Understanding Biscuit and Pocket-Hole Joinery

As craftsmen build furniture and cabinets the question of joinery methods hangs over the heads of many professionals – each of them striving to achieve the perfect joint. For strength, durability, and speed, there are many techniques of Makita wood joinery to choose from. The popular methods of biscuit, or plate joinery, and pocket-hole joinery provide powerfully strong joints in simple and reliable processes. Each technique provides their own set of features to form your joints better.

Biscuit or plate joinery involves the insertion of a biscuit into an oval, or crescent shaped slot that is cut into opposite edges of two pieces of wood. Biscuits are pre-cut, oval-shaped pieces of compressed wood that range in size from 1/2in to 2-1/4in in length. There are also biscuits available in plastic, aluminum, and steel for special applications, generally however, wood biscuits are the most prominently used. Biscuits (dabbed with glue) are inserted into specially cut slots in the wood that are shaped identically to the biscuit, the two pieces of wood are clamped together to set, and thus form a strong, durable joint. The biscuits also tend to soak up the glue applied to them before insertion which causes them to swell and make the joint tighter, and stronger. Porter Cable, DEWALT, and Makita each offer high quality plate joiners with unique, and individual features to help meet your needs, and build your joints better.

Porter Cable offers a Deluxe Plate Joiner Kit with a powerful 7.5 amps and 10,000 rpm. This joiner has many features that simplify the joining process, including: a precise micro height-adjustment knob to keep biscuits exactly centered, and a 1in O.D. (outer diameter) dust port that works with standard bags or can simply hook up to a vacuum. The DW682K has a fence tilt of 0 to135 degrees with a positive adjustable stop at 90 degrees; additionally, the bale handle is attached to the fence (rather than the motor) for increased stability and control while cutting. The joiner also has a lock-on trigger for continual use and a supremely accurate (at any angle) hight scale to precisely measure positions. Porter Cable’s plate joiner has seven-position rotating depth stop to accommodate a variety of biscuit sizes and depths, and a spindle lock mechanism for simple blade changes. For standard and face-frame biscuits, Porter Cable’s Deluxe Plate Joiner Kit includes both 2in and 4in diameter blades. The kit also includes a centering plate, dust bag, a chip deflector, allen wrench, and a carrying case for portability and convenience.