A biscuit joiner is one of the most basic tools of any workshop. It is used to create slots in pieces of wood to be joined. Small wafers of wood called biscuits are inserted and glued into the slots to create a strong joint. To hold two pieces of wood together at a 90-degree angle, such as for a picture frame, create a joint with biscuits and a biscuit joiner. Here's how. Materials:
Biscuit joiner
Wooden biscuits
Pencil
Two pieces of wood to join together
Wood glue
Clamps
- Set the depth of the biscuit joiner's blade to the desired depth of the slots to be cut. Set the blade's height to half the height of the work piece so that the blade will cut into the center. Set the fence to the angle of the joint. For instance, if the ends of the work pieces to be joined are cut at 45-degree angles, set the biscuit joiner's fence to 45 degrees.
- Hold the two work pieces together in the position they'll be in the finished product. Use a pencil to mark the center of the joint (figure A).
- Place one work piece against the biscuit joiner so the pencil mark on the work piece matches the center mark on the joiner. Pull the joiner's trigger, and push its blade into the work piece to cut a slot (figure B).
- Repeat step 3 for the second work piece.
- Put a small amount of wood glue inside both slots (figure C). Place a biscuit inside one of the slots (figure D). Fit the other slot over the top of the biscuit to join the two pieces of wood (figure E).
- Clamp the joint in place, and allow the glue to dry (figure F).
For a stronger joint, cut multiple slots in the work pieces to hold them together with multiple biscuits.
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