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Biscuit joiners are used for quickly connecting timber panels on indoor furniture, and for many other woodworking timber joining jobs. The electric or cordless jointer tool quickly rebates the perfect sized slot on two surfaces to perfectly connect and glue timber edges.
Wood plate jointer tools come in both cordless and as a dedicated electric tool. With this tool, you don’t really need to be cordless as you will be inside your workshop anyway, but there is still an advantage with the flexibility of not having a lead.
Makita and Dewalt have an excellent option for getting a great value biscuit cutter. The Lamello Classic X is the original and highest quality portable jointer for the biggest woodworking enthusiasts.
Best biscuit joiners
#1 Best Lamello classic biscuit joiner
Lamello Classic x 101600 professional biscuit joiner, 6.5 amp motor
- Swiss made precision tool made by the original inventor of the biscuit joiner
- Easily set angles and make extremely accurate checkouts
- Fast and easily adjustable fence
- High quality, everything
- Easy to handle
- For the price, this is for a serious Wood Worker
#2 Best Makita biscuit joiner
Makita PJ7000 joiner, 5.6 amp motor
- Can cut slots for most commonly used biscuit sizes
- Built-in dust bag makes for a cleaner workplace
- Professional model
- Fast and easy fence adjustment
- Relies on high RMP blade of 11,000 rather than amps for quick cutting
- Easy to handle
- Requires frequent cleaning of the dust port
#3 Best value biscuit joiner
Dewalt DW682K joiner 6.5 amp motor
- Capable of cutting through hard and dense timber, with slightly more power than the Makita but runs at a slower 10,000 RMP blade
- Cheaper price than the Makita
- Dual rack and pinion fence design helps ensure accurate cuts
- Can be used for making mitered joints
- Professional Brand
- Fence tends to move slightly when in use, causing cuts to be slightly off
- The fence adjustment mechanism can come off when set to the highest position
- The body is too thick
#4 Advanced joining system + biscuit joiner
Lamello Zeta-P2 101402S P system joiner with case 8.75 amps
- Extremely accurate tool
- Advanced multi-function joining system with that can also do wooden biscuits with an optional cutter
- Most powerful biscuit joiner with an 8.75 amp 1050 watt motor
- Pretty lightweight at 7.75lbs
- Easy to set and adjust angles
- 2 Year Warranty
- Made by the original inventor of the biscuit joiner
- Drill jig kit
- If you were thinking of getting a Festool think again.
- The best but a very expensive tool to buy
#5 Best Festool joiner
Festool 574432 joiner
- Easy to make accurate adjustments to the different settings
- A versatile tool that can take the place of several different pieces of equipment
- Professional brand
- Good Dust extracting design with a hose thickness of 1.06 Inch
- Power switch and plastic attachments are flimsy for the price
- Power switch position makes it easy to make unintended cuts
- An expensive tool to buy
#6 Best porter-cable biscuit joiner
Porter-cable 557 joiner 7 amp motor
- Accurate and precise enough for woodwork and carpentry
- Stable startup prevents cutting errors
- Fence height is adjustable for odd cuts
- The case is a bit too small for the unit
- Blades are pretty expensive
- Brand
- For the price get the Dewalt or Makita!
#7 Best DIY wood biscuit cutter
Vonhaus amp wood plate joiner 8.5 amp
- Can be used for a wide variety of joints (miter, T-joints, butt joints, corner joints)
- Depth and size can be adjusted quickly
- Decent power of 8.5 amps
- Dust bag
- Prone to clogging from dust and debris
- The blade tends to get dull quickly
#8 Best DIY biscuit joiner
Aoben slot cutter 8.5 amp
- Quick and easy size changes
- Has helpful angle measurements
- Good power of 8.5 amps
- Dust bag
- Cheap Price
- Tends to move around a bit during operation
- Dust collector clogs up too quickly
#9 Cheapest DIY biscuit joiner
Gino development 01-0102 joiner 8.4 amp
- Makes smooth and clean cuts
- Comparable performance to many costlier units
- Cheap tool
- Size setting control can be knocked out of position very easily
- Tends to drift slightly when in use
#10 Best wood biscuit joiner
Triton TBJ001 joiner
- The hinged base makes it easy to clean and change blades
- Has insulated handles for safety and comfort
- Dust extraction through blade housing could potentially cause problems
Best cordless biscuit joiner
#1 Best Makita battery biscuit joiner tool
Makita XJP03Z 18v lithium-ion cordless plate joiner
- Cordless convenience with the performance of a corded plate joiner
- Unique system for ensuring optimum performance and long battery life
- Has a good dust collector and easy setting pinion fence with adjustable depths stops
- Professional brand tool
- You will have to purchase the battery and charger separately
Best timber biscuit packs
#1 Best value biscuits
Porter-cable 1000 assorted biscuits
- Includes two bags of #20, and a bag each of #0 and #10 biscuits
- Great value for the price
- Expands with glue for a tight strong join
- Some inconsistency in the thickness of the biscuits
- You need to get a seal-able bag as the Non-resealable bags can cause biscuits to swell from moisture
Introduction
Biscuit joiners are power tools that serve a particular purpose: they cut slots into the wood, through which “biscuits” are inserted. Biscuits are flat wooden discs that when inserted into the slots secure two different slabs of wood together. With the combination of glue and the biscuit expanding with PVA glue to tightly clamp itself to both surfaces.
