a biscuit joiner. The oversized slot lets the biscuit move slightly, enabling you to tweak parts into perfect alignment.
Six simple steps to make perfectly aligned joints using a biscuit joiner. A biscuit joiner cuts half-oval slots in mating workpieces; then you glue in a football-shaped “Biscuit” and clamp the joint tightly. For maximum strength, use the largest biscuit that fits your joint.
The traditional approach is to use a special power tool – called a biscuit joiner – to cut slots in both sides of pieces of wood being joined, swab some glue in the slots, insert one biscuit into each slot, then bring the wood together and clamp it tight. 03:38 So I’ve done some measurements and some test cuts and this biscuit joiner is adjusted to cut a biscuit slot that’s not actually typical. A regular biscuit slot would cut a slot deep enough for half the width of a biscuit.
how do you make a biscuit joiner Related Question:
What can I use if I don’t have a biscuit joiner?
Some tests suggest a dowel joint will provide stronger joinery than biscuits. Tests also indicate that dowel joints are not as strong as tenon joints or dovetail joints. They do make solid and accurate joints, though. A dowel joint will be a better method than nails or screws and are much less susceptible to breakage.
Can I use a router instead of a biscuit joiner?
If you want to make biscuit joints, you don’t have to buy a biscuit joiner. In most cases, a router equipped with a 5/32-in. slot bit can cut perfect slots to fit the biscuits. Mark the biscuit positions on both adjoining boards as you would with a biscuit joiner.