Biscuit Joinery

Intro

A plate joiner represents a quantum leap in woodworking, permitting amateurs to quickly and easily make joints that rival the strength of those built with traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery. And you'll get those results without serving a yearlong apprenticeship. After a few minutes of reading the tool's instruction manual, you're ready to make strong joints.

The biscuit joint is actually a variation of the mortise and tenon, so it shares the element of strength. The biscuit functions as a loose tenon that fits into the arced mortises formed by the tool's circular blade.

By adjusting the depth of cut, you can choose biscuits of various sizes.

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Biscuit Joiner Shows Its Versatility

With a little bit of joinery practice, you can make strong edge joints, T-joints, face-frame construction, and mitered joints, and even assemble entire cabinets. Jobs that used to be too complicated are now well within your woodworking grasp.

And unlike many woodworking solutions that simplify at the expense of strength, biscuit joinery is extremely durable. Moisture in the glue expands the compressed beech biscuit, filling the slots and ensuring sturdy joinery.

T-joints and biscuit joinery are perfect matches for many assemblies.

Step 1

To make a butt joint for a box, begin by marking the centerlines of the biscuits' locations onto the boards. These marks are adjacent to the surface where you cut the slots, guiding you to accurately position the tool.

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Step 2

Clamp the workpiece to the table. Lock the flip-down fence at the front of the joiner at the 90-degree position. Set the fence's height so that the slot is approximately centered in the stock's thickness. Align the guide notch on the joiner with the centerline, turn on the joiner, then push it forward to cut the slots.

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Step 3

Note that you cut the other pair of slots in the board's side. Do a dry assembly (no glue) to check the joint's fit. Squeeze a puddle of glue onto a scrap board and brush glue onto the biscuits and into the slots. Clamp the assembly until the glue sets.

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