Replies

1. 
   UncleDunc | Feb 15, 2004 09:00pm | #1

   No. There's no moisture in epoxy for the biscuits to absorb.

2. 
   TomMGTC | Feb 15, 2004 09:13pm | #2

   Why not do the glue up in a couple of steps. Use white glue and do four pieces at a time.

   Tom

   Douglasville, GA

3. 
   ChipTam | Feb 15, 2004 10:13pm | #3

   Ron,

   If I understand your question correctly I'm not sure I see any advantage to using biscuits in this application.  I would just go ahead and do the glue-up using epoxy.  You should have plenty of time to align the pieces without having to use biscuits.

   In answer to your specific question, I do think (but am not sure) that biscuits and epoxy will work together.  I once built a series of small boxes using mock finger joints.  The first step was to cut the miters at the corners.  I wasn't sure that a simple miter (butt) joint and glue would hold the box together until the mock fingers could be cut and installed.  So, I used biscuits and epoxy to reinforce the joint.  I didn't want the box flying apart on the table saw as the mock fingers were cut.  Now, the boxes only depended on the biscuit joint for a few days but there was no way those boxes were coming apart with just the biscuit joint and epoxy.

   Chip

4. 
   jvs | Feb 16, 2004 01:26am | #4

   Sort of. Mechanically, they will still work to align things during the glue-up, but as UD says, they won't expand. If they are just an alignment aid, this doesn't matter a bit, and while the epoxy joint won't really be reinforced in any significant way, it shouldn't need it. One thing to be careful of with epoxy is that it needs a minimum glueline in the multiple thousandths (a couple of sheets of bond paper) for full strength. If you clamp too tightly with perfectly jointed edges, it will squeeze the boards too close for maximum strength, and the joints become very weak (thanks, Eddie...). The manufacturer of your epoxy should be able to provide more detail and the exact measurement for the minimum gap--especially for a bench that will take some occasional beating, it is worth looking up.

   /jvs

5. 
   jako17 | Feb 16, 2004 04:02pm | #5

   The biscuits will help the alignment and dont have to swell as epoxy is gap filling without a loss of strength.As posted watch the clamp pressure and also the preaction time with regard to thin films.Check info from manufacturers 

1. 
   RonInOttawa | Feb 16, 2004 05:50pm | #6

   Thanks for all the good advice! My concerns about alignment stem from cutting numerous 6' straight strips of maple then having them move out of square before I get the chance to get the clamps in place. I thought that perhaps using biscuits would help this aspect of putting the pieces together.

   I still intend to use biscuits, and I will take the advice to go slowly, gluing up only 4 strips at a time. I will also be careful with the clamping pressure.

   Thanks again for the help!

   Regards,

   Ron

6. 
   Scrit | Feb 17, 2004 09:12am | #7

   Ron

   Biscuits can help with alignment. Lamello makes a plain plastic biscuit which is designed for alignment in Corian, whilst there are a at least couple of firms who make knock-in friction-fit plastic biscuits (they have barbs on the sides) for alignment in timber. As stated elsewhere in this thread conventional biscuits are designed to swell and lock in place in contact with water-based glues.

   Scrit