Biscuit joiners have been around since the early 1960s when a Swiss woodworker named Hermann Steiner developed them. It was also Steiner who established the Lamello brand, which was responsible for some of the most highly-regarded professional biscuit joiners on the market.
In principle, plate joiners are quite similar to angle grinders. Instead of the diamond or abrasive cutters found in angle grinders, however, the best biscuit joiners typically have a tungsten-carbide tip (TCT) blade. They also have steel “fences” that stabilize the unit and ensure evenly raised slots.
Biscuit joiners are pretty rudimentary in function–they pretty much only let you cut slots into slabs of wood. Even so, this basic function allows for a pretty broad range of carpentry and woodworking tasks.
With a quality joiner in your shop, you can attach two pieces of wood to make a wider board, make neatly-fitting joints, and even assemble strong and durable shelves and cabinets. For such a seemingly simple tool, the range of things you can create with a good electric joiner is pretty impressive.
Features
- Brand – Dewalt, Makita, Festool, and Lamello are among the best brands of electric joiners you can buy, with professional features and dependable performance
- Durability – A biscuit joiner should be capable of heavy-duty work without breaking down or suffering from inconsistency issues.
- Size – The ability to cut different-sized slots is a useful feature to have in a biscuit joiner. This feature lets you use the same tool to cut slots for the most commonly available sizes of biscuits.
- Power – A biscuit joiner should have enough power to cut through any wood with ease.
How do biscuit joiners work
Electric joiners are fairly simple tools that perform a single basic function: cut slots into wood. These tools have a “fence” (usually made of heavy stainless steel) that you press flush against the edge or surface of the piece of wood where you want the cut.
Plate joiners have a sharp cutting blade that pushes against the wood when the power is switched on. After making a similar cut into another piece of wood, they can be joined together with wooden football-shaped discs known as “biscuits”.
After your cuts have been made pull out your expanding wood biscuit from your woodwork apron insert your biscuit inside the perfectly shaped slots with some PVA glue.
Pressing the two pieces together, the biscuits expand to create a strong wood jointing system! that many woodworkers rely on for their furniture building projects.
When to use a biscuit joiner?
Biscuit joints are pretty strong and versatile and can support fairly heavy loads. You can, therefore, use biscuit joiners to create a wide variety of furniture, from tables and benches to bookshelves and even cupboards.
Biscuit joiners are useful for any task that involves joining slabs of wood together. Although most woodworkers use them to join two pieces of wood side by side, they can also be used to make butt joints and for joining the edge of a slab to a flat surface, as you would when making a shelf.
Even if you opt to use glue to attach two pieces of wood, using biscuits will help ensure proper alignment when you clamp the individual pieces together.
When not to use a biscuit joiner?
Biscuits are probably not the best choice when the joint is subject to moister or the outdoors.
They are also less suitable for pieces that will undergo repeated stress and flexing. In some cases, biscuits may be unnecessary if you have two pieces with precisely cut edges and good, strong wood glue, and additional support in the framing.
Alternative timber joining vs. Biscuit joining
Doweling
Dowels aren’t a stronger alternative to biscuits for flat surfaces. However, wooden dowels definitely have their place for some jobs, were critical alignment isn’t necessary. You can get a dowel deeper into your wood join using your best cordless drill that is sturdy and well-aligned. Wood drill bits that are sharp and a center spike to guide the bore-out will make for much better alignment.
You will have to spend a bunch more using a drill, however. The time it takes to mark and drill holes while still getting the dowels in perfect can be challenging and take a bit longer to get perfectly flush.
Dovetails
Dovetail joints are generally considered to be the most attractive, which makes them ideally suited for outside corners and decorative purposes. They are also pretty strong and durable and are very resistant to being pulled apart.
However, dovetailing can’t be used to join two slabs of timber together in the same way as biscuit joining or doweling.
