Plate ( biscuit ) jointers?

[Dryer lint]

Who makes a good one and what features should I look for when buying one? Ive used an old one of a friends and now I want one.

[Bruce Hooke]

http://www.woodenboatvb.com/vbulletin/upload/showthread.php?t=56596&highlight=biscuit

[Lew Barrett]

I have a Lamello, no complaints, but if I were buying new and given how much I use one (not much), it would be a Porter Cable. Less than half the price and 90% of the machine especially for a casual user. The PC comes with all the slot cutters you will ever need and has a perfectly acceptable fence. The Lamello is built to last and if you are in a cabinet shop, that would be the machine to have. I've heard that dust collection is better on the PC, (and the Lamello requires it's own adapter, so no cheating) but you don't make a ton of dust cutting biscuits; not a big advantage in my view.
The Lamello fence is rock, and I do mean rock, solid. I would almost certainly own a PC myself, but found my Lamello at a garage sale for 30 cents on the dollar. Nice to buy them that way.

[Nicholas Carey]

I've got the P-C 557. It's 90% of the Lamello Top-20. It's also about USD $170 as opposed to USD $800 :eek: The Lamello is probably worth it if you drive it every day -- it's got some great features.

However on a bang-for-buck basis, the P-C is hard to beat. It's got some features that most other biscuit joiners don't have:

The fence swings through 135 degs of arc. at 135 deg, it make biscuiting mitered plywood casework a breeze.
It comes with an extra-small blade for cutting slots for size "FF" (tiny) biscuits -- you can biscuit join stock as little as 1-1/2 inches wide.If you're left-handed, the P-C and the Top-20 both have bottom-mounted paddle switches that are ambi-dextrious; most other biscuit joiners have side-mounted switches that favor right-handers. (On the down side, driving a P-C 557 left-handed mean you take the exhaust stream right in your shirt -- learn to like chips/sawdust :B or hook it up to a shop vac.).

When you buy biscuits, though, regardless of who makes your joiner, spring for Lamello's biscuits -- they're higher quality and more consistent than most. You can get Lamello biscuits from Colonial Saw (http://www.csaw.com/lamello/beechbiscuit.html) if you can't find them elsewhere (Colonial Saw's the US distributor, too, if you're looking for a dealer).

Don't forget that the biscuits are compressed/dried wood. Store them in a sealed container (glass mason jars work well) so humidity doesn't cause them to expand. Part of the scheme is that the biscuits expand when they come into contact with water-based glue, making for a very tight fit.

[eleseus]

Linty,
i've got the Dewalt. It works great, has a dust collection port(for shop work--a lot of the dust is very fine and I rec. hooking up a shop vac to it if you have a large run of joints to cut indoors), I've only changed the blade once in a few years... Pretty plain jane of a machine but I like no-frills stuff. It cuts three or 4 biscuit sizes, too.

[coelacanth2]

I bought the Dewalt years ago, and its been very good, although I don't use it as much as I should - not doing much fine work, these days. If your biscuits take on moisture and swell, microwave them for a short while.:D

[Mrleft8]

I have an old (it didn't seem old until I thought about it) Virutex. I'd get another Virutex if DeWalt didn'tmake a better tool for half the price. Get the DeWalt.

[Bill R]

Another vote for the PC 557. Very happy with mine. Test drove it and the Dewalt when I bought it, and the PC just "felt better".

my $.02

[Dryer lint]

anyone here used a freud? big box here has them for less than $100.

only other freud tool Ive ever used is my 3 1/4 hp freud plunge routhr and it has been a good one. I wont be using the plate joiner a whole lot and am wondering if spending the xtra $120 for the pc or $80-90 for the dewalt is worth it.

[Paul Girouard]

anyone here used a freud? big box here has them for less than $100.

only other freud tool Ive ever used is my 3 1/4 hp freud plunge routhr and it has been a good one. I wont be using the plate joiner a whole lot and am wondering if spending the xtra $120 for the pc or $80-90 for the dewalt is worth it.

I've seen a few freud's on the job site , older various where crap . I looked online the JS -100 , the $99.00 one does not appear , nor is the description of it , to have a adjustable fence system .

The JS 102 does have a adj. fence , but cost $120.00 or so.

I'd recommend the Dewalt , as I did in the other thread that Bruce posted .

If you buy the cheapest one you'll be handicapping your self right out of the gate . Which will lead to not using it as it will not have the capabilities that would lead to more use.

The catch 22 to cheap tools , IMO . Very limited use due to lack of design / features / set up problems / etc . Same way most cheap hand tools work out , you end up buying two in the long run , cuz the cheaper one fails / breaks / or is just , well cheap!

G/L Fluffy one ;)

[Jay Greer]

The old Freud I have is a true piece of crap! The fence will not stay locked no matter how tight I turn the locking knobs! I do so little biscuit jointing that I haven't bothered to get a new one yet.
Jay

[capt jake]

I have a Makita. I seldom use it, but when I do it is a good tool. good adjustments and other features.

[kc8pql]

anyone here used a freud?
I've have an old Freud. The sticker on the case says '88 so I guess I've been using it for 18 years. It's done fine for what I do with it. Mostly 90 deg. joints on cabinet face frames and applying solid wood shaped noseings to ply panels. I never use the fence. I cut with the tool and the stock flat on the bench. The only setup involved is a tic mark for the center of the cut.