Joining Ply Boards Using Biscuit Joiners

(photo: rskura)

When it comes to woodworking, joining two separate pieces of wood doesn’t always involve a nail and a hammer. Wood orientation, rust and leak related issues, as well as aesthetic values of design has seen to this, and has made woodworkers employ alternative methods of joining separate pieces of wood

The application of wood glue and the use of particular joint cuts have proven themselves to be quite effective alternatives to the nail and hammer. An assortment of joint cut types can be met, each with their own structural strengths. Varieties of wood glue also are around in the market.

Among the most common cuts for joining, would be biscuit joins.

Also known as a plate join setup, biscuit join setups join two separate pieces of wood with an oval shaped compressed wooden biscuit as the wood pieces’ joining point. The use of a biscuit joiner, or plate joiner, would greatly aid woodworking projects like these.

A biscuit jointer utilizes a circular saw blade, usually tungsten carbide tipped, in cutting a crescent hole on the opposite edges of two composite panels intended for joining. The hole made by the biscuit joiner, is called the mouth, and is “filled out” by a wooden biscuit, thus joining the two panels together. Wood glue further strengthens the setup, as the two pieces of wood are clamped together. As the wood glue expands the compressed biscuit, a bond generally stronger than the pieces of wood is made.

The principle behind the biscuit joining system is a relatively recent development in the realm of woodworking. Invented by Hermann Steiner in 1956, the then introduction of chipboard prompted the development of biscuit joiners, which is ideal for joining sheet goods like medium-density fiberboards, particle boards and plywood. What was an almost accidentally developed system now stands to be an effective method of joining composite pieces of sheet goods.

Biscuits are often made with solid wood, taking the place of tenon and mortise joints. In a sense, they are easier to make compared with mortises, yet yield the same strength. When it comes to making wider panels, biscuit joints truly shine. Biscuits often come in three standard sizes,  ?" wide X 1¾" long, ¾" wide X 2?" long and 1" wide X 2?" long.

Biscuit joiners are truly marvels when it comes to successfully joining panels of wood, edge to edge, making wider panels.
With biscuit joiners, the non-utilization of nails leaves behind a clean surface, leaving the joined pieces of wood clean of nail holes, as well as an equally strong piece of combined wood.

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