Biscuit joiners are safe...right?

[Richard Magbanua]

I was always impressed with the relative safe design of the biscuit joiner. You turn it on while it's inside the machine, plunge it in while it's safe inside your stock, retract it back inside the machine, turn it off. Well, as I found out while making one of many Christmas gifts this year, any tool can be much more dangerous than you think. It's up to you to learn to be safe in the first place and to learn from your mistakes after you make them.

Here's what happened. I was cutting biscuit slots in a 1"x2"x5' length of white oak to be used as moulding. It was held against stock of the same thickness to keep it straight and to give my fence more area for support. This worked really well -until the second to last slot. I must have made this cut without enough pressure inward against the piece resulting in the immediate launch of the entire piece of oak against the wall to the right of the bench. It happened so fast I barely knew what happened. At first I was amazed at the how fast it took off and dimple it left in the drywall especially for a flat, square end. Then I was mad at myself, thinking how I was really lucky and blessed that someone, especially one of my little boys, wasn't standing there curiously looking on as they tend to do. Taking the extra step of securing that piece onto the workbench or, at the very least, using a planing stop at the right end would have prevented this from happening.

So I have added this into my safety bank along with using a splitter on the table saw, a face shield, a dust mask, a clamp on the drill press...

Here's to a happy and safer New Year!

:cool: BTW, I've made a place for my woodworking pictures on Flickr.com if anyone is bored or interested. Comments and questions definitely welcome...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/magbanua/collections/72157611520940064/

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Richard, thanks for the reminder on biscuit joiner safety.

Plunge cutting is always more risky.

The only thing preventing kickbacks on a biscuit joiner is arm strength and the little pins on the fence that hold the cutter in one spot.

On large workpieces, the mass of the work piece holds it stationary well enough for the pins to bite, on small workpieces, the force of the spring in the biscuit joiner pushes the work away from the pins and it launches the work piece.

Clamping the work piece is the best solution in that case.

Fortunately there weren't any injuries......regards, Rod.

[Steve Griffin]

Thanks for the reminder.

Here's another way to get hurt with a Biscuit Jointer--

Accidently forget you have set the depth to maximum and cut a slot in the face of 3/4" stock while holding it with your hand. The blade started cutting out the back side where I was holding it.

I didn't draw blood, but it sure scared me....

-Steve

[Chris Holder]

I can't count the number of times I have held a piece of stock with my hand whilst using the biscuit joiner. Good reminder to think through the operation before cutting. I am going to be more careful in the future. The only think worse than getting hit by a flying board is your hand going into the blade after the board has left.

[Rick Lucrezi]

I am doing 1600sq' of fir flooring, no tounge or groove on the ends so I am biscuiting all the ends. Major task, started getting in a hurry and the tool riped out of my hand. I found out it is not a one handed operation. My kids too like to help out and they saw that, now they wont even go near that tool. Scared all of us pretty good.

[Duane McGuire]

Thanks for the excellent reminder! Experience is a great teacher, but sharing your experience makes it even more valuable.

I'm a safety nut, but woodworking is not inherently safe. We just always need to do what we can to take appropriate caution and work with our brains engaged.

Like most here, I'm a "professional" hobbyist. In 1990, though, I made my hobby my profession for three years and worked fulltime in a pipe organ shop. 5 HP radial arm saws, 16 inch jointer, and other well ... inherently unsafe items. Like myself, others in the shop were both woodworkers and musicians. Musicians like to have 10 fingers. Everyday when I entered the shop I looked at my hands and said to myself how much I liked my fingers. Three years later, I still had all ten.

Our brains are our best safety device. Thanks for your post.

[Richard Magbanua]

Thanks for sharing guys! I forgot to mention in my post I would encourage everyone else to share any of the incidents you learned from. But I think woodworkers have a natural desire to share knowledge with each other.

[Thomas Knighton]

I just want to thank you Richard, and everyone else, for sharing your stories. I recently purchased a used biscuit joiner from a fellow 'Creeker but haven't had a chance to put it through it's paces just yet. Knowing these sorts of things can happen have helped to prevent me from doing something very stupid due to lack of knowledge. (I will still probably do something very stupid at some point...but it'll at least be something new :o)

Tom

[Shawn Christ]

Richard, thanks for sharing this story. I'm glad all is well (drywall can be patched). This is a good safety reminder - I've become pretty comfortable using my biscuit joiner.