Finger joins
Finger joints are considerably easier to make than dovetail joins, because the pins are square rather than angled. They can also serve a decorative purpose, and look especially attractive in corner joins with several small pins cut into the wood.
Keep in mind however that finger joins aren’t as reliable as biscuit, dowel, or dovetail joins.
Steel brackets
You can also use steel brackets to hold two slabs together, but it doesn’t bind the pieces together in the same way as biscuit joining or doweling. On the plus side, they can bear pretty heavy loads.
They can also be used for decorative purposes and look especially attractive with the brackets painted black.
Best way to join slabs of wood
Any of the methods mentioned above can be used to join slabs of wood together effectively. Your choice only depends on what you are trying to accomplish and how you want the final product to look. You will also have to consider how much load the joint will bear, and whether or not it will undergo constant stress and tension.
That being said, biscuit joins are an excellent choice for many reasons. They are quick and easy to make, and they can handle pretty heavy loads when combined with good strong glue.
If you need more support for heavy loads, you could add steel brackets to the underside of the joint.
For more information on how to build a table straight from a tree click here.
Biscuit joiner key features
Brand
Biscuit joiners made by Dewalt, Makita, Festool, and Lamello are among the best tools you can buy at any price.
As with any power tool, it is always worth going with a professional quality unit as opposed to a DIY model, even if it is strictly for home use. With plate joiners made by these manufacturers, you could generally expect better overall quality and more accurate results.
Durability
Biscuit joiners are pretty simple tools, but they will undergo some heavy use. Make sure that any biscuit joiner you buy can withstand regular heavy use without breaking down or falling apart.
Size Cutter
Always go for a biscuit joiner that gives you the option to cut different-sized slots. You will generally want to go for the largest biscuits that your workpiece will accommodate, but there may be times when you will need to use smaller biscuits.
Power
Your biscuit joiner should have sufficient power to cut through hard, heavy, and dense woods cleanly and efficiently. This is especially important considering that making biscuit joins typically involves cutting into hard and heavy material.
Price
Biscuit joiners are relatively inexpensive but don’t go for the cheapest model you can find. A decent mid-priced model isn’t that much more expensive than the budget options, and they will pay off in terms of better performance, longer life, and useful features.
Who uses a biscuit joiner?
DIY and woodworkers
Biscuit joiners make it possible for even inexperienced DIY’ers to create secure and professional-looking joints with little effort. DIY’ers with limited tools and experience often find it difficult to create seamless joints, with pieces that sit perfectly flush with each other. Biscuit joiners make this a relatively easy task and are well suited to materials such as plywood, chipboard, and particleboard, which many DIY’ers typically work with.
Cabinet makers
Biscuit joiners can be used to make wide boards from separate wooden pieces. They are also useful for creating shelves or multi-paneled cabinets, which often require attaching the edge of a board to a flat surface at a 90° angle. Screws or steel brackets could be used for added strength if the shelf is meant to bear heavy loads.
First, run you, boards, through a quality Dewalt thickness planer, when all the boards are the exact same width, you can use a biscuit joiner set to the same depth on every board for a perfectly aligning join.
How to use a biscuit joiner
As with any power tool, eye protection is a must when using a biscuit joiner. Although you never have to dig deep into the wood, there is still a risk posed by wooden chips and debris flying out and hitting you in the eye. Always use a good pair of safety goggles to prevent injury.
Make sure that your workbench is as flat and as stable as possible. Wobbly workbenches with uneven surfaces could result in misaligned slots, making it difficult or impossible to fit connecting slabs properly.
For added stability, you may even opt to use as many woodworking clamps as necessary to keep the work-piece from moving while you are cutting a slot into it.
If you are sawing out these slabs from a larger piece of wood, make sure your Makita circular saw is sharp enough to cut and create a reasonably nice edge.
The wood slabs you will join together should have straight and smooth edges to ensure a snugger fit. You can use a power planer on the joining edges, to get them smooth and flat using the tools square guide.
Comparison
| Lamello Classic x 101600 | Makita XJP03Z | Makita PJ7000 | DEWALT DW682K | Lamello Zeta-P2 101402S | Festool 574432 | PORTER-CABLE | VonHaus | AOBEN | Gino Development 01-0102 | Triton | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amps: | 6.5 Amps | 18V Cordless | 5.6 Amps | 6.5 Amps | 8.75 Amps | 3.5 Amps | 7 Amps | 8.5 Amps | 8.5 Amps | 8.4 Amps | 6.3 Amps |
| Disk Size: | ? | 4” | 4” | 4” | ? | ? | 4” | 4" | 4” | 4” | 3.94” |
Conclusion
A biscuit joiner can be a handy tool to have in your workshop. If you want to go beyond basic carpentry and woodworking, a good biscuit joiner will allow you to make impressive-looking joints with little effort.
