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.
Biscuits come in different sizes, but #10 size biscuits and #20 size biscuits are used most. When laying out the biscuits, simply place them on the stock to see how many are a good fit for the joint and to make sure there is at least a half inch from each edge, remembering the biscuit slots will be slightly larger than the biscuits. Check out the video above for a step-by-step walk through of how we join carcase miters with biscuits at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship.
biscuit joiner miter joint Related Question:
Can you use a biscuit joiner on mitered corners?
face miters A few biscuits can solve both problems. They can register the ends so that the corners can’t slip during clamp-up and strengthen the otherwise end-grain joint. A biscuit-reinforced miter is as strong as a full table saw-cut spline, but biscuits can be hidden within the miter for a cleaner-looking joint.
Can you biscuit joint a miter?
Align with biscuits It’s not easy to align and clamp miters, especially when they’re lubricated with a coat of slippery glue. That’s why woodworkers often use biscuits on miter joints even where extra strength isn’t needed. Cutting biscuit slots is a minor job that provides major help at glue-up time.
Can you biscuit joint a 45 degree angle?
Mark the center lines for each biscuit to align with the biscuit joiner. Most biscuit joiners have a variety of fence positions; on a 45-degree miter, the fence should be on the 45-degree setting. After test cuts, it is a very fast operation!