Biscuits

[fuse]

Tescos Milk Chocolate Oaties are the best and I challenge anyone who would dare disagree to a duel.

Afterwards I have plans to dust-off the biscuit jointer.

I have only ever used it once ,nearly 25 years ago, and would not have bothered with instructions in that era.
I have some 10 and 20 biscuits but as time has addled my brain I'm a little stumped with the settings.



I'm joining inch-thick boards so I'm supposed to set the depth to 20 and use No. 20 biscuits.

Very sorry about the photography ( the sepia is rather nostalgic) but you can see the 20 preset will swallow up 2/3 of the biscuit.
That can't be right can it?



The " ten " setting is a little over halfway.
0 is in the centre and both S,D are way over
The stop is slightly adjustable but certainly not by that much

If I just went freestyle, what is the correct proportion depth for a biscuit-
I assume the glue will swell it up so Im guessing a little under half a biscuit deep?

Also,will D4 adhesive still work with these?

 

[Accipiter]

Over 33 years since I used a biscuit jointer Martin but I read that chart as: if using the number 20 biscuit for material 15mm and greater then you set the cutting depth to 12.5mm... and centre it on the board thickness. Or where you decide if you want to use double biscuits...

The other two settings (S & D) are I believe a different types of biscuit to what you have. I'd be trying out on offcuts before doing actual thing on your timber

 

[fuse]

Thanks Frank but the dial only locates positively on the presets and none of them appear to me to be correct.
I will certainly do some experimental cuts - good call.
I cannot recall any issue last time - ignorance was obviously bliss.

 

[Accipiter]

Mmmm... does it not allow you to set manually rather than use the presets? Mmm? It's 33 years since I used one... can't recall the make - Trend or Elu maybe? Sorry . Fingers crossed someone with experience of the unit you have will definitely be able to help

 

[Woodbloke]

The only way to refresh your addled brain is to forget the instructions on that yellowed parchment and do a few trial cuts; it'll all come flooding back. FWIW, I've still got my now ancient Lamello C2 (one of their early models) that SWIMBO bought me donkey's years ago (one of my first powers tool if I recollect) and it still gets an outing now and again. It was and still is a great piece of kit - Rob

 

[fuse]

Thanks Rob
I will certainly experiment - its that fundamental nugget of knowledge I'm missing - is the cutting depth equal to or slightly more than half a biscuit?
( to allow for any swelling - or is it supposed to compress itself fully into the void)
This is as usual an outdoor structure so I would like to be sure.
Also need some idea of swell ratio of indoor vs waterproof hybrid glue
Unfortunately my experiment stock is slightly different than the stock for the job.
Once thats verified I'm good to go

 

[Mike G]

Tescos Milk Chocolate Oaties are the best and I challenge anyone who would dare disagree to a duel.....

Shrewsbury biscuits, Quaker Oat biscuits and Grantham Gingerbread biscuits, in that order. All home made. No other biscuits count.

Rapiers at dawn. I'll have Carruthers make the arrangements with your man.

 

[fuse]

Fine
But mark me well ,sir
Honour will not be restored.

Home made does appeal however.
These are so easy even I can make them

 

[Steve Maskery]

I've had a couple of BJs, my current one is something beginning with M, I can't remember but it is an excellent piece of kit..

There are three controls:

1 The size of biscuit.
Biscuits all have the same curve (to match the blade) the difference is how deeply they penetrate the board. Standard sizes are 0, 10, 20. On mine there is a wheel to select, yours will have something that does the same job.

2 The offset
This depends on the thickness of your workpiece. For 25mm boards joined edge-to-edge, this should be 12.5mm

3 The angle of the joint
Unless you are jointing at a funny angle, the fence should be in the zero position.

Bear in mind that biscuits need to be stored dry, I mean properly dry. They should be an easy fit in the slot. They will expand when activated with a water-based glue, like a PVA, rather than an epoxy resin, for example.

