| Designed to make strong biscuit joints fast Improve the strength of timber butt joints by cutting slots with the jointer and gluing wooden biscuits to reinforce the join.
Makita 3901 Biscuit Joiner. • Precision rack and pinion vertical fence adjustment • Cast aluminium pivot fence with positive stops at 0, 45 and 90 degrees RecommendationsBe careful of nail near the blade. Specifications:Wattage 590w Max. Cutter Capacity 100 mm Max. Depth of Cut 20 mm No Load Speed 10,000 rpm Overall Dimensions (LxWxH) 307mm x 125mm x 138mm |
A biscuit joiner or sometimes plate joiner is a woodworking tool used to join two pieces of wood together. A biscuit joiner uses a small 100mm (4″) diameter tungsten carbide tipped circular saw blade to cut a crescent shaped hole (called the mouth) in the opposite edges of two pieces of wood or wood composite panels. An oval-shaped, highly-dried and compressed wooden biscuit (usually beech) is covered with glue, or glue is applied in the slot. The biscuit is immediately placed in the slot, and the two boards are clamped together. The wet glue expands the biscuit, further improving a bond that is often stronger than the wood itself.
Biscuits are predominantly used in joining sheet goods such as plywood, particle board and medium-density fibreboard. They are sometimes used with solid wood, replacing mortise and tenonjoints as they are easier to make and almost as strong. They are also used to align pieces of wood when joined edge-to-edge in making wider panels. It is important to use the same face when cutting the slots, so the boards are perfectly flush.
Biscuits are also used to align edges of workpieces, such as when forming a 90 degree angle with your materials. The biscuit provides a quick means of getting a perfectly flush joint, while at the same time reinforcing the joint.
Typically, the machine will have an adjustable fence, so it can be set on an angle for joining mitered pieces.
Also, there are other types of specialty biscuits available, from metal connectors, used for removable panels, to hinges, making these portable machines even more flexible.
The workpieces are brought together and the user marks the location for the biscuits. Precise measurement is not required, as the biscuits are hidden when the pieces are assembled, so a quick pencil stroke that marks both pieces where they align is all that is required. The parts are separated and the machine is used to cut the slots in each piece. The machine has reference marks on the center line of the blade for easy alignment to the marks on the materials being joined.
The body of the machine with the blade is spring loaded and in the normal position the blade is retracted. The operator aligns the machine and uses a firm pressure to push the body forward against the base plate to make the cut. The waste material is blown out of the slot on the right of the base plate.
Because the slots are slightly longer than the biscuits, it is still possible to slide the panels sideways after the joint is assembled (before the glue sets). This fact makes the biscuit joiner easy to use, because it does not require extreme accuracy or jigs to achieve perfect joints.
The depth of the cut can be altered by an adjustable stop, the smaller base can be rotated through 90 deg. and accessories are provided for altering the offset of the base to the blade (for use with thicker or thinner materials as required). Some models allow slots to be cut at angles other than 90 deg. to the joining face, for example 45 deg., which greatly speeds up the assembly of things like cabinets.