Biscuit Joiner

MachineInfoBox Toolson PRO-DF 860
Synonyms:	DE: Flachdübelfräsmaschine, Flachdübelfräse, Handschlitzfräse, Nutfräse, Lamellofräse
Material:	wood
Used with:	biscuits, wood glue
Access Requirements:	Biscuit Joiner Introduction
Manual:	media.bahag.com
Tutors:	Lukas Pakue
Similar (More or Less):	"Domino" joiner

As mentioned in the Plenum, Sebastian brought in a biscuit joiner.

This tool is very useful for panel glue-ups, where the evenly placed wooden "biscuits" (Flachdübel) make sure the individual boards' surfaces stay aligned. This is especially useful if your clamps would push the boards in different directions, e.g. when the outer edges are not parallel to the one you want to glue.

biscuits may help direct the clamping force how you intended

The biscuits are made of compressed wood fibers and are supposed to swell up when moistened with wood glue, resulting in a tighter fit inside their grooves. However, keep in mind that they are only meant to help with alignment and the actual strength of the glue joint will depend on the edge quality of the board! Using a jointer is always a good first step.

Example

In this example, two small boards have been used as a test / demonstration for the biscuit joiner:

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  Four grooves made with the joiner are visible, one has a biscuit inserted.

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  Imagine lots of wood glue on the flat side and inside the grooves...

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  This picture shows how the biscuit helps with keeping the boards flat during assembly (ignore the grooves in the foreground).