Even if you later opt to explore more sophisticated methods for joining wooden work-pieces, you will continue to find many uses for your biscuit joiner.
Lamello Classic X 101600 review
If you want to get the best biscuit cutter you can, this is recommended over the Festool.
This is better made and cheaper, but the Lamello classic x is still is not a cheap tool.
The Lamello classic can do extremely accurate, clean, and fast cuts for biscuit joining jobs.
It is extremely well made and is a pretty impressive tool at that if you want the very best to forget about Dewalt, Makita, and Festool on this one.
Pros:
- Extremely well made
- Easy to set angles and makes fast and very accurate rebates for biscuit joining
- Made for the serious woodworker
- Cheaper and better made than the Festool
Cons:
- Costs a bit but worth it
#1 Best timber board joiner
Makita PJ7000 review
The Makita PJ7000’s 700-watt motor spins the cutting blade at 11,000 RPM, ensuring smooth and precise cuts.
It has one-touch stop settings for #0, #10, and #20 biscuits, and additional depth settings for other standard biscuit sizes. Blade changes are fast and easy with the built-in shaft locks and clamp screws.
The fence itself is easily adjustable to 0°, 45°, and 90° angles. The PJ7000 also has a rack and pinion vertical fence system that ensures accurate adjustment of the fence.
Pros:
- Six settings for most common biscuit sizes
- One-touch stop settings for #0, #10, and #20 biscuits
- Has a built-in dust bag and rotatable dust nozzle
- A pro brand woodworking tool
Cons:
- Height adjustment label isn’t precise enough for 1/32” or 1/16” increments
- Dust port tends to get blocked up, this is a problem with all cutters
#1 Best Makita plate joiner
Dewalt DW682K review
The DeWalt DW682K is an excellent choice for working with hard and dense woods.
It can make very accurate slots due to the dual rack design combined with a pinion fence.
This system ensures that the blade is positioned correctly and that the fences are perfectly parallel, so you get seamless and accurate joints.
The one-piece fence can be adjusted from 0° to 90°, allowing for a wide variety of cutting depth and angles.
Pros:
- The powerful motor can cut through even the hardest woods
- Extremely accurate due to the dual rack and pinion fence design
- Has a 45° locating notch for working with the outside of mitered joints
- A little more power than the Makita
- Pro brand tool
Cons:
- There is some play in the fence which could cause slots to be slightly off
- Fence adjustment mechanism tends to come off at the highest setting
#1 Best Dewalt biscuit joiner
Makita cordless biscuit joiner review
Six depth settings, including one-touch stops for the most common biscuit sizes.
The Makita XJP03Z is a cordless unit that has enough power to compare to some of the best biscuit joiners on the market.
It has an innovative Star Protection Computer Control system that improves performance and ensures longer battery life.
This system allows for constant monitoring and data exchange between the tool and the battery, preventing overloading, overheating, and over-discharging.
Pros:
- Six cutting depth settings, including one-touch depth, stops for the most common biscuit sizes
- Easy to use and read the angle adjustment dial
- Has Star Protection Computer Control for better performance and longer battery life
- Can make 320 cuts on a single charge
Cons:
- Battery and charger are sold separately
#1 Best cordless biscuit cutter
Festool 574432 review
The Festool 574432 has an easy-to-use depth control that allows for fast and accurate adjustment to any of five mortising depth stops. It has a pivoting fence that allows cutting angled mortises, with a range of 0° to 90°.
There are also positive stops for cutting at 22.5°, 45°, and 67.5°. There is a good range for adjusting the width of the mortise, making it easy to cut along panels seamlessly.
Pros:
- Fast and accurate
- Festool is top of the range pro brand
- Versatile enough to replace several power tools
- The flawless operation ensures that no work-piece goes to waste
Cons:
- Can vibrates noticeably when in use
- Attachments are made of plastic
- Very expensive
#1 Best Festool biscuit cutter
References:
- Biscuit joiner tips, retrieved from, https://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-tips/techniques/joinery/easy-ways-to-use-your-biscuit-joiner?mode=step_by_step
- Dowling vs biscuit joiner opinion, retrieved from, https://www.rockler.com/learn/doweling-vs-biscuit-joints
- Instructions on using a biscuit joiner, retrieved from, https://www.wwgoa.com/article/using-a-biscuit-joiner/#
