Does anyone use biscuit joiners anymore?

[Larry Edgerton]

I have used thousands of biscuits over the years for every conceivable application. Wouldn't be without my B&D professional joiner or the three to four thousand biscuits I keep in stock. This tool has helped me make money!

What he said.........

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Another way to think of it - a Domino joiner is a mortising machine for loose tenons. A biscuit joiner is a spline machine.

If you don't build anything with mortise and tenon joints you don't need a Domino, and if you don't see a need for spline joinery maybe you don't need a biscuit joiner.

I'm not sure why people tend compare them. They each have their place and function. Occasionally one can substitute for the other, but for the most part they are independent tools (and joint types).

One observation - the application of mortise and tenon joints is usually fairly obvious and commonly understood among woodworkers. Spline joinery however, is less obvious and sometimes holds the opportunity to solve unusual problems. Again, both types of joinery are important to have available and these machines add a lot of convenience to the process.

Could you imagine if the title of the thread was "Does anyone use spline joinery anymore?"
Edwin

Edwin, once again you hit the nail head!

I also wondered why people insists in a direct comparison between those two joint techniques. Despite there is a gray area where both of them could be used, most of the time they have clear different roles.

All the best.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

I have a Lamelo and have even used it for an Oak screen door for my front door that was still going strong after 2 more that 25 years. I use it for solid wood joinery but not for alignment. I also have on of the Ryobi mini biscuit tools and like it for small boxes etc. Maybe when I grow up I'll get a Domino but the biscuits will stay.

:-)

We are at the same boat!

All the best!

[Charles Lent]

For alignment when building cabinets I've mostly gone to building them with the offset tongue and groove method that Marc Sommerfeld seems to have pioneered. He now has complete cabinet making videos on YouTube where he explains his methods for making cabinets including this offset tongue and groove system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klv0jzWD26w

Those wanting great alignment of cabinet parts should watch his cabinetmaking videos. He sells the bits for doing this, but similar bits are also available elsewhere. I've been using most of his methods for building cabinets and furniture for about 15 years now. Once you learn it, it becomes quite natural and fast to do it this way. He uses pocket screws and biscuits too, but only where they are the best choice for the application and won't be seen in the final assembly.

Charley

[richard poitras]

Biscuit joinery can be taken to a whole new level if you look up a FWW article by Michael Fortune where he demonstrates how to mount the machine to a custom little table thus turning it into a stationary machine. If you do this, it improves the accuracy and opens up a lot of applications.

Edwin

Anyone have any pics of a table mounted set up for review as I don’t have a Fine Wood Working member ship?

Thanks Richard

[Jim Dwight]

I use my old Skil biscuit joiner when making large panels and sometimes for cabinets. I built a painted cabinet this year for my bathroom. It is primarily plywood and the corner joints are 3 pocket screws and two biscuits. The biscuits help the joint A LOT by preventing the pieces from sliding as you secure the screws. The combination was quick and strong. Most of the pocket screws do not show but on a middle divider, I had to fill the pocket holes on the bottom of the divider before applying paint.

[Brian Nguyen]

Richard:
Here you go.

biscuit joiner table.JPG

[Ben Zara]

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2013...ips-and-tricks.

The link shows a great trick for using the base of a biscuit joiner to register against two case miters put together in a vise. Makes for a great spline joint.

As a lot of people said above, biscuits are great for miter splines.

[Larry Edgerton]

I may have the most unusual use for a biscuit joiner. I made an adjustable plate that bolts to the bottom of a Dewalt, aluminum about 20 inches long. It rides on the studs on interior frame walls in log homes and cuts a slot around exposed log joist at exactly the thickness of the wood paneling. I then chisel out a groove and slip my paneling in the slot so that the house shrinks there is never a gap as the paneling is floating in the slot.

I use a biscuit joiner with a special fence to attach extension jambs to windows. do the jambs, then change the setting by the amount of reveal that you desire and glue in place, fast and perfect, no worries about nails getting into the lift mechanism.

[Julie Moriarty]

To answer the thread question - I must confess, I use biscuit joiners. Though I may be cast to the corners of decent woodworking society, I will steadfastly stand by the usefulness of biscuit joiners, at least until Santa brings me a Domino and all the biscuits I could possibly use in a lifetime.

[Mike Cutler]

To answer the thread question - I must confess, I use biscuit joiners. Though I may be cast to the corners of decent woodworking society, I will steadfastly stand by the usefulness of biscuit joiners, at least until Santa brings me a Domino and all the biscuits I could possibly use in a lifetime.

Julie
No reason to be "cast into any corner". It's a very valuable tool when used for it's intended design function. I also wouldn't get rid of it, if you do get a Domino.
I don't use mine very much,as I stated before, but it's part of my tools and will remain so. I have some cabinets to build next year and it will be the perfect tool for that job.
Like others, I do not compare a biscuit jointer to a Domino. They're not intended, nor designed, to perform the same function.

[Julie Moriarty]

Julie
No reason to be "cast into any corner". It's a very valuable tool when used for it's intended design function. I also wouldn't get rid of it, if you do get a Domino.
I don't use mine very much,as I stated before, but it's part of my tools and will remain so. I have some cabinets to build next year and it will be the perfect tool for that job.
Like others, I do not compare a biscuit jointer to a Domino. They're not intended, nor designed, to perform the same function.

I was just kidding, Mike. But I'll keep using my Dewalt biscuit joiner because it works. As for the Domino, there are a lot of other things I'd rather spend my money on.

[Steven Powell]

I still use mine. Mostly for aligning edge glue-ups and for mounting face frames on cabinets.

[Jim Becker]

No reason to be "cast into any corner". It's a very valuable tool when used for it's intended design function. I also wouldn't get rid of it, if you do get a Domino.
I don't use mine very much,as I stated before, but it's part of my tools and will remain so. I have some cabinets to build next year and it will be the perfect tool for that job.
Like others, I do not compare a biscuit jointer to a Domino. They're not intended, nor designed, to perform the same function.

I agree with this. I own both and use both for different things.

[ray grundhoefer]

I have 3 of them . the freud a got 25 years ago, A newer porter cable and a delta stationary one I got cheap at an auction recently Use them a lot for face frames and glueing up face panels for doors. I dont really care for the kreg pocket screw way of glueing up face frames.