Wooden biscuits
They say that the more you try, the more you learn. That is certainly true of all things DIY where any project I tackle involves an enormous amount of effort and consideration to complete. Once completed, it is inevitable that one will find a better solution should a similar project have to be repeated.
General joinery of wooden boards to make cupboards is a task that I’ve generally completed using countersunk screws and an inordinate amount of measuring and clamping to get joins as seamless as possible. It’s not a bad solution, but hardly aesthetically pleasing, as screw heads need to be painted or covered to make them invisible. Take my advice on this then: if you are considering any project that involves joining wooden boards together, go for the biscuit! The wooden biscuit, that is.
To fit boards together using these rather simple wooden plates, you’ll need a joint maker. Professional joint making machines cost upward of R4000, but I found a rather good deal on a Ryobi CJM-100 for just under R1000. Given my level of expertise and ability, such a low cost power tool is just the ticket and does everything I require.
The Ryobi has a 750W motor and an adjustable gate with clearly marked measurements for setting the cutting height. A convenient screw adjustment allows selection of three common biscuit sizes (0, 10 and 20). This directly affects the depth to which the notch is cut into the workpiece. A dust bag helps by trapping as much of the wooden debris as possible, but it is inevitable that wooden dust particles will end up all over the show.
The gate height is adjustable from 5mm to about 30mm, but care needs to be taken that both sides match up. Shifting the gate to the desired height is not easy, as the screws holding the gate to the frame of the tool are rather tight. Once set, there should be no reason to move them unless the thickness of the workpiece changes. That’s one advantage. Fine adjustments to the cutting depth can be made and the replacement of the blade is not overly complicated. The angle of the platform may be set to cater for angles between 0 and 135 degrees. I dare not venture above or beyond 90…
Using a joint maker is incredibly easy: mark the desired locations for the joining plates, always bearing in mind that one side is to and the other bottom. That’s important due to the difficulty of aligning the blade to the exact centre of the workpiece. If you always think of one side of the work piece as the top, your ok provided you remember to do the same for the piece to be joined. Carpenter’s rule: measure twice, cut once! In this case, use a spare piece of wood to practice and mark accordingly, then cut and test fit. If it works as it should, you have a template to refer to. Things can be confusing if you are working with woods of different types that have to be mounted in a specific orientation. After the test fit, slop some wood glue into the joints, set the biscuits and assemble.
Best of all, the joints on a new set of cupboards manufactured over the weekend are just as they should be: without hints or traces of visible physical manipulation.
