Building a small TV/VCR/DVD stand, and I biscuted the pieces together.
I always have the same problem: I have a Porter Cable and I set up the cutter at a certain height (say, 3/8″) and cut the slots in, say, a shelf. Without changing anything, I slot the legs. Invariably, there is a hight difference between the shelf and the side leg.
I know this is a little vague, but I have to re-set the height of the legs by about 1/16″ to make it fit.
Anyone have a clue?
Quality repairs for your home.
Aaron the Handyman
Vancouver, Canada
Replies
Dear friend,
To insure proper alignment, it is necessary to register BOTH pieces to be joined in common as to how they actually end-up when glued.
Even if both pieces are the same thickness, you still have to make sure of actual glue-up orientation when registering the slot cut, and you must use the same reference from the cutter. For instance, if the base of the jointer is used on one piece, do not use the fence to reference the other.
Basically, put both pieces together (the way they will end-up when glued) and mark a pencil line when so, continuous to both pieces.
Then, when cutting the slot, if you see the pencil line each time on each piece, the orientation will be correct, and you must be using either the fence or the base of the tool on both, as guide.
If this is done properly, the slots will certainly match.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
-mbl-
If this works for your particular projects, you can try this:
Don't use the fence at all. Most biscuit joiners will make a slot in the center of a 3/4" piece of stock when they are resting on their base. If you use the fence, you can get human error creeping in from slightly tipping the tool as you plunge in. If you rest on the base, that's almost impossible. Just clamp your stock to a flat surface and the joiner cut will always be parallel to that same surface. Be consistent regarding orientation of your stock to the work surface - don't do some face side up, and others face side down. You'll also be able to see any gaps between your stock and the work surface and can either add an extra clamp to hold it down snug or recut another piece if you have something with a bigger bow in it.
I forgot to add: This method works if your trying to get your biscuited pieces flush. If you need to have a setback or reveal where they meet, butt a scrap piece of something equal to the thickness of your reveal up to the piece you're cutting, then set the joiner base on top of that. You also never have to fuss with getting the height adjustment dialed in doing this way too.
I love the smell of sawdust in the morning.
Edited 2/1/2005 7:28 am ET by douglas2cats
I second the suggestion to put a pencil mark at the same time on both pieces you intend to join.
There are two other important things to check here:
1.
Make sure none of your stock is warped. Lay the stock on a flat surface and check. If so, when you plunge your biscuit joiner into the warped stock, it will actually be closer to one edge than you intend. To solve this problem, clamp the stock down onto the flat surface, then plunge the biscuit joiner. This will put the biscuit slot in the correct place on all pieces. Whenever I do biscuit joining, I always clamp the stock down to a flat surface. Besides assuring alignment, it also is a safer way to do biscuits.
2.
make sure all of your stock is the same thickness. If you have one piece that is 3/4" and you have another that is 11/16", for example, you could see a difference in the final biscuit position. You could cheat and get away with this if you make sure to align each 11/16" piece the same way and each 3/4" piece the same way.
Those are the three main reasons I can see for your issue.
Edited 2/1/2005 9:23 am ET by Matthew Schenker
If you are cutting the slots with the stock on a bench, you may not actually be registering the joiner fully. The base will hit the bench and not drop all the way down. With just 1/16" you may not notice. Better to let the piece hang over the bench a little.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Ditto what Hammer said.
Dear Hammer,What you describe, would say, applies only when registering with the tool's fence.Personally, do the registering by the base on the table or bench, just as D2Cats describes.The base on the bench is totally stable by such substantial support. Using the fence, on the other hand, relies on much less support area and hand-wrist stability of operator and the alignment can suffer at plunge time. When using the base for reference, the tool can be pushed and held down as much or more than needed easily.For increased (practically fail-less accuracy), the piece is clamped flat by two clamps against the table or bench, prior to plunging.The fence on the unit here is stored away. It is seldom used.-mbl-
That procedure can work, as long as your faces are down and everything is referenced from the bench. It won't work if you are trying to put a biscuit just a quarter down, on angles or with recessed applications. In Aaron's case, I suspect it may have been as I described. Not that I've ever done that with my PC, of course.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Dear Hammer,Here, as said, hardly use the fence. For height control, do have about 3 sheets of various thicknesses to lift the workpiece.Because referencing on a table or bench is desireable, Lamello (the inventors of the buiscuit jointers) have since some time made available a jointer that actually adjusts the distance from the base to the blade.It is quite expenssive, though.Even for angles, the fence can be avoided by a tilted platform to lift the work-piece.-mbl-
Just a thought.. and cut the slots in, say, whatever.. I use a scrap hunk of the EXACT thickness and cut so the slot is through the end.. Not always, but if I wonder what I'm doing. I use it as a template and lay it on the mate.. If only for a check of what I was thinking about.
