Biscuits are a good alternative when edge joining boards particul,arly because they help align the boards so that the edge seam fits very closely. The biscuits also provide added strength to the joint because they increase the area of gluer surface but usually that added strength isn't needed. The area along the edges of the boards usually provides sufficient glue area.
There's a new tool that's being introduced in a month or so from Festool called the Domino which will cut biscuits shaped like smaller mortises. The mortises are cut because the cutterhead oscillates to produce the deeper straight cut of the mortise. The Domino comes with precut strips of wood that serve as floating tenons and which are sized to fit those mortises exactly. The tool appears to be a fabulous improvement and is one of the few really new and imaginative concepts, but, unfortunately, it's very expensive. The tool with one cutterhead is projected to cost $700 and an additional $200 to buy different sized cutterheads. -- Larry Martin Woodworking for the Blind --joining the world of blind wood workers -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: "Dale Leavens" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > I don't know that they are particularly better however they are a little > more forgiving. > > The cutter is a blade maybe 3 16th wide which pushes out through a slot into > the edge of the boards to be joined. There are a few sizes so you can adjust > the depth of cut and it cuts an arc shape. There is something of a fence > which can be adjusted to set the distance up or down so the faces line up. > This fence can be hinged up or down to form an angle which permits you to > use them to join boards on angles. > > If I need I lay my boards up then stick tape across the joint at intervals > then cut the tape with a sharp blade using the edge of the tape as a point > to line up the cutter index mark on. I find this much quicker and more > accurate than fiddling with dowel jigging and absolutely vertical holes but > then I am a bit on the lazy side. > > For an outdoor project like that though it isn't usually good to use wide > boards laminated or otherwise because of the widely changing climatic > conditions. Even a very small gap will permit movement of the boards. > > Certainly I do use biscuits for outdoor joinery with water resistant glue, I > have many edging beds here made of a 2 by 8 pressure treated board with a 2 > by 6 on edge to form a nice boarder for mowing the lawn, keeps the trimming > down and produces a slight raised bed and helps keep blind feet out of the > gardens.In this application though the boards can swell out in opposite > directions away from the joinery. I also used good long screws when I > discovered that even good exterior glue isn't fail safe. > > Hope this helps. > > > Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Skype DaleLeavens > Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "John Schwery" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 7:35 PM > Subject: biscuits, was: Re: [BlindHandyMan] outdoor folding table? > > > > Dale, thanks. I have never worked with biscuits as I don't have a > > cutter. Are these better than dowels and are they hard to use? > > > > earlier, Dale Leavens, wrote: > > > >>Hi John, > >> > >>I think I would just screw the planks together from underneath with the > >>transverse boards you intend to attach the folding legs to. I would also > >>leave a very small gap between the planks to allow for movement in the > >>wood > >>in the outdoor environment. > >> > >>If you do intend to laminate them together on the edges you need very good > >>edges, true and straight It doesn't matter much which joining method you > >>use > >>though, I would probably use biscuits since I have a cutter however the > >>wider you form a board the more it will want to expand width wise. If you > >>do > >>this you will also want to elongate the screws holes that hold the > >>transverse pieces to the table top so they can slide a little to allow for > >>movement in that wide panel otherwise it will either crack or cup or > >>probably both. > >> > >>Hope this gives you some ideas. > >> > >>Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada > >><mailto:DLeavens%40puc.net>[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >>Skype DaleLeavens > >>Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. > >> > >>----- Original Message ----- > >>From: "John Schwery" <<mailto:jschwery%40runbox.com>[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >>To: > >><<mailto:blindhandyman%40yahoogroups.com>blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com> > >>Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 3:40 PM > >>Subject: [BlindHandyMan] outdoor folding table? > >> > >> >I would like your ideas on a folding table. I want to make a folding > >> > table for a sort of outdoor work bench. I bought the legs from > >> > harbor Freight. They are similar to what you might see on tables for > >> > church and school meals. I thought of making the top from 1 by 12 > >> > wood, about 5 feet long and 2 feet wide, with a cross piece under > >> > each end to support the 2 vertical pieces and for fastening the > >> > legs. What sort of joint would be best for vertical boards, 2 1 by 5 > >> > pieces joined side by side? Should I use dowels, tongue and groove > >> > or something else? If I use tongue and groove, what should be the > >> > width of the tongue? Will I need any cross pieces in the > >> > middle? About the heaviest thing I might have on it would be my > >> > router table and router. > >> > > >> > John > >> > > >> > > >> > -- > >> > No virus found in this outgoing message. > >> > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > >> > Version: 7.5.441 / Virus Database: 268.17.39/687 - Release Date: > >> > 2/14/2007 > >> > 4:17 PM > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > To listen to the show archives go to link > >> > <http://acbradio.org/handyman.html>http://acbradio.org/handyman.html > >> > or > >> > > >> > <ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/>ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbra > dio-archives/handyman/ > >> > > >> > The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. > >> > > >> > <http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday>http://www.acbradio.o > rg/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday > >> > > >> > The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. > >> > > >> > <http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml>http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingind > ark/main.xml > >> > > >> > Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From > >> > Various > >> > List Members At The Following address: > >> > <http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/>http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ > >> > > >> > Visit the new archives page at the following address > >> > > >> > <http://www.mail-archive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/>http://www.mail-arch > ive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/ > >> > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man > >> > list just send a blank message to: > >> > > >> > <mailto:blindhandyman-help%40yahoogroups.com>[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> > Yahoo! Groups Links > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > -- > >> > No virus found in this incoming message. > >> > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > >> > Version: 7.1.411 / Virus Database: 268.17.39/687 - Release Date: > >> > 14/02/2007 > >> > > >> > > >> > >> > >> > >>No virus found in this incoming message. > >>Checked by AVG Free Edition. > >>Version: 7.5.441 / Virus Database: 268.17.39/687 - Release Date: > >>2/14/2007 4:17 PM > > > > John > > > > > > -- > > No virus found in this outgoing message. > > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > Version: 7.5.441 / Virus Database: 268.17.39/687 - Release Date: 2/14/2007 > > 4:17 PM > > > > > > > > > > To listen to the show archives go to link > > http://acbradio.org/handyman.html > > or > > ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ > > > > The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. > > http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday > > > > The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. > > http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml > > > > Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various > > List Members At The Following address: > > http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ > > > > Visit the new archives page at the following address > > http://www.mail-archive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/ > > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man > > list just send a blank message to: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > No virus found in this incoming message. > > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > Version: 7.1.411 / Virus Database: 268.17.39/687 - Release Date: > > 14/02/2007 > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the new archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/