I just bought a DeWalt buscuit joiner to do some corner joints in
drawers.

Never having used one before, I found the process a bit awkward trying
to hold the jointer just right and hold or clamp down the material.

I noticed that there was a hole on either side of the jointer sole
plate. Using them, I fastened the jointer to a piece of plywood which I
fastened to my bench. I then screwed a piece of 1x to the board in front
of and to the side of the jointer to use as a fence. As this fence was
aligned to center the material to the jointer face, I was able to cut
all of the biscuit slots for 3 drawers without center marks. For 3
deeper drawers, I moved the fence and cut them the same way.

Is this a common (or even a proper) way to use a biscuit jointer? I
didn't see any reference to it in the manual and I don't know enough
about other folks' methods of work to have heard of this before.

The big question, is there anything potentially dangerous about using a
biscuit jointer that way?

-JR

Jr
It just takes a little practice to hold the biscuit cutter and use the
machine after a while you will get the hang of it
practice when you can on some scrap pieces

What you did is okay and is no way a safety problem,
actually it is better for small pieces but when you have some big piece to
use you will find the conventional method a bit easier

Good Luck,
George
"JR" wrote in message
s.com...
I just bought a DeWalt buscuit joiner to do some corner joints in
drawers.

Never having used one before, I found the process a bit awkward trying
to hold the jointer just right and hold or clamp down the material.

I noticed that there was a hole on either side of the jointer sole
plate. Using them, I fastened the jointer to a piece of plywood which I
fastened to my bench. I then screwed a piece of 1x to the board in front
of and to the side of the jointer to use as a fence. As this fence was
aligned to center the material to the jointer face, I was able to cut
all of the biscuit slots for 3 drawers without center marks. For 3
deeper drawers, I moved the fence and cut them the same way.

Is this a common (or even a proper) way to use a biscuit jointer? I
didn't see any reference to it in the manual and I don't know enough
about other folks' methods of work to have heard of this before.

The big question, is there anything potentially dangerous about using a
biscuit jointer that way?

-JR

my biscuit jointer is an early freud. it doesn't have mounting holes
like yours does, but I made a table fixture for it where the body of
the jointer is wedged in place. it definitely helps for repeatability
and production efficiency to be able to use stops instead of
measuring, marking, line up the cutter...

no problem with safety. as always be aware of what direction the tool
wants to push the wood and make sure your stops are on that side. if
you can't do that, clamp.

Bridger

On Sun, 07 Dec 2003 16:07:38 GMT, JR wrote:

I just bought a DeWalt buscuit joiner to do some corner joints in
drawers.

Never having used one before, I found the process a bit awkward trying
to hold the jointer just right and hold or clamp down the material.

I noticed that there was a hole on either side of the jointer sole
plate. Using them, I fastened the jointer to a piece of plywood which I
fastened to my bench. I then screwed a piece of 1x to the board in front
of and to the side of the jointer to use as a fence. As this fence was
aligned to center the material to the jointer face, I was able to cut
all of the biscuit slots for 3 drawers without center marks. For 3
deeper drawers, I moved the fence and cut them the same way.

Is this a common (or even a proper) way to use a biscuit jointer? I
didn't see any reference to it in the manual and I don't know enough
about other folks' methods of work to have heard of this before.

The big question, is there anything potentially dangerous about using a
biscuit jointer that way?

-JR

While using a biscuit cutter can be awkward at times, like most things the
more you use it the easier it becomes. When possible I will take the extra
time to clamp the piece that I am working on, although some larger pieces a
near impossible to clamp. When that happens I try to do a couple things, I
put a holding pad under the piece (actually I use the stuff used to hold
rugs in place on a hardwood floor, it works better than the pad you buy at
woodworking stores), and try to lean it against something that won't move.
ie: the wall, a cabinet, even the floor at times. You might also try using a
bench hook, if you can still find them, or make one to suit your needs. I
have a couple made up of 2x4's and a 1x12x4 ft piece of pine. It holds the
wood in place enough to cut biscuits.

Dave

"JR" wrote in message
s.com...
I just bought a DeWalt buscuit joiner to do some corner joints in
drawers.

Never having used one before, I found the process a bit awkward trying
to hold the jointer just right and hold or clamp down the material.

I noticed that there was a hole on either side of the jointer sole
plate. Using them, I fastened the jointer to a piece of plywood which I
fastened to my bench. I then screwed a piece of 1x to the board in front
of and to the side of the jointer to use as a fence. As this fence was
aligned to center the material to the jointer face, I was able to cut
all of the biscuit slots for 3 drawers without center marks. For 3
deeper drawers, I moved the fence and cut them the same way.

Is this a common (or even a proper) way to use a biscuit jointer? I
didn't see any reference to it in the manual and I don't know enough
about other folks' methods of work to have heard of this before.

The big question, is there anything potentially dangerous about using a
biscuit jointer that way?

-JR