Norm's Biscuit joiner??

[RayintheUK]

I bought a cheapo biscuit jointer, followed by a slightly better one when I realized that the first one was cr*p. Then, when that still didn't perform as I expected, I bought a Lamello. Like most things Swiss, the engineering is of a very high standard.

The difference is like a cheapo watch and a Rolex, although I expect there's a better analogy. Both tell the time, one more reliably than the other. The build quality and components add to the cost, of course, but if you're going to use it a lot and excellent performance and total reliability are what you need, get the best you can.

Lamello cutters are spot on and their biscuits fit exactly - I suppose they should, after all they're the inventors of the system. To be strictly accurate, Hermann Steiner, a Swiss cabinetmaker and engineer was the inventor (1955), who then went on to found Lamello.

If you only use a tool infrequently, or can't justify the outlay, then you'll live with the variable performance. I don't have the Top 20, which has the height-adjustable cutter mechanism, I've got the Classic - considerably cheaper but still quite an outlay. You can see more about it here if you're interested. I've never regretted the purchase and if I broke it I'd immediately get another one.

Ray.

[LarryG]

Ray, are you saying that if you cut a row of biscuit slots with the Lamello -- let's say in the edges of two long boards, as when doing a panel glue-up -- and then fit the biscuits and boards all together ... you can't shift the board edges along each other (i.e., parallel to their long dimension, NOT up and down) a sixteenth or so?

[RayintheUK]

Ray, are you saying that if you cut a row of biscuit slots with the Lamello you can't shift the board edges along each other (i.e., parallel to their long dimension, NOT up and down) a sixteenth or so?

No, Larry - there is still a very small amount of lateral movement, inevitable with the arc of the cutter and the truncated arc of the biscuit. However, the excellent cutter always cuts an exact 4mm slot and the biscuits fit the slot perfectly, so there is NO vertical slop at all.

When panel-making, vertical slop is the problem with many cutters - mostly due to the fence, but some due, or made worse by, cutter run-out (and I've experienced both with other makes). In my experience, over five or six years now, these problems are totally absent with the Lamello.

Ray.

[radhak]

No, Larry - there is still a very small amount of lateral movement, inevitable with the arc of the cutter and the truncated arc of the biscuit. However, the excellent cutter always cuts an exact 4mm slot and the biscuits fit the slot perfectly, so there is NO vertical slop at all.

When panel-making, vertical slop is the problem with many cutters - mostly due to the fence, but some due, or made worse by, cutter run-out (and I've experienced both with other makes). In my experience, over five or six years now, these problems are totally absent with the Lamello.

Ray.

Wow, that's quite a recommendation - I would be grateful to own one power tool that would be so consistent. sigh!

But at $700 or even $400, I might as well yearn for the moon. Actually, my budget for a biscuit joiner would only buy me the glue applicator from Lamello .

[LarryG]

However, the excellent cutter always cuts an exact 4mm slot and the biscuits fit the slot perfectly, so there is NO vertical slop at all.

In that case, I fail to see the advantage claimed by the Lamello's manufacturer, because my Porter-Cable 557 will cut slots with exactly the same precision. It has no run-out, and the fence locks down rock-solid. There is no vertical slop; none. That leaves the lateral direction, and 100% repeatability in this direction is entirely a function of how accurately the operator positions the tool relative to his mark when he makes the cut.

The only variable with respect to how the biscuit fits the slot vertically lies with the biscuits themselves. Being wood, they are affected by humidity and so some of them are a little thinner or thicker than others (usually, it's the latter). But this is beyond the control of the plate joiner and would, of course, affect any brand of plate joiner equally.

[cgallery]

Then, when that still didn't perform as I expected, I bought a Lamello. Like most things Swiss, the engineering is of a very high standard.

When I was upgrading from a crappy Ryobi that I never used because the slots were too wide, I looked at the Lamello online. I didn't see any in local stores, but I did run into a Freud.

The Freud seemed to have the same kind of fence design as the Lamello. I was able to lock the fence down and then more the opposite side with my hand. I had to push quite hard, but no harder than I may push on the tool during use. I confirmed this on four Freud units. It seems the fence on the Freud and I think the Lamello lock on only one side.

I never did get my hands on a Lamello to try pushing the fence out of alignment.

I ended up w/ a Makita. It has a R&P for fence adjustment, and the fence doesn't budge once locked down. It is consistent in its slot thickness. Couldn't be happier.