Fine Furniture with Biscuit Joints
For much better results, anchor the tool, not the workpiece
Synopsis: Are you biased against biscuits? It might be time to take another look. Michael Fortune has, and he’s learned that they are great for joining the rails and stiles of a face frame, attaching a solid-wood frame around a veneered panel, tabletop, or door, joining a leg to a veneered panel, and other uses. Biscuits also let him build adventurous furniture that would be difficult with traditional joinery. Wait, you argue: Biscuit joiners are inaccurate, they jerk sideways when you start a cut, and they jump around when you’re trying to use them. You need to try Fortune’s solution, and attach your joiner to a shopmade table. It might just change your attitude about biscuit joints.
If you ask a furniture maker about joinery for fine furniture, you’re sure to hear about dovetails, mortises, tenons, dadoes, and even rabbets. But I’d be surprised if biscuits were…
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Comments
Really good article; I've never seen anyone clamp down the biscuit joiner, but it seems like a really good idea. One thing Michael didn't mention when outlining best uses of a biscuit joiner — the one it seems designed for — is edge-gluing boards to make wide panels. This has saved me endless time in the shop, since it's a great solution to align boards simultaneously and yields a perfectly coplanar surface.
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