I can relate to your concern about your kids - I have two little boys in my house who also love to sit an watch dad (with eye and ear protection, of course). I once had a close call with my oldest son and a chunk of wood thrown from my planer. Thankfully it missed him, but by only a couple feet.

[Scott Schwake]

Thanks for sharing Richard. I got a bicuit joiner for Christmas and am trying to learn all about it, I'll be sure to remember this advice!

Scott

[Greg Cole]

Good to hear you're fine.
This is a perfect situation for a hold fast or 2. I've become very fond of using them for holding stock for such tasks.

[Richard Magbanua]

Holdfasts are on the list! That's a new bench, Roubo / Schwarz if you're curious, and I'm really looking forward to ordering the Grammercy holdfasts sometime soon.

[Greg Cole]

I seem to remember something about a #7 for flattening was needed Richard.
Good to hear about the bench, you will LOVE IT.

[Ben Franz]

My contribution to "stupid things WW do with power tools:

I use biscuits to align miters in door and window casings. I can't even guess how many thousands of these joints I've cut over the last 20 years. I cut the joints from the back surface after marking with a layout jig - always holding the piece down to my work table with my off hand. This past summer while trimming out my garage/shop with a slightly narrower casing, I rushed into the cut, the blade grabbed and I put a partial slot in the end of my middle fingertip. Luckily, it wasn't too deep and it missed my fingernail. I still have some scar tissue and the fingertip is sensitive to pressure. I'm hoping the discomfort never disappears so I might remember the lesson better.

The tool in question seemed harmless, it was a familiar operation and I still got bit. We all get complacent and sometimes this leads to unsafe work habits. I was lucky.
Use the clamps, fences, safety glasses, etc. I remember seeing an avatar here (don't remember whose) that said "This machine has no brain - use your own". True.

[Richard Magbanua]

I seem to remember something about a #7 for flattening was needed Richard.
Good to hear about the bench, you will LOVE IT.

Thanks Greg. It's not completely done but functional. I've been keeping track with pics on my flickr page. One of the best "tools" I've acquired!

[Richard Magbanua]

..."This machine has no brain - use your own"... Very very true!

[Larry Fox]

Then I was mad at myself, thinking how I was really lucky and blessed that someone, especially one of my little boys, wasn't standing there curiously looking on as they tend to do.


Thanks for sharing the story and definitely a good reminder. One safety rule I have adopted after a near miss was no power tools in the shop when the kids are around. I have had two incidents and one near miss but it is the near miss that still sends chills down my spine when I think about it.

The incidents:

- Cut my thumb with a resaw blade on the bandsaw.
- Busted myself in the mouth pretty good with the end of a table leg when trying to wrestle a too tight M&T joint apart for fitting.

The near miss:

I have posted this one before but the short version is.

I was cutting a smallish piece of plywood on the TS and my son went to walk behind me. I turned my head to tell him to stay put. Head turns, body turns ever so slightly, ply binds and shoots out and goes whizing past right in front of him.

They are alowed in the shop - just no power tools.

[Richard Magbanua]

I still consider the table saw the most dangerous tool in my shop by far. It used to have it so I worked with my back to the barn doors, but considering kickback (and experiencing it) I turned it around so any kickback is aimed at the back wall and I can see if anyone comes in. If any of the boys come in I tell them to wait and then shut off the saw. Since the experience with kickback and after getting my lasik surgery I use the guard and splitter and wear a face mask.

[Dwain Lambrigger]

I always thought the biscuit jointer was the safest tool in the shop. I could never think of a way to injur myself with it. You have all given me several reasons to be concerned. Any power tool can be dangerous. I think the primary reason for injury is complacency. Just because we have done something 100 times doesn't mean we won't lose a thumb the 101st. Thanks for the note.

