I always tell my clients that my work is in the upper 2% of all craftsmen. This guy is in the upper .01%. He makes me feel like an amateur and I actually love it. Learning so much from your channel the past few days since I discovered you.
Really outstanding video, Spencer. I'm partial to your style as an instructor. You speak clearly and you demonstrate what it is you're talking about. Your job sites are the real deal, not merely sets, which greatly enhances your credibility. And just as important to me, your demeanor is authoritative but not doctrinaire or harshly critical of others. I'm done with the know-it-all bluster of creators and trolls alike. Keep up the great work. 👍
Hey Spencer, another great video! I like like to register my biscuit slots off of the table whenever possible. As long as it's not too far off center from the thickness of the stock. Sometimes, I will set stock on shims to center it. That's just my preference. There's nothing wrong with your approach, if that's what's comfortable. If I have a lot of gluing to do. It's also nice to use 4x8 sheet of melamine for an assembly table. Glue cleans up really nicely from it, even after it's dried.
I have a strong feeling that “wrong” buzzer you use will now be going off in my head anytime on the job something appears to be questionable practices 😂😂😂 Your channel has single handedly upped my game more than any other influence in the last 10years. You truly have a gift from God and I am very confident He is smiling as you share it. Nice work 👍
Like others have said almost all your content is like a master class. My favorite is Wet setting pocket doors video from a while ago, honorable mention to folding mitered corner video as well. You taught me more than my original teachers did years ago and I wish I stumbled upon your channel and methods before I I knowingly did poor work for many years
Your channel is my "go to" for finish carpentry for sure. After 25 years of being a ho-hum carpenter I decided to up my game. I've learned more from your channel than I have from the old timers I used to work with. Better technology, better tools, more efficient methodology these days really change the game in my opinion. I just used your "wetset" method for installing the split-jam side of a pocket door and absolutely love it. I prefinished all the trim in this job so I used the blue tape/super glue method to adhere the temporary spacer blocks. It's Saturday and the PL 375 isn't fully cured so I'll wait till Monday to finish up casing. Thanks for all your super-detailed instruction!
Top notch stuff Spencer! I’ve been watching your channel for years now and really appreciate your knowledge and taking the time to share it with all of us. You do a fantastic job of explaining things quick and simple
Great tip in writing measurements on your tape! You can get a much bigger palette to write if you take the label off the Stanley tapes and clean off adhesive. Pencil rubs off with your finger.
I used to help my father on projects when I was a kid a long time ago. Watching your videos has helped jog my memory on trim work that I’m currently doing on my house. Great info.
I put a piece of 1/2 inch Birch plywood on my biscuit jointer fence as an auxiliary fence so it gives me a much larger foot print to make mortising easier. I can also make marks on the new fence to help rapidly center the mortise. Just something I have found useful over the years.
Got that joiner as a gift a while back. I've been busy with sheetrock and paint, but I'll finally get to use it on a built up crown. Definitely appreciate the tutorial. Great channel.
You can attach a piece to the fence of the biscuit joiner to extend its purchase and span relief cuts. You can even use a piece built up on one side in order to be able to register on the face of the trim. Great video 👍🏼
I like using a router table to make my biscuit groove consistent every time and I like to use a method called sizing up my glue joints for a perfect clamp. Nice content ! Cheers from the northwest.
Another informative and entertaining video! Unfortunately, I’ve been sitting home for months with a broken leg. I must say I’ve watched a lot of carpentry videos. Yours are hands-down the best and seem to be getting better each time. I like the little carpentry insider tips. I’ve been doing kitchens and trimwork for decades and I always love to learn new things and new techniques. I’d like to see you do a video on wide or multi piece crown molding. Keep up the good work. God bless you and yours.✌🏻
Stepped up your game! Intro music! 👍 Another great video Spencer. 👍👍 “Work flow”. Key to success. Unfortunately “work flow” in Georgia, for the most part, is simply “blow and go”. I have several people contacting me to fix their homes including general contractors thanks to some SERIOUSLY PATHETIC trim work. The last one I went to 4 days ago I simply told him he would have to replace every single door (split jam pre trimmed). Obviously he didn’t appreciate my decision. I told him he really had no one to blame but himself. $2100 to trim the home and you wonder why it’s “sub par”? And yes I know you can pay three times that and still get a poor job. But I do know if you aim for the bottom you’ll hit it every time. 🤷♂️ 2200 sf one story with bonus. Doors, windows, mantle, stairs including guards/handrails etc. I can stay home and go broke why work and go broke?
You are so correct on acclimating the material, and that goes for mdf material too. Unfortunately, all of our production builders don't care. Once material shows up, start installing. They'll address any issues during warranty. Sad.
You do amazing work, in every one of your videos I feel like you are explaining what I try to explain to my newer/younger guys all the time, but you do it better!
Nice video - the only thing I do different is I mount my jointer to the job site bench and use stop blocks to align the casing. Also Lemello makes a glue bottle tip the injects glue onto both sides of the slot giving you even coverage and not over filling the slot. In my shop I have a dedicated plate joint installed in my chop saw fence with a pneumatic cylinder with a foot control. Make life a lot easier.
I have used dominos on casings.use the bench/table for the reference surface and wood glue on the mortise and tenon but use the high temp pur glue (75 second) for the joining surfaces of the mortise.
Just a side note be careful when you use the biscuit jointer on the backside of production trim it's not always the same thickness, and if there's a lot of detail..... fun fun
I also pocket screw them from the back along with the biscuit, and put a two inch screws in areas where they wont be seen to pull the joints tight. I don"t believe its an AC issue. It"s garbage lumber.. Homes built 75 years ago experienced the same weather conditions and some of them still look rock solid today . No back priming or fancy glues. Just well seasoned lumber.
I bought a hide carpenters apron after seeing the Germans use them and I really can’t say enough good things about them! Great place to slather all that excess glue and not ruin clothes. Also, hope you got that gasoline stored out side of your primary structures in accessory dwelling! Not letting up on that.
I use a band clamp around the frame and put two trim screws in to each miter on top and bottom of the frame so they are not seen after installation. Had good success so far.
Great instructional video. One thing, I keep a damp rag to wipe my gluey fingers on. No way would I put all that glue on my leather pouches. You do fantastic work.
glad this video came up and i know im building our door casings correctly. they are simple 1x4 but joined with two dowels for alignment and glue surface and a pocket screw for clamping pressure. can’t do much about acclimatizing because assembly needs to happen in the garage. great vid, thanks!
I had termite damage to my house a few years ago. I had to make new wide trim for my patio door. Strangely, or not ( I am not in the business) , I basically used all your tips and added one , based on my observation about termite likes and dislikes. I wound up priming all my trim front and back before installing it ( including Sheetrock and borate on structural lumber). The termites seemed to have avoided painted wood, equal to treated. I suspect the priming also reduces the amount of swelling in higher humidity conditions? I realize it may not be practical on a production basis though. Enjoy your videos and will consult before taking any future “ plunges” into the abyss.
You should give WD Quinn Saw company and their blades a shot. They are located here in St. Louis & their blades are top of the line, not to mention their sharpening is world class. Couldn't tell you the last time I bought a new blade. I take them 10-12 blades at a time to get sharpened. They come back better than new.
Excellent advice. I just finished a job with 4-9/16” casing with back band. I followed NS Builders RU-vid video advice using two dominos and two pocket screws and clam clamps for each miter. It creates a rock solid joint. Your approach using one #20 biscuit is simpler and I’ll try that in the future. You are so right that alignment can be tricky if you don’t hold the Domino or Biscuit Joiner just right.
NS got a lot of backlash for that video as it is just too much for one joint. Think of all the weakness you create with all those cavities. 1 biscuit or 1 Domino is all that is needed.
@@bimotahb1 Interesting, had not heard that. I used ¾” x 4-9/16” poplar with and applied back band. The two #5 dominos and two pocket screws were not too much for that long and thick a joint, worked perfectly for me.
I assemble thick casing (5/8"+) with pocket screws and glue and install in one piece. Easy and very strong miters. I've viewed your other videos for mitered beams and suggest using a lock miter router bit. The mitered pieces pop together and after glue, they won't open up. I recently made wide column wraps with clear vertical grain cedar using lock miter routed joints and had no struggle with aligning the mitered joints. They self align like pieces of a puzzle, even if here are slight bows in the wood.
@@InsiderCarpentry Fair enough. You do this as a profession vs. my carpentry hobbies. I'd like to see you do more stain grade carpentry. We just finished our new home where I did all of the millwork from rough cut lumber - mostly rift white oak, including whole home cabinet builds in rift white oak. I think we saved a small fortune by buying from several small mills in my area (MN/WI). I couldn't stand the thought of trimming it all out in paint grade poplar where grain pattern doesn't matter and gaps get caulked. I get you're just doing the millwork install requested of you but many of us in the DYI world are doing it all. I did get some great tips from you on my stair build. I did ours in maple risers/treads and made our skirtboards in white oak. All finished just poly. I started watching all your pertinent videos 2 years before we started a year ago. Thanks for the reply and keep posting great vids!
I always put my trim piece back side down on a firm table and set my biscuit tool on the table and do the cut. no upper guide and wobbling of the jointer.
Adding a plexiglass auxiliary fence with some additional length, to the biscuit joiner will give you 100% contact with the back of the molding. Just make sure that you take the thickness of the plexiglass into account when setting up your cut.
So youve got about $1000 worth of Clams? I love mine but i only have 2 but Im about to order 2 more. The people at Clam are terrific to work with. I put heavy 3 piece casings on everything at our home in S. Indiana on a lake with tremendous humidity changes. Nearly everything I didnt either bisquit or pocket screw has moved apart. The most difficult has been the dormer windows which were cut into the long span roof trusses, which have even more movement. I have some of the casings I installed 30 years ago that were unsupported that I am taking down and re-doing- not much fun. Always love your work.
Biscuits are great for this application. But, instead of using the fence, I'd use a (flat) table to support the molding and the tool. If the height of the slot isn't exactly what you want, you can use tempered masonite or that super thin birch plywood as a shim.
Be careful sanding those corners with the biscuits right away. Initially the biscuit swells and expands the wood on thin material. If you sand it in this expanded state it will knock down an area the shape of a biscuit that will be visible later when the biscuit shrinks. Something I learned from watching Norm Abram on the New Yankee Workshop many years ago. I can attest to it because I have a jewelry box top I made, about 3/8” thick, that has biscuit divots permanently in the top. Those type of defects are usually only visible after the coat of sheen is put on. A hard fix at that point in the game. Perhaps the Lamello biscuit is a superior product that isn’t suspect to this. 🤷♂️ Another solid video. What else would we expect at this point. Alongside the lines of writing on the back of a tape measure I like to put painters tape on the face side of the tape measure and just make a mark on it with the pencil for a easy way to remember the dimension. It easily rolls up in the tape and you can make notes on the location and such.
Years ago, Frank Klausz advised against use of the biscuit jointer fence whenever possible. Instead, in order to ensure perfectly parallel and consistent alignment, he advocated indexing both the machine base itself and the workpiece against the work table. In this method the joint is indexed from the back side of the workpiece. So long as the trim section has been milled consistently from piece to piece, or the pieces of a given casing all come from the same stick, alignment can be very accurate. This method also works well in cases where the face profile is irregularly shaped and/or does not provide a reliable surface to support the fence. For workpieces thinner than 3/4", the benchtop jointing setup can include a shimmed surface under the workpiece.
I think the only downside to this method is that not all material is created precisely equal. When I first started doing this method years ago, I tried referencing off of the back of the casing, but the tolerances on the millwork weren't as tight as one would assume. A 32nd doesn't sound like much or look like much, in most situations, but it's a very noticeable amount on casing with a large flat spot, or a very intricate detail. I do like the idea of taking the piece to the machine, rather than the machine to the piece though, it does cut down on possible Inaccuracies in the mortising process.
Nice!! Hey Mr Tool guy, I’m pretty sure Lamello makes a glue bottle specifically for their biscuits. At least I saw it on Norms show once. It supposedly gives a Goldilocks squirt of glue!
I have had good luck laying the casing back side down on my work table and biscuit jointer flat down on the table as well. Move the fence out of the way or remove. No need to fumble the piece and tool as the table supports all the weight and keeps things in the same plane. Hold down casing with one hand and push the jointer with other.
If all your material is milled perfectly, then you can accurately reference off the back. But that is typically not the case, even with the most expensive millwork. If you can reference off the visible side, it's always best. That way if there are any discrepancies in the dimensions, it'll be on the backside.
@@ou8nucks630 fair point. Yes this can be an issue with crap stock, but he is already referencing off of the back and fumbling with the tool/piece. Using the worktop allows you to put your biscuit slot wherever you want and not worry about having to position the tool in a perfect spot to keep it in correct plane.
I understand that the trend in contemporary/modern is often to picture frame without a stool and apron. I have never met a window or pass thru opening that didn’t benefit from stool and apron. Casement, picture, awning, double hung, modern or traditional design, IMO always looked fully dressed with a stool and apron. An exception might be flexi frames or trapezoid units. Unless an assembly can be unified like a window wall on a cathedral gable end - then stool and apron become the great unifier. Picture frame with no stool and apron is like going out on the town and forgetting your shoes. We often bid jobs with the plan calling for picture frame cased openings. This is a great opportunity to write a nice change order and put a lot of extra profit in your pocket. We would case two windows (one with picture frame and one with stool and apron) and let the client succumb to the pressure from designers, friends and family to sell up. You can charge whatever markup you want at that point because they are already married to the stool and apron. Most feel like they have to have it. Sort of a FOMO moment. Profile the stool anyway you like but use the same cutter on the end grain and skip the mitered returns. Even with stain grade. That miter just looks like it didn’t grow there. Ka-ching!
And the water intrusion protection. from an open window. Now we have zero casings at all in new homes just sheetrock with windows embedded in joint compound.
i'm actually John. Diane is my wife.whoever taught you carpentry must be the same person that taught me.I'm 73 yrs old and enjoy your videos. i wasn't aware of the pur adhesive until I saw your video on that. It's awsome. the video on large casing, where could I order the casing profile on that video? I'm in the center of Texas and can't locate that trim profile. can you help me? thanks
Nice work, Spencer! I was curious if the biscuit jointer could be mounted on a table. That way the casing could be indexed flat and pushed into the blade making user tilt and alignment errors less likely. I have 2 piece casings in my house that I built 20+ years ago. Glued but unreinforced yet no cracks. Chalk that up to west coast low humidity swings!
I always clamp my biscuit jointer to the work table upside down to run a batch through. It might be a little trickier to keep door legs or other long casings flat on the jointer though.
The biscuit jointer has a center point engrave on the tool i put the two pieces together put a reference mark an line both together an will be just fine
PS, I use Forest blades on everything. My only knock is that the chopmaster teeth seem to break off easily. By the time I send them back to the boys for sharpening I have so many broken teeth its cheaper to just buy a new blade rather than replace teeth. Having said that I wont use anything else.
Retired contractor, New York City never worked in new construction guilty of old school method. Don’t think it was a problem though apartment buildings not houses.
Spencer, I was wondering if you can share what size and brand of pinch dogs you use for this and other trim work? Didn’t see a link for it. Btw, Totally killing it with the new professional video note popups, Spencer. Makes the video ultra high-end. Thank you so much for showing us step by step how to raise our skills.
In Nor Cal seldom if ever do we use any reinforcement on standard miters . Larger miters yes however it’s more of an easy alignment issue. But point is well taken and now that I seen this I am inclined to use Min # 10 biscuits on standard and 20 larger! I hv always had to go thru my new biscuits and toss about 20/30% of them ? Good call on the Lamello Biscuits! As always Spencer Thk U; God Bless and I am hoping the new shop is just “Capitol “ !
ordering some of the original Clam Clamps today the woodriver and other knock offs are garbage. The knock off compression pin just breaks after 2 or 3rd use resulting to have to drill out and put a bigger one in.
Biscuits are stronger than pocket screws, but screws do better initially to draw the material in. In the trim molding in the video, there is just not enough wood real estate to make it a viable option
Hey Spencer, forgive me if this comment was already made, but wouldn’t it be better to reference the bottom of the casing flat on a table rather than trying to align the fence on the top of the casing?
Hi Spencer - How can I be sure that I’ve got the size correct if I assemble it on a table? I only have 8 windows to do in a sewing shed, two of which I’ve already messed up but will probably live with. As a TOTAL ROOKIE, I’m nervous about assembling it then not having it fit. Although it’s not been great trying one piece at a time, either. Thank you. I’m so impressed with your attention to detail, totally love it. Julie
Wondering how long do you let your material get acclimated in the house before install or is there a certain percentage you for it to be at? What is your rule of thumb for that? Thank you for all the great information and content you create!
