Popular Woodworking 2001-06 № 122, страница 27

Now turn the biscuit joiner on its head and cut the slots in the panel. Use the layout lines on the partition and the centerline on the bottom of the tool to properly line up the biscuit joiner.

the panel on a door and exposed half a biscuit. That panel had to go in the trash.

Face frames: Biscuits are just right for face frames as long as your stock isn't too narrow. A #0 biscuit will only work with stock as narrow as . Any narrower and the biscuit will poke out the sides. To join narrow stock you need a biscuit joiner that can use a smaller cutter (such as the Porter-Cable 557 or Lamello Top 20) or a tool that cuts slots for mini biscuits from Ryobi or Craftsman.

Continuous-stress joints: Biscuits are strong, but I wouldn't build a kitchen chair with them. The joints in chairs, especially where the seat meets the back, are subject to enormous amounts of stress. Call me old-fashioned, but I'd use a mor-tise-and-tenon joint.

With polyurethane adhesives: We like poly glue quite a bit, but you must remember that biscuits swell and lock your joint in place by wick-ing up the water in your white or yellow glue. Poly glues have no moisture in them. In fact, these glues need moisture to cure. If you want to use poly glue with biscuits, dip your biscuits

in water before inserting them into the slot. The water swells the biscuit and activates the poly glue.

Building tables: If you're going to build a table using your biscuit joiner, use two stacked biscuits to attach the aprons and stretchers to the legs. This might mean making your aprons thick. See the photos below for an easy way to get the apron in the right place and two biscuits into your joint. In fact, whenever you're joining thick stock it's a good idea to add an extra biscuit.

With '/2" plywood: When using a biscuit joiner to join pieces of ¹/2"-thick plywood, you might have trouble with the biscuits "telegraphing" their shape into the surface of your material. Use #0 or #10 biscuits with ¹/2"-thick material and go a little easy on the glue.

Fence or no fence? Some woodworkers always rest the tool's fence on the work to control how deep the cut is; others prefer to take the fence off and let the tool's base ride on their bench or a table. There

are advantages to each approach. When you take the fence off and use your bench as the reference surface, you have a large flat area for your tool to rest against and sniped boards won't throw off your joiner. However, you have to watch for sawdust on your bench and work with all your parts face-down on your bench. Advocates of the fence approach say it's easier and more accurate to work with your parts face-up on your bench. But you have to ensure your biscuit joiner is square to your work. If you lift up or press down on the tool during the cut, it could throw off your joint. Try each method and see what works best for you.

Quick Jig Speeds Your Work

There aren't a lot of jigs and fixtures for your biscuit joiner. However, building this jig will make the tool easier and safer to use. When I first started using biscuit joiners, I held the wood with my left hand and the tool with my right. After my grip failed me a couple times, I became an advocate of clamping your work in place.

But clamping takes time. This jig makes clamping quick and easy. The quick-re-

BiSCUiTiNG AN APRON TO A LEG

Now cut the biscuit slot on the leg without the spacer. When that's done, go back to your apron and adjust the fence to make the second biscuit slot.

If you're going to use biscuits to attach a leg to a table apron, then you really should use two biscuits stacked on top of one another.This joint, according to experts and scientists, is nearly as strong as a mortise-and-tenon joint.The other challenge with this joint is you are going to want to offset the apron so it joins the middle of the leg. Here's the best way to do this. First determine what your offset is. I wanted my aprons to sit '/2" back from the legs. Now get a scrap piece of wood that is the same thickness as the offset. Put this block of wood on top of your apron and set the fence on your biscuit joiner to make the first cut.Make the cut on the apron.

Finally, cut the second row of slots on the leg without the spacer.When you're done, you've got a double helping of biscuits that's ready for some glue.

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