S

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Fuse, look at your photo again, and think: " the bikkie goes in two holes cut by this blade, one on each piece of timber"? Ergo, nowt wrong with your depth setting. Blade looks fine too, nice carbide insert. As to width, was your machine fully 'plunged' when you took the photo? I suspect that strong spring may have restricted the emergence of the blade for your photo. Try laying the blade on top of a thin piece of wood,and pushing heavily on the machine body, then getting a mate/significant other to 'draw' around the blade. That will show the semi-profile of the cut. Draw its compliment below,see if the alloted biscuit fits inside the outline.
I have a Ferm . Yes, and it has never missed a beat, let me down, or miscut in 30 years of intermittent use. Its settings are 0, 10, 20, matching said biscuits.
The crucial, step is to centre the slot cut in both pieces to avoid "telegraphing" through the surface as the biscuit swells by absorbing glue, or, if differing thicknesses, set the slot 'down' a propos the thinner one to effect same.

 

[Eric the Viking]

I have an old and very nice Makita BJ. I also have a Domino, which will go from 12mm right down to 5mm.

The biscuit jointer won't do things where you need a structural tenon, but it's brilliant for alignment on the slots' axis. I still use it more often than I expected to, once I got the Domino.

Another, often ignored, thing is DX. The Domino _needs_ separate extraction, but, because of the effect of the spinny blade, the BJ will get by with
the dust bag it comes with. This is great for small tasks.

 

[fuse]

Thanks all
I refer to this machine as a Biscuit Jointer rather than a 'BJ' to avoid censorship.

Sam this is also a Ferm and I am confuddled.





The stop is set on the 20 detent and the blade is held fully out in the photo.

I can see that the profile of the cutter will match the biscuit

That cut depth will surely allow one board to take in 2/3 of the biscuit leaving just 1/3 for the other board
It doesnt seem right.
I will experiment.

 

[Accipiter]

Good morning Martin...

Isn't that so it allows for the biscuit to expand with the wet glue when putting the boards together? So fully filling both cut slots when assembled and clamped together?

With the glue in the 1st slotted board then the biscuit/s placed in the glue/slots you're most likely to be at half way on the biscuit. If not at assembly stage, then the biscuits will (are meant to) expand while clamping the boards together... Isn't that the idea for using biscuits?

Sorry if it's a confusing explanation (it as hard enough trying to write )

 

[Eric the Viking]

All of the Makita's "numbered" settings are adjustable. I'd expect the Ferm to be also.

Biscuits expand/contract mostly on the long axis (and the thickness), so that one looks misadjusted. I think you need no more than 1-2mm for glue to moveround across the entire width (including both sides of the joint). YMMV...

 

[fuse]

The dial has spring-detent presets

The stop has some adjustment by the look of it ,as there is a locknut, but probably wont accommodate that much range.

 

[Eric the Viking]

Hmm, that's a bit cheapskate on the part of whoever, but my guess is that at some point it got loose, and someone just did it up as tight as possible, without realising it was a depth adjustment.

I would say it needs to be unscrewed, possibly by several mm.

Do you have a vernier caliper,? They have a plunging depth gauge.

Sir wants 1/2 biscuit width, plus 1mm (well, 1 to 2 mm, to taste). If it's correct for a #20 biscuit, it should be correct also for #10. I've never seen a #00 biscuit although I think picture framers use them...

E.

PS: release the adjuster cautiously, probably undoing the inner (part of the shaft) first, which ought to ease the locknut too, as the pressure comes off. Use PlusGas penetrative oil first, if you have some, otherwise WD40 (not as good).Use a decent spanner, not pliers nor vice grips.

It's a thread into a white metal casting, so really easy to strip if incautious, and almost impossible to re-tap or Helicoil, because of the location ( you might. gain access from the fence side, but that's the start of an epic...), The "pin" part could be replaced with the shaft of a machine screw, cut to correct length (i.e. a bit longer) iand bottomed in the hole - secure with blue loctite and a nut gently tightened.

 

[fuse]

Thats the info I was looking for - 1/2 biscuit depth plus room for glue and growth.
Ive had the machine new,used straight from the box for four biscuits,never configured or meddled with it and then put back in the box for a decade and a half until now.
As I recall it was a fanatical woodworker colleague who convinced me to buy it and thinking back the task didnt actually require it.

I must have been blissfully unaware of a need for different settings
Thanks- I can have a go at it now.