“The slot for a #0 biscuit measures about 21⁄8” wide, so you can’t hide a biscuit joint in stock narrower than this. Even a well-tuned biscuit joiner can sometimes cut slots that result in a non-flush-fitting joint. Cutting the spline slots on your tablesaw requires a tall jig, but you can cut them easily and quickly with your biscuit joiner and the attached fence jig, see drawing below.
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.
More recently, a few others who have been having issues had contacted me to ask me why their biscuit joiners are not working properly … and since I didn’t even have one anymore AND the questions intrigued me, I wanted to see if now … I could go back and see if I could solve the problems that many encounters with biscuit joiners. “When I got to the shop the first thing I did was to measure the thickness of the cutter blade, then test the machine by making a couple of cuts, the machine was already set on #20 biscuit size so I made a couple of cuts. I found that the standard thickness for every biscuit joiner blade is 5/32” or 4mm. The very first thing I noticed was that the biscuit I inserted was high centering, which means the slots I cut were not deep enough. NO.Many years ago when I gave up my old biscuit joiner and started using my dowelmax jig, I was so happy with the joints and the strength of the dowels for joining wood, I will not be reverting back but I will hang on to my new biscuit joiner for now, who knows what will happen in the future …. Copyright Colin Knecht.
Biscuit joiners are great for when you want to securely fasten a butt joint on your woodworking projects. George Vondriska teaches you how to use the biscuit joiner to attach a shelf at a 90-degree angle to the face of another board.
how to adjust a biscuit joiner Related Question:
What causes the biscuit joiner to tighten up?
The biscuits themselves are compressed and expand when they come in contact with white or yellow glue, thus fitting more tightly after glue-up than before. I don’t think you are doing anything wrong as long as you are not trying to “free-hand” the cuts without supporting the biscuit joiner on a surface of some sort.
How close should biscuit joints be?
Biscuit Spacing The plate joints should be positioned so that the edge of the biscuit is two to three inches from the edge of the wood stock. Closer than that, and you risk splitting the wood; further away and you compromise some of the holding strength at the ends.
How many biscuits should I use to join wood?
Two biscuits per foot is a great rule of thumb, but the goal is just to make the alignment task easier. So, if you have a couple of edges that are 24″ in length and are dead straight & perhaps you would only need two biscuits to do the job.
How does plate joiner work?
A plate joiner is a handy power tool that is fitted with a circular saw and helps you cut a circular hole into the surface of the wood pieces, which can then be joined together with the help of a wooden disc, which is also called a biscuit and slides into the holes of both wood pieces when they are placed together.
How thick is a biscuit joiner blade?
The blade is set deeper for joining the larger biscuits. Most blades have 4, 6, or 8 teeth and fit a 7⁄8 inch or 22 mm arbor. The thickness of the blade is typically 0.156 to 0.160 inch or nominally 4 mm.
What are the disadvantages of a biscuit joint?
Biscuit joints do not stand up well against other joinery methods. We won’t spend any time comparing with mortise and tenon joints because all other joinery methods pale in comparison when measuring strength. But, as an example, the use of dowels as opposed to biscuits is a step up in strength.
Why does the grain of a biscuit run diagonally?
Biscuits are made from compressed beech wood. The grain runs diagonally across the biscuit. The biscuit is weakest along this grain line. When you install two biscuits in a joint, put them in with the grains running in opposite directions.
What is the difference between a plate joiner and biscuit joiner?
A plate joiner is the same as a biscuit joiner and are used to create an oblong hole in two matching pieces of wood. After the joiners have created the hole, a biscuit is glued, inserted and typically clamped until the wood is dried.
How do you know what size biscuits to use?
What Size Biscuit to Use. As a general rule, try to use the largest size biscuit possible, as this will provide the greatest amount of strength to the joint. In most cases, use #20 biscuits, but when working on narrower material, switch to smaller biscuits where appropriate.