On 2006-10-27 22:13:34 +0100, "Martin Bonner" said:

Following on from an earlier message thread, can anyone recommend a
good biscuit jointer?

For the task in hand, I just need to be able to joint boards edge to
edge which means I think all I need is a jointer that will reliable cut
a slot that is
- parallel to the top surface (or square to the edge)
- a consistent distance from the top surface

Any other features that are likely to be of use?
Any features that just get in the way and waste money?
Best value for money?

What kind of price point do you have in mind?

Lamello arguably make the best biscuit jointers on the market and
invented the technology originally. Their products are precise and a
delight to use, but they are not low in price.

Makita and Bosch make good products in the £150-200 range. At one
point I had a DeWalt in this price range and returned it because of a
design fault associated with one of the settings.

There are then a few in the £80-100 range such as the Axminster one and
finally the outlet own brand ones such as Draper, Clark, Erbauer etc.
in the £45-55 range.

You make the point that for edge jointing to get vertical alignment
accurate, consistency, parallelism are important, and this is true.
The high end jointers are precision made and have features such as fine
blade height adjustment, soft start to reduce the tool jerking, a means
to prevent it sliding sideways on starting and running, click stop
adjustments for the typical angles used and so on.

So for example, you can take a Lamello out of its box, set it to the
same click stop settings as the last use and it will be consistently
right to a fraction of a millimetre.

Some of these features won't be present on the £80 - midrange machines
but they can certainly do a good job. Typically more set-up time and
trial cuts are needed and one has to hold the tool very firmly in some
cases to avoid it moving undesirably.

If you only think you are going to want to do edge jointing, then there
is not a lot of criticality in terms of the jointer moving horizontally
during operation, so even one of the entry level jointers should do the
job. It would be a case of taking time and care and regularly checking
the settings during a jointing session.

If you anticipate wanting to joint boxes and the like and especially
items at an angle, then it is worth investing in something better than
entry level in order to get consistency, ease of use and time taken.

Certainly it's worth going to a specialist tool store if you can to
make some comparisons.