Biscuit cutters are DANGEROUS! I pulled the trigger once before I was on the wood.. Ya talk about a 'CLIMB CUT!'
This is not my thread, but I would nonetheless like to thank all of you for some insightful answers. Getting accurate alignment from board to board (on table tops, for instance) has been something that has plagued me since I started using a biscuit jointer years ago. I pretty much gave up on the Dewalt when the new PC came out some years ago. This one (the PC ) is way better, and the misalignment is more of an aggravation than a real problem.But I intend to set the fence aside the next time, and try the method suggested here -- of using the bench to register the cut. Thanks.
I was having this problem a while back and finally figured out that I was 'tilting' the biscuit cutter slightly on one (or both) of the cuts. This was causing the biscuit to be slightly angled which caused a misalignment. I was hanging the board over the edge of the bench and using the fence to register from the top of the board.
Now, I keep the base of the biscuit cutter on the bench and register from the bottom of the boards. This eliminates any 'tipping' since I'm not trying to 'hand hold' the tool. If you try this technique, keep the bench clean - even a little sawdust under the base will move your slot.
No matter which way you use your cutter, make sure that the boards are exactly the same thickness since any difference in thickness will show up no matter how well you're using the cutter. Don't assume that pieces cut from the same board will always be the same thickness - I've found as much as 1/16" variation in some stock. For the past few months, I've been running all my boards thru the planer for a quick 'cleanup' pass before I start cutting the biscuit slots - it adds a few minutes to the preparation time, but cuts way down on the sanding/scraping/planing time. - lol
Edited 2/2/2005 9:28 am ET by Dave
Dear Dave,Would just like to point out that, when one uses the bench and base as registering means, the parts being joined do not need to be the same thickness. However, the cuts need to be on the proper side, for proper glue-up alignment.Registering the cuts as said, and proper clamping of the work-piece, insures that the faces of the work-piece which touch the table when the cuts are made, will line-up perfectly even, one with the other, when glued-up.The sides to the bench or table are chosen to be the 'show' side (usually the outer part of the finished product).The other side can then be planed, if needed, to even that side up. The preference here is to plane those joints for even-ness AFTER glue -up. That way, the glue lines are gone at the same time. The refenence side is readily taken care-of with a card scraper because the matches are pretty much a perfect match.A very important issue is to clamp the work-piece so it is FLAT against the bench. It also makes for safety and an accuracy that is hard to improve upon.-mbl-
I use a machinest block to set the fence of ine to true square. Also check that the blade is sharp so it des not wander. If you use the bench be sure that the finih sde s down. My Dewalt fence s great once checked and set for square.
And everyone:
I realized I had made a basic mistake - and everyone here had seen part of it. I was using plywood (3/4" or whatever passes for it in Canada).
1. I set the fence properly, but did not ensure it was at dead centre of the wood.
2. I was working at 90 deg. joints.
3. I did not ensure that the distances were equal along the length of the board. This meant that if I had to reverse the board, it would not fit.
4. I did not clamp the boards and ensure everything was square.We DO live and learn.Quality repairs for your home.
Aaron the HandymanVancouver, Canada
Dear Aaron,You state "1. I set the fence properly, but did not ensure it was at dead centre of the wood" and would just like to point out that when the registering takes place by the bench and base of the tool, it is not necessary that the cut be at dead center of the work pieces, since the surfaces that touch the bench will line up automatically.To compensate for getting to the aproximate center of the workpieces, some standard, thin sheets of material can be used to lift the workpieces, or the tool, off from the table or bench.For 90 degree joints, one of the pices is cut when it is standing on its edge against the bench, supported by a right angle tall jig to which the workpiece is clamped. That gives perfect matches and a great 90 degree relationship.Best wishes.-mbl-
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