Woodworker's Journal 2008-32-5, страница 21

Woodworker's Journal October 2008

21

Other

Wood Stain

| \ Saw blades can have jT \ excessive vibrations or "sing" for many reasons. Usually, it is an indication that a blade has lost its tensioning. As for the safety of the blade, we would not recommend using any blade that is in less than perfect condition. Safety should be your principal concern.

— Cliff Paddock

I recently had to repair an exterior wood storm door and thought it was a perfect excuse to try a biscuit joiner. I disassembled the door and found that it was held together with hardwood dowels. After replacing the dowels, I was wondering if there is any rule of thumb as to when to use dowels or biscuits.

Tom Chadwick Glen Rock, New Jersey

A I'd look at a couple of

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to reinforce the joint or simply align the parts? Because of the deep penetration you can get by inserting long dowels, they'll provide more joint shear strength than biscuits. My

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UNITED GILSONITE LABORATORIES

WINNER! For simply sending in his question on biscuits vs. dowels, Tom Chadwick of Glen Rock, New Jersey wins a Steel City Tools 65115 Mini Dust Collector. Each issue we toss new questions into a hat and draw a winner.

(Circle No. 89 on PRODUCT INFORMATION form)

A second consideration is the size of the parts you're assembling. Even the #0 biscuit — the smallest conventional size — needs a slot about 2" long. This won't work on a face frame with lV2"-wide rails. The more recent face frame biscuits, and other specialty sizes, can help solve this problem, provided you've got a machine that can cut the smaller slots they require.

— George Vondriska

primary application for biscuits is as alignment aids. However, dowels can be much fussier to work with. You can't beat the side-to-side adjustability and ease of installation with biscuits.

Aligning wood banding to plywood is one good use for biscuits, but, they're not ideal for high shear strength applications.