Woodworker's Journal 2001-25-2, страница 73

OURNAI

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Those are some tough biscuits!

AJorm and his biscuit joiner are 1 ' a constant source of conversation out on the web forums. Here's one discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of this new joinery tool.

What starts as an innocent

»V comment or _

question easily digresses in some strange directions. This woodworker just purchased a biscuit joiner antl asked the group how far apart to place biscuits for a tablet op he was gluing up.

Tlie first respondent suggested putting in a biscuit every 8" - 10" and went on to praise the utility of these tools. The next woodworker said that "biscuits are used mostly for alignment as they don't really add much strength to a joint." The third participant wrote.

"A biscuit joiner might

just be a fancy tool that most woodworkers don't really need."

"I still don't understand what great advantage this tool provides." He even suggests that "a biscuit joiner might be just a fancy tool that most woodworkers don't really need."

The next respondent tells the group, in no uncertain terms, that biscuits have made many projects jKissible that he couldn't have done otherwise. He writes, "You can use them in a butt joint to get close to mortise and tenon strength with a fraction of the prep time."

Near the end of the thread, someone cited a study done using lag bolts, tongue and grooves, dowels. loose tenons, mortise and tenons and a double or triple biscuit joint. The biscuit joint, he claimed, bent them all in terms of bending strength.

What our subscribers are saying:

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'When I read the meringue story, I laughed m> hard I was crying by the time I got to the end."

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I iKl Your questions...

^answere^ ^^our

experts online

0"1 do runs of molding in the 1.000 - 3.000 foot range on a Delta KT 40. I'm thinking of mounting a power feeder onto the saw, but I'd like to hear the pros and cons before I do."

1 (Ellis Walentine) "On the plus side, power feeders keep the wood in constant contact with the fence and table, they produce a uniform width and edge quality, they greatly s|x*ed up the process, and they keep your fingers away from the blade. I can't think of any cons unless you have to mount and unmount the feeder every time you use the saw."

PJ (Rick White) "My first ™^B response is: "w hat took you so long?' I love my power feeder and have been using it for years. They give you much more control over your materials and you gel better results with increased safety. Those are three powerful reasons to go out and get one."

Gan Kirby) The advantages of power feeders are 1) a hold-down in front and in back of the cut. 2) the work held tight to the bed of the machine and tight to the fence, and 3) the work propelled jiast the blade at a constant pressure and at a constant speed. The outcome is the most accurate dimension cut you can get."