Put Your Hand in the Biscuit Barrel: A Brief Look at Using a Biscuit Joiner

How It Works
Biscuit joinery has established itself as one of the most efficient methods of joining sheet material and solid timber together. The principle is fairly simple: a biscuit or plate jointer has a 4 inch (100mm) diameter blade with multiple teeth. The blade is plunged into the material at a marked point leaving a small rounded cut. Into this you glue a plate or biscuit make from compressed timber that swells to create a tight fit in the kerf when a water based glue comes into contact with it. For added strength in thicker material you can cut a double kerf, but it is best to leave about 3mm between the slots.

Marking Out
To mark out the position of your biscuits, lay out the material as it will be joined and set the biscuits where you want them. Mark the centre of the biscuits on both pieces of material. This becomes the mark that you use as a reference point to line up with the centre point on the biscuit jointer. Take care not to position too close to the end of a panel that you may be cutting to size. If you cut through a biscuit it looks very unsightly on a finished product.

Cutting the Slots
There is a centre mark on your biscuit jointer fence - line this up with the centre marks on your workpiece and plunge the blade into the timber by pushing the body of the machine forward. Grip it fairly strongly as it will pull to the left slightly. Be sure when making your cuts that the fence is flat on your workpiece. If you lean forward or backward the biscuits will go in at an angle and the glued surface won't be flat. In addition to straight joints, most biscuit jointers have a fence that can be set to 45 degrees allowing you time to join mitres with biscuits.

Gluing Up
Because the biscuits swell on contact with the glue, you need to be fairly prompt with putting the clamps on. Do a dry run first to check everything is as it should be. Make sure you have everything at your fingertips and at the ready once you start gluing because you don't want to be running around for things. It is also important that clamps are in place as quickly as possible.

Safety Tips
It is essential that your workpiece is held securely when using a biscuit jointer. Either clamp it to the bench or make sure it is hard up against a stop to prevent sliding. When beginning the cut, start the machine and then plunge into the work. Proceed slowly - doing this will reduce the chance of the tool wandering and producing an oversize cut. Use suitable dust extraction, since this will not only enhance performance of the tool, it will also reduce the amount of time you’ll be spending with cleanout once you’ve made your cuts.

Always support the fence of the biscuit jointer with one hand in the front by pushing it down on the the surface of the workpiece and hold the body of the tool with the other hand. Don’t try to use the tool with one hand – not only is this potentially a safety hazard, you’re more likely to mar and damage your work. As with all power tools, biscuit joiners should always be used in conjunction with hearing and eye protection. Read and understand the product manual before undertaking any woodworking project.

Your biscuit jointer will become one of the most important tools in your tool kit. When used correctly it will add enormous scope and flexibility to your wookworking.

Click here for more information & pricing on:
- Biscuit Joiners & Accessories