[Ian Gillis]

My contribution to "stupid things WW do with power tools:

... always holding the piece down to my work table with my off hand. This past summer while trimming out my garage/shop with a slightly narrower casing, I rushed into the cut, the blade grabbed and I put a partial slot in the end of my middle fingertip. Luckily, it wasn't too deep and it missed my fingernail. I still have some scar tissue and the fingertip is sensitive to pressure. I

Ben,

I worked in a shop where 2 experienced hands (no pun intended) had mishaps similar to yours, both on the index finger. Neither of them could explain why it happened.

I don't think I've ever clamped a shelf when using the biscuit joiner, and never had any problems. I used to do stacks of slippery melamine shelves by just using the top of one shelf to rest the tool on while cutting the one above -- we all did. One difference I noticed between my technique and that of the other guys was that they "rushed" the cut. By that, I mean that they never let the blade get up to speed before making the plunge cut, and they jammed that blade in as fast as they could. The motor on the Lamello unit was always on the verge of stalling when they used it.

I can't say that I would never have an injury, but I think that by letting the blade get up to speed and feeding the blade into the cut rather than jamming, would go a long way in preventing jams or kickbacks that send your hand toward the blade or vice versa.

Being older and wiser now, I think I'd clamp the pieces. But I don't use a biscuit joiner in my shop, so it's academic.

Cheers
Ian

[Casey Gooding]

I once worked with a guy who had a biscuit joiner slip while cutting slots in hardwood. Cut a nice biscuit slot in his left hand.

[Larry Edgerton]

My contribution to "stupid things WW do with power tools:

I use biscuits to align miters in door and window casings. I can't even guess how many thousands of these joints I've cut over the last 20 years. I cut the joints from the back surface after marking with a layout jig - always holding the piece down to my work table with my off hand. This past summer while trimming out my garage/shop with a slightly narrower casing, I rushed into the cut, the blade grabbed and I put a partial slot in the end of my middle fingertip. Luckily, it wasn't too deep and it missed my fingernail. I still have some scar tissue and the fingertip is sensitive to pressure. I'm hoping the discomfort never disappears so I might remember the lesson better.

The tool in question seemed harmless, it was a familiar operation and I still got bit. We all get complacent and sometimes this leads to unsafe work habits. I was lucky.
Use the clamps, fences, safety glasses, etc. I remember seeing an avatar here (don't remember whose) that said "This machine has no brain - use your own". True.

Ben, glad to see someone else that goes that extra step. I really think it is faster than no biscuit myself, and so much better.

Anyway.... I have taken to screwing the Jointer to a flat bench top at an angle that will let me do either side of the miter. It has made fewer slots that are a little off, and it is much easier to hold things in place once you get the swing of it. I cutt off two fingers and a thumb last year and while I was healing up I had to find a way I could manage, and this worked so well still use it. It works a lot better than it sounds.

I was working on a crib for my granddaughter when I was hurt. Have you noticed how many professionals get hurt working on their own stuff? We must be in too much of a hurry? Don't know, but I have seen it often.

[John Sanford]

yup, biscuiters can bite! I've never been bitten by one, but I've had it chew/launch the workpiece. Always cognizant of which direction the wood will go, I try now to either clamp it down completely, or have it backed up against a stop with another stop on the right so it can't go anywhere. Having a holdfast on the bench makes it simpler than in "days gone by". The only time hands are involved is with medium to large pieces when I have somebody else in the shop holding the workpieced down, hands at least 6 inches back from the working edge. I never operate the biscuiter one-handed.

Ian is right about letting the tool spin up to speed before plunging it, makes for both a safer cut, and a cleaner cut.

[Chris Padilla]

Be sure the blade on your bicsuit cutter is sharp and clean. A dull or pitch-covered blade won't cut as well and increases forces all around.

I just cut a bunch of biscuits in some walnut and had no issues but at the first sign of any burning, I took the blade out and cleaned it.

All power tools deserve our respect but it is nice to hear of nothing ill coming of this and now we've all learned something so thanks for the post.

[Mike Robbins]

Thanks for posting. I'll be a bit more careful with the Biscuit Joiner now. I'd been cutting joints just like you did, without any hold-downs. Guess I've been lucky so far.