Typically, you'll center the slot in the wood. Finally, grip the joiner by the bale and the barrel or handle , engage the power switch, and plunge the blade into the wood. Biscuit Joinery Basics. Save Pin FB More. Common biscuit sizes.
Six simple steps to make perfectly aligned joints using a biscuit joiner. Start Slideshow. Mark the joint. Set the depth. Center the slot. Align the tool. The article covers case construction, miters, face frames, and edge banding for shelves. Click here to cancel reply. Either approach should work fine for your project, although I might lean slightly toward pocket hole joinery for this application.
My reasoning here is that you will create a cross-grain joint with the rail and stile, which is generally OK with biscuits when done across a relatively small surface area.
I would like to know what distances between biscuits are recommended, e. Great question, Les. In your description, I will assume you are referring to edge joining boards together. If that is the case, your benefit will primarily be alignment, as additional strength is not gained by using biscuits for this application. If you want to use them for alignment, place them as closely together as necessary to achieve flush alignment at the top surface of your panel.
If the stock is not perfectly flat, you may need more biscuits to hold the surface flush. I find them to be unnecessary, and in fact, sometimes counterproductive, yielding a panel that is actually less flat than without them.
I find that I can get a better flush surface by starting at one end of the panel and carefully forcing all joints flush at each clamp, ensuring this is the case before tightening the clamp and moving to the next clamp in sequence. If I do this carefully, I have found that I need to do less sanding compared to using biscuits for alignment. It is wise to use a glue with generous open time, such as Tightbond III, so that you have a longer time manipulate the joints, rather than giving up and spending more time with the belt sander.
Thomas, great point. This is a nice way to edge your plywood shelves. In fact, I cover this in part 2 of this article, along with a number of other joints where biscuits can be effectively used.
What I did was try and hold a small piece of scrap about 1. The blade grabbed and shot across the fingers of my left hand; thankfully, only cutting up flesh on my index and middle finger between the knuckle and first joint… took 15 stitches including 2 internal for the nicked tendon … Moral, be mindful of where your hands and fingers are.
Chris, I am terribly sorry to hear about your injury. I agree wholeheartedly with your suggestion to know where your digits are, and where the spinning cutter is, at all times. With biscuit joinery and most other power tools, small parts require different techniques. I appreciate your sharing this story, as it helps all of us to slow down and keep safety in mind in the workshop. Hi Jim, I am guessing that the biscuit size that you need is R3.
If I remember correctly those were about the same length as FFs, but much thinner. Cheers, Paul. If you have any questions on this article or any of the materials here, please feel free to post on the forum to get the perspectives of multiple woodworkers.
Hope to see you back! I believe that this unit was made by Ryobi. You might want to check with them as well. Nice article but without a biscuit joiner, can you discuss using a router with a biscuit cutting bit? Thank you for the feedback on this article. Do think biscuit joints are strong enough for a outdoor swing type fence gate?
Im going to make it out of redwood. Works great 8 years old no issues! Please let me know your opinion, thanks. Hi Dan. I think you are pushing your luck by using biscuits for this project. Is this an extra accessory? Almost a must for narrow pieces. Hi, Norbert. Everything on the biscuit joiner pictured in this article came standard on the tool. I looked at biscuit joiners, and ordered a Makita online thinking it was a fairly quick way to make joints.
What is the point of a biscuit joint then? Is there any real reason for me to keep mine? Hi Don. You can use biscuits on any application where joint alignment is important but where you are not looking to the biscuit for additional strength.
So, any edge to edge joint is a good candidate for biscuit joinery, where the biscuit serves as an alignment aid. Cabinet construction is a good place for biscuit joinery as it can help align panels during the construction process. Where I would not use them would be in a joint where there is a lot of stress on the joint, such as in a chair leg-to-rail joint, or in a large table where the rails are joined to the leg.
There you want a more traditional mortise and tenon that can provide greater durability. I accidentally came upon your site, and you grabbed my attention. Your tutorial regarding the biscuit joiner is so very informative. Thank you. A curio with a lot of glass. I would like to use my biscuit joiner for this.
Do you recommend doubling up the biscuits per joint he wants butt joints Or do you recommend something else. Another part to this question is — by using the largest biscuit possible — what would be your idea of a good clearance from edge of biscuit to edge of work piece. I would really like to find a forum where people could help each other out. Hello and thanks for your question.
I appreciate your feedback on the biscuit joiner article. Biscuit joinery will be a good approach for your cabinet. To cut grooves for most of the biscuit sizes 0, 10, 20 , simply adjust the stop on your biscuit joiner.
Smaller FF or face frame biscuits are available for the Porter-Cable biscuit joiner. In this case, biscuits are very useful because they are adding reinforcement to otherwise weak end-grain joints. Start by selecting the right biscuit.
An easy way to do this is to position the joint together then arrange one or more biscuits on top. Drawing a center line on a test biscuit can help you lay out the slots as shown in Photo E. Wider biscuits provide more strength even if you saw off an end , but there are times when you want the biscuit to be hidden within the joint. When form is as important as function, use the Biscuit Sizing Chart on page Eliminating the risk of a visit to the ER is easy: simply clamp narrow pieces to a stopblock as shown in Photo F.
You can now align the center mark on the joiner with the marks on your stock and make the cut. After making the cuts, glue the biscuits into their slots and clamp the frame together. Once the glue has dried, you can slice off the protruding biscuit tip as in Photo G.
An easy way to strengthen a biscuit joint is to cut two grooves, as shown at right. To cut the grooves, I prefer to use spacers instead of my fence. Referencing the joiner and working against my bench is fast, and for those times when I forget to cut a slot, easily repeatable. Face miters are A way to hide end-and edge-grain when making solid wood boxes or plywood cabinets, but long miters are tough to glue and tricky to reinforce.
A few biscuits can solve both problems. 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. With the table saw, you cut the spline from edge to edge.
To cut a slot in an angled edge, use your fence. How you cut the slots in the mitered face depends on the fence-adjustment flexibility of your biscuit joiner and your working style. If your router has a fixed fence or if you prefer working with your workpiece flat against your bench you will want to try making your cuts as shown in Photo H. Some joiners, like the Porter-Cable see the Buying Guide have a two-stage fence that can reference the outer face of the miter as shown in Photo I.
The wrap-around style of this fence also makes it easier to hold the tool in place while making the cut. Adjust the fence height or add a shim so that the blade does not cut through the tip of the miter. There are times, as when joining a rail to a leg where you may not want a flush-fitting joint. Your biscuit joinser is equally adept at creating offsets. The trick is to use a spacer that the same thickness as your desired step back.
To make the offset joint, mark the leg and apron for the biscuit slot just as before. Now choose a spacer that is the same thickness as your desired offset. Position the spacer under the jointer as shown in Photo J, position the leg with the show face against the bench and cut the slot. To cut the matching slot in the apron, simply remove the spacer and slot the end of the board as shown in Photo K. Be sure the show face is touching the bench. To start, position the boards edge-to-edge, then make short pencil lines across the joints about every 8" for the slots, as shown in Photo L.
Let the cutter reach full speed before plunging it into the wood. Remove any sawdust from the slots, test-fit your biscuits, and dry-assemble the panel. You must be logged in to write a comment.
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