As per a recent thread, there are lots of negative comments about cheaper
biscuit jointers and the so-called good ones are too expensive for
occasional use. But I just noticed there are biscuit-cutter bits for routers
so wonder how they compare with the lower end of the biscuit cutter range.

As an example of a cutter for a router there is this at £7.49

http://www.screwfix.com/p/biscuit-jo...hank-4mm/91402

Are such cutter bits OK, at least where the cuts which have to be made are
parallel to a surface?

Such bits all seem to be too small to cut out the crescent shape of a
biscuit slot. How are they used in order to get the slot the right shape? Is
there some sort of template? If not enough wood is removed the biscuit won't
fit. If too much material is taken away the joint would be weakened. Surely
it's not supposed to be done by hand.

A low-price biscuit jointer at £33.50 is

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-S.../dp/B0021L95X4

Would it be fair to say that the lower-priced ones may have various issues
but are all of similar quality, all having usability issues that the owner
can work around? There are some at around £65 but I wonder if they would be
much different from the Silverline one (especially as it has been reduced).

James