I've been asked by a neighbor to shorten a couple tall cabinet doors. (I don't mind doing freebie projects for this neighbor...he's the local Snap-On tool salesman, and it seems prudent to have a few favors in the bank with him.) The doors in question conceal the washer/dryer nook in the utility room. Neighbor and his wife got a new front-loading washer and dryer, and being deeper than "regular" washers and dryers, they stick out past the frame of the nook. The neighbors would like the bottom 4' or so of the doors to be trimmed off, so they can close the doors to cover the shelves above the appliances. Looks like it'll be a pretty easy project, but I plan to reattach the bottom 3" or so after trimming, to reconstruct the frame of the door. (Rail? Stile? I'm unclear on the terminology.) Whatever it's called, I need to do an edge joint that will involve some end grain to end grain jointery. Strength isnt real important for this one, but I figure I need something more than just glue.
Anyway, like any other self-respecting woodwhacker, I used the neighbor's request as an opportunity to add to the tool collection. Problem was, I couldn't decide if I should use a biscuit joiner or a pocket hole jig to reattach the bottom of the doors. I've been eyeing both for quite a while but didn't know which to go with. So, I took the easy way out and got both tools. My Penn State pocket hole jig arrived a couple days ago, and the Dewalt 682 biscuit joiner showed up today. (And of course now Tool King has the refurb model in stock -- it wasn't available when I ordered.)
Here are a couple pics to satisfy the Picture Police...First, the DW682. Nothing fancy, but seems to be well-liked here on the Creek. I couldn't justify the additional cost for the Porter-Cable 557 that many of the pros here are using. For my limited use, I think this one will last me a long time. And the case doubles as a handy spare bedroom for overnight guests. (It's the huge one with space for the RO sander. It'll end up in the attic soon. Or maybe I can use it as a second attic to store other junk in.)
Truth be told, this is the second biscuit joiner I've bought in the past week. The first was a Lowe's house brand (GMC) that I bought last weekend. The $99 price was too much to pass up, but after getting it home and seeing how poorly engineered it was -- it worked, but I had to monkey around with it quite a bit just to get the fence to stay in place -- I took it back for a refund Monday.
Also as the result of what I'd read here at SMC, I decided to give the Penn State jig a spin. At about half the cost of a Kreg system, the price was the main factor, but I'm very happy with the jig itself, too. Having never used a Kreg, I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm impressed with the fit and finish of the Penn State, and it was very easy for me to get excellent results on my first try. The instructions were pretty brief, but it's not exactly rocket science anyway, so they were sufficient.
Now with this one, the case stays in service. It's well-made and everything fits in it handily.
I guess there's a third (and perhaps fourth) tool gloat hidden in these pics, too. You can see the router plate I recently added to my home-made table saw extension, and you can even see a little glimpse (literally a bit) of the P-C 694VK router I added to the mix about the same time. I've now decided my little 12" table saw extension is a little too shallow for a decent router table, so I plan to drop a bigger one in soon. I have the Rockler table top (the TS extension size), but have to make some modifications to it before I can attach it to my saw.
Unless I completely butcher the neighbor's doors, I'll post pics when I do them. And if I do mess them up, I'll likely be posting pictures of the doors I'll have to make to replace them.
- Vaughn
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