On Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:45:59 +0100, "george (dicegeorge)"
wrote:


I think the router and table is on sale next week.

Today they have a biscuit jointer
-that's the one of their tools I havent got
cos i've never had one and i dont know what they do
or why i'd want one.

are they any use?

So far the reviews for the router table don't sound promising. That's
a shame because they are half the price of anyone else. I don't have a
router or table so was hoping this would be a cheap way to test the
water. I was looking forward to making my own skirting boards.

I don't have a biscuit joiner either, and like you I as thinking
whether I should get one but I wasn't sure whether I needed one or
whether I just wanted one because Aldi were selling them cheap.

As I understand it, and I may have got this wrong, the jointer cuts an
arc out of a piece of wood. If you are making a box then at any edge
there are two pieces joining. I think the idea is that you cut an arc
into each piece of wood and then you fit small wooden ellipses into
these arcs. It's a bit like a bigger version of using doweling and
these wooden ellipses are called biscuits. I think you can buy ready
cut biscuits or make your own. The biscuits are glued in place but I
think the water in the glue also makes the biscuits swell, so that
they hold the two pieces of wood together and since the biscuits are
inside the wood, the join is invisible. But I could be wrong about
some or all of the above!

I would be interested to know whether a biscuit joiner (Aldi or any
make) is worth buying too.