Help on Biscuit joiner

[lcm1947]

Thanks again guys for the replies. I have looked at the Ryobi and I have been pleased with every tool I've bought from them so far so I may take a closer look. I guess the thing that most sticks in my mind is the comparison I saw in the 2005 Tool Guide a review of 10 different makes of joiniers and they said that the PC was even rated the best buy. Not ever having used one before I'm just not sure how accurate one needs to be and I would imagine that they should be pretty darn accurate. The guide went on to say that the DeWalt fell short when testing for accuracy of the fence and base when testing for how close to parallel the joiner cut. This surprised me as I am a big fan of DeWalt and have plenty of their tools but course there is certainly nothing wrong with PC's tools either which I have several of too. Anyway, just trying to decide.

[messmaker]

I have used a Makita and a Freud and cannot see that they are that much better than the E-Bay one I got for $25. I guess if you use it a lot and need it for complex jobs the Dewalt or PC is the way to go but for simple work, I think it is overkill. For the price of a PC, you can buy a cheap B.Jointer,A Kreg pocket hole kit and a Beadlock system and a Miller Dowell set-up and have $$ left over.

[RainShadow]

I like the Porter-Cable unit the best. Got it on sale from Home Depot with PC rebate.

Good luck, Randy from Oceanside, CA

[lcm1947]

Thanks guys. Yeah I'm still deciding and sway back and forth on a expensive one to a more affordable one. I wish I knew how much I'll actually use one but right now I only see myself using it for panel type projects like my current router cabinet table. Course I managed to build it with my new nail gun and compressor but thought it would look a bit better using biscuits. Decisions, decisions.

[axio]

I actually have a craftsman one. I believe it's the newer $100 version. It's pretty ergonomic looking compared to the others. It also has rack-and-pinion height adjustment, which was different from the Ryobi and Craftsman one that was around $100 at the same time I bought it half a year ago. I've used it only a few times, and each time it performed great. Not sure how long it will last, but so far so good.

[alex wetmore]

I have and use the Dewalt. The face doesn't have sandpaper, but it does have friction bits to prevent slippage. The only thing that bugs me about it is that the angle indicator is also the 90 degree flip stop. Adjust it for perfect 90 degrees and it may not read 90 degrees. Adjust it to read 90 degrees and it won't stop perfectly at 90 degrees.

The vacuum port on the Dewalt works very well.

You can often find these in a bundle at Rockler (at least the Seattle store) with a random orbital sander for about what the biscuit jointer costs by itself.

I also considered the PC but didn't seen enough to make me spend the extra money.

Biscuits are great and I'm glad that I bought the machine for them.

alex

[JimD]

I bought the router bit first but do not use it. As has been noted, it only works for edge-to-edge joints, not edge to face. It also makes a slot that is deeper than required at the end which may result in the glue moving to where it won't do any good.

I bought a "Skil" biscuit jointer years ago and it is one of my cheaper tool purchases that I am still satisfied with. Some of you may have noticed in earlier posts that I have a tendency to waste money on cheaper tools and then end up replacing them with what I should have bought in the first place. Anyway, the Skil has a decent motor and a blade which cuts a slot the right width but a fairly lousy fence arrangement. It's plastic and the height adjustment is just slots in the plastic clamped by a screw. The owners manual that came with it recommended making wooden blocks a couple inches wide and about 4 inches long of varying thickness. You then use the wooden block to set the fence. I did this and I really like the way it works. I now have blocks from 1/8 inch to 1 3/8 inch by 1/16s. I use them for other setups - like depth on the table saw and router table and occasionally fence setting on the table saw and router table.

Anyway, my point is that if you get a less expensive biscuit jointer and maybe if you get a PC or DeWalt (you can adjust the fence on the DeWalt if it does not cut parallel to the fence - by the way), make yourself some setup blocks. If you have a thickness planner and some scraps, it only takes a few minutes and I think you'll find them handier than you think.

If I was looking for a biscuit jointer right now I would look for a rebuilt PC or DeWalt. If you can find a rebuilt it should be close to $100. Anything much less is probably not worth having. If I saw a good deal on another brand, I would probably still at least look pretty hard at it. You need 5 or 6 amps to avoid bogging down if you plunge quick but as long as the motor is strong enough, it has a decent way to adjust the plunge depth for different size biscuits, and the fence can be made to work, it should do fine.

Jim

[lcm1947]

Thanks for the reply lenghtly Jim. Yeah I'd like to have some blocks but alas no planer. The rebuilt idea might be worth checking out, hadn't thought about them. Thanks.