More biscuits......

[MorePowerMatt]

I think I am going with the DeWalt biscuit joiner. However, at the stores, etc., I only see Porter Cable biscuits. Wasssupwitdat????

Can I use the ready available Porter Cable biscuits with the DeWalt cutters, or do I need the DeWalt biscuits?

Matt

Biscuits and honey. Always a good combