So, is a biscuit joiner completely useless? 

well your biscuit joiner probably isn't a complete piece of sh*t...

@@oneoneone7397 without seeing what you mean, it would be hard to answer that question..

I use my router and slot cutter bit and run a continuous slot when laying up table tops...stoping before the ends.

@@oneoneone7397 It's so easy just do it

I use them to eliminate pocket holes in the back of my wood benches...

I have the original elu and love it.

Especially agreed about joining wood edge to veneered sheet stock that must be flushed off. Using paper shims to offset the edges a trifle, the precision of the originator Lamello machines meant that I could use a single leaf of shim. All other brands have more slop in their plunge, requiring thicker shims for offset, and more wood to carefully shave down flush to the veneer.

Yes, throw that Sears POS away and start over with a modern, decent quality machine. You'll be amazed!

I was wondering about this myself. The videos I've watched using biscuit joints were a lot more snug than what he shows. Biscuits should be about as snug as a dowel across the vertical plane, but have some ability to move laterally. That way you can line up your joint in one direction while knowing it's staying aligned in another. For example, lining up two butcher block countertops in a miter joint to minimize the vertical "bump" between them, before you align them horizontally and "clamp" them with miter bolts and glue. (Still a good idea to clamp something on top to really minimize movement during glue, where possible.) It also provides some extra horizontal strength so if a kid climbs on top of them, they don't risk splitting at the glue joint from the uneven pressure. (Granted in the above example, the countertops should make as much contact with the counters below and be shimmed as necessary. But wood loves to move over time, and butcher block countertops should be installed with that in mind.) Anyways, I think the real tip here is to get a better tool. Even HF has more precise tools than what he's using.

I can believe that gravy doesn't help with the taste, but you'd be pretty hard-pressed (so to speak) to get splinters from a biscuit.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. 🤪

Yeah I've found you need A LOT of tea to wash down these biscuits.

They're better with ketchup..

Ahh, but have you tried them with hot sauce?

Agree, biscuit should have a tight fit with the groove to work. 2:22 The fit here is terrible

Ya, the play in his biscuit joiner is horrible. My biscuits are way tighter.

That's what I was about to say I usually have to get my rubber mallet out and beat the two pieces together when they are biscuit jointed

Ya, his biscuit jointer is as old as I am. Mine is crazy tight. Just used it last night to glue up some shelves with my son. Super easy.

@@LowAss720 if mine was that bad I would fix it or get rid of it That is really bad

Right, and Franz Klauzs did a full video on B joinery. This guy is a hack, at least as far as biscuits are concerned.

Ben nice way of saying it !!👍

He still needs our support as he cuts off on sponsored contents

"...lighthouse of hope and reason in the stormy sea..." WOW, that;s what I call an endorsement.

Kind sir, you are the bastion of power and enlightenment in these petulant seas of over-encumbered and ill-mannered picture films of self help videos.

Out of touch woodworking RU-vidrs sums it up.

Exactly I wonder if that's a cheap biscuit joiner or maybe the wrong blade when I use a biscuit joiner usually I have to take a rubber mallet and beat the two pieces together Because the biscuits slot is tight

ya same. normally im using a mallet to get the biscuit in. I definatly makes the joint stronger, idk how much stronger but it makes me feel better

DR Dan I think you nailed that one-yep humidity

@@garychambers5930 yup, looks like a cheap biscuit joiner,

@DR Dan, I don't pound, I tap. They fit just snug before gluing. I can push them in and pull them out, but they are narrow and tapping lets me increment them into position easier than simply pushing.

Steve bought his biscuit joiner in the late 90's and it is rather crappy model by the looks of it. With a better made tool you can dial in the depth and width of cut to fit biscuits so well that they barely need glue. His take on the biscuit joint makes all kinds of good points but still does not do it justice.

I can't tell you how badly I wanted a Lamello biscuit jointer, just like David Marks. I now just go with edge-edge or dowels, and I still am astronomically out of David Marks' league.

@@dclaghorn2 dude, just buy one. They are cheap

your right, mine has be stored away for years , making face frames pocket holes are the way to go and plenty strong enough

Using biscuit joints with pocket holes can be amazingly fast and strong. Biscuits are amazing for alignment with good strength and when used with pocket holes they can be very strong.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

lol. As Chairman of the ABJ I am offended by this video.

Approved by DTJNC (Dovetail Joinery Ninjas Community)

I own a biscuit joiner that i used a LOT in the first weekend and i don’t really know if i feel offended or not 😄

@@deepsgnips lol. I have one but have only unboxed it. sigh.......

Phil Parrish the bright side being: “unboxing is always a pleasure”

I agree there is some advantage rather than plain glue, but i use dowels, and they are much cheaper, plenty of different jigs (imcluding your own) works with a drill, and over all: it really gives strength as well.

@@dekurvajo dowels are definitely great and I use them a bunch, but for me, biscuits are the quickest way which makes it the cheapest way when considering time = money when doing commission work.

@@modestmaking5314 Agree,,, I once had to make 80 wooden boxes for a client, Took me some hours to make jigs for alignment, made the 1280 biscuits, and assembled it all within a week (clamps and space was the limiting factor). PS my Lamello is in same price range as the Domino and well worth the investment when you know how to use it and for what projects.

ModestMaking I have a Dewalt jointer. Unfortunately I cannot rely on the allignment. The biscuits are Tight, but the slots always vary in position. Any tips?

@@MaxMakerChannel I also have the Dewalt one and I use Porter Cable biscuits. I got my joiner used and after some minor tweaking, it's perfectly straight and spot on now. There is a great video from Gosforth Handyman that you should watch. It goes over how to calibrate your joiner.

You do have to tap em in when you are in Louisiana or some other swamp ass location. Humidity makes them swell up.

I'm in a fairly dry province in Canada and I too have to tap them in and sometimes pull them out with pliers (when doing a dry fit)

I bet he is buying generic or cheap biscuits. Biscuits do come in different sizes also. I have had sloppy fitting biscuits so I returned them for name brand. Since that time I have the size of my cutter(thickness) written on a tag on both inside and outside of case. There definitely is a use for them. I didn't buy mine because of Norm even though I knew him personally at the time. I bought it because it's handy for making tables, cabinets and joining tasks. I actually have 2 of them a Dewalt and a Mikita both of which are built way better than that POS he has. Everyone has an opinion and you know what they are like. Well this dude's stinks. Look on utube and there are vids saying how they are a must have tool. I don't a vid to tell me that though

Biscuits are easy and fast to align. You could make anything with them.

Kozel same here I mostly do frameless and it’s the fastest way to put cases together other than investing in a boring machine, which I don’t see the need for, I have a slot mortiser for doing loose tenons and it’s far more versatile and I can cut better mortises with it than I ever could with a domino. I don’t get why anyone would spend $1500 for that thing but they all do

I have a biscuit jointer and a domino. I’m intrigued by this slot mortiser though. Can you tell me more about it?

William Butler it’s a stationary machine the tables move and the head goes in and out you can adjust it to make longer mortises make them thicker whatever you want, cut angled joints all sorts of things If you know how to use it. You can also get a multi router it does the same thing and it can cut other joints as well such as dovetails and box joints, it’s pricier but it works as well

@@adamchesis7443 For the speed......for the love of God man, the speed and accuracy you can make an extremely strong, consistent joint with a Domino tool is unparalleled. If you're a fine woodworker and you enjoy taking 2 hours to set up and make 8 perfect mortises with a router or slot mortiser then that's fine. But a Domino gets it done in about 2 minutes.

Big Mike is talking if I need to do something fast I have a lamello, If it’s taking you 2 hours to cut 8 mortises on a slot Mortiser I don’t know what you’re doing wrong it would take me about 15 minutes, can you make a 1/2 x 3” mortise with a domino? Nope. People are convinced that the domino is the greatest and if it works for them that’s fine I’ve been doing this for a long time and I don’t see any use for it

I gotta say, even my nasty cheap joiner and biscuits fitted snuggly... out of alignment, but snug!

Yeah I usually have to get a rubber mallet and beat the pieces together before clamping them

Always keep the biscuits in a dry place and bag or box sealed as they sell up alot.

Youll be fuckin hammered if you keep carrying on about biscuit joiners.

Biscuit joints are a step above butt joints. No, they don't add strength. But they are great for aligning! I don't have wall full of clamps. And I don't need them when I'm using biscuits. *also it definitely looks like you picked up the wrong size biscuit. Try a size up.

Yes he does He has a few Id love to have his tool setup

Makes sense if you regularly use the same bits and depths. Bit of a pita to constantly be changing bits and adjusting the guides.

Yep, that's me.. 7 routers and hardly ever change bits LOL

Without a doubt if I used dovetails regularly, I would keep one set and never use it for anything else. They are a PITA to get set properly.

I just got one this year. It is crazy helpful.

Yea I use mine on most of my table tops. Never have had any issues for 6 years now. Think I'll just keep using it. If I had a cool g siting around I'd get a domino tool. But that's a lot of money for a hand held tool. I get why someone wouldn't use them but there is nothing wrong with using as biscuit either.

I just used mine last week.

Have you used the kreg pocket screw system? A few years ago my boss called and asked me if we needed the kreg pocket screw system I told him HELL YES ! He asked are you sure Definitely When he got back to the shop I showed him how the system works and he was very impressed even though it's kind of expensive for what you get I love it works great but I will keep the biscuit joiner It works great as well Each tool has its purpose

Same here, and if you have that much "play" @2.22, then the quality of your tool is somewhat "suspect" shall we say? Although I would admit that the Dewalt that I've owned for some twenty years now isn't by any means "top of the line", I do used if fairly regularly, and I can barely get the biscuits out of their slots again after a dry fit.

Congratulations on wasting your time lol

Jeez... just noticed I haven't seen a Pillsbury ad in FOREVER

Yeah you don't see this much anymore

Beats the snot out of a table saw in small spaces. Also makes a great disc grinder, and a somewhat adequate overarm router or even drill press.

I love my RAS, especially for dado work. It’s nice to be able to see what you’re dadoing. I also prefer using the RAS over a miter saw when I don’t need the portability.

Soooooo does this mean I'm a real woodworker? I just picked up a 1958 Dewalt GWI radial arm saw.

@@JetSkiBuyFixPlaySellChannel That is a nice RAS, My Dewalt is not quite that vintage, but I use quite often and a heck of lot more then biscuit jointer...

O . G . B Woodwork Now I wish I had a dowel jig. I’ve apparently been wasting my time with my biscuit joiner.

Jake Skywalker if it works, it works. I guess there’s no harm in getting a dowel jig and trying it out though. They are only between £6 -£20

I only use my biscuit joiner and doweling jig for alignment purposes only anymore. I prefer my dowels over the biscuits anymore. Easier and quicker to setup vs the biscuit. In all honesty, the biscuit doesn't add any strength, dowels add some but, not much. Glue is actually stronger than the wood anyway, provided you have ample glue for the joint. Cheers :)

Ham68 thanks mate. Do you have any other methods you use?

Give me some tips! Mine has been nothing short of awful (probably me more than the tool but hey)

Is that an American thing? What kind of biscuits? In the UK we like Yorkshire puddings with gravy 😊

@@briannewton3535 American biscuits refer to a specific type of biscuit that are similar to scones.

I'm imagining the wooden ones slathered in chicken flavored wood glue... 😕

@@briannewton3535 I like that way more than black pudding... 😉 👍

@@yaim0310 Ahh. In the uk we have a dish called Beef Cobbler which is essentially a beef stew with a type of cheese scone topping finished in the oven. Dang it, now I'm feeling hungry...

On the plus side, it's 25 yrs old and still capable of working as well as the day you got it!

I was going to add something similar. I've just replaced an ugly, glass shelf in the bathroom with a floating wood shelf. Since the attaching pieces (I don't know how to explain this more clearly) were already in the wall and I didn't want to damage the wall tiles, I had to cut slots into the wood and it was quite a challenge for me. The result was looking awful, but since it's against the wall, it's acceptable. Still I thought about them immediately when I saw this video about the biscuit joiner. It's not that I'm gonna buy one but if I already had one, I would have used it for that shelf.

Exactly! I was about to sell mine, but I can attest that it's the best tool to cut slots for tabletop fasteners

Why?

@@killingoldgrowthsince because it's safer and a quick way to cut those slots.

@@Ham68229 for what reason though ?

This is the way.

I inherited my dads Makita handheld power planer, I love it. Other stuff too, but when I use his tools, we are working in the workshop together again. Be cautious with what you part with.

@@briannewton3535 my old man was a Mac Tools distributor for over 30 years. I have more than enough tools to part with lol. I can work on some wood and work on my truck all with stuff that he had.

Dave, buy that biscuit joiner, but stay away from the low end stuff that was unfortunately used in the video. DeWalt and Makita make wonderful joiners for $170-180 that won't let you down.

Mike King well said mate!

just put a through drawbore in the tenons, or use a wedged tenon if you need a knockdown setup. You can usually drive out the pins if they aren't glued in. Baring that you could go for something like a bed bolt + tenon as well. of course for light duty things (picture frames) a spline might be the best bet. Ohh you could be really fancy with a sliding dovetail, though i'm not so sure about that for something like a table or bed leg.

Mike, I think you missed the point by skipping the video which you are commenting on. Steve talked about alignment.

@@HydraSR I jumped through it rather than watch it end to end (too painful), a lot of waving around of the joiner, etc.

A close call, you may have regretted it. My cheapo biscuit joiner was a whole millimetre out of alignment (yes I am in Europe, UK) along the length of the biscuit, with no option for adjustment. Branded ones do have adjustment on the base plate.

@Pat C Even if branded, they have limited use, and from the practical reviews of using biscuits on glued MDF and pine joints, it makes no difference at all to the strength of the joint. So I stand by a close call :o)

@Pat C As I mentioned, limited use, unless of course they build tables and panel doors, then a biscuit joiner would be super useful.

@Pat C I have the Domino XL DF 700 machine, so have the best of all worlds. A flexible machine that is super easy to use, and it does great joints.

@@briannewton3535 thank you I was thinking of buying a $60 one then I read reviews then I considered the Porter-Cable or even a DeWalt but then I saw Steve's video so yeah I think I'm going to skip on it

Well at least you can make... I mean you could build... Hmm... Sorry about the hurricane.

I dont think anyone thinks pocket screws are as weak as biscuits. Yes people do say pockets are not nearly as good as mortise and tenon because they arnt. They are objectively better and stronger than any biscuit though.

@@GifCoDigital And far less expensive.

I love my pocket screw system I also love my biscuit joining system Each has are pros and cons Each has its purpose

@@garychambers5930 there both great for people who don't know joinery, for those who do there garbage...

I saw a piece of wood split out after a friend drove the screw into the pocket hole, and from that moment on pocket screw joinery was dead to me.

Agree. I have no play either. Use mine plenty of times.

Guys, it's obvious he's fcking hack job.

I think that guys joiner is the problem. Lol.

YES HE IS.

I'm with you Roderick. Very sacred ground. Kreg tools are plastic. One of my least favorite substances on earth.

Do it, its a good tool

AS YOU RIGHTLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN. NORM IS ALL SEEING AND ALL BEING.

@@Snaffer01 I use it but have you ever tested the strength of a biscuit? LOL

@@MrSTOUT73 neither has he. He talks about how it doesn't add strength but he doesn't prove it. And he uses the wrong size biscuits which are too loose.

The English part being accurate, and the metric requiring attention.

In England we use metric. It is actually against the law for old imperial, what you call English, measurements to be used in retail. So we can’t buy things measured in inches. This has been the case for many, many years now.

@@ianc1097 Against the law? I call bullshit

@@nathanbell8356 it is against the law!

@@nivid01 Can I see some proof? A link perhaps?

I bought the Beadlock system a while ago when I jacked up my cuts and didn't have enough material left for tenons. It was a bitch to learn but quite useful and only like $180.

He was obsessed with his brad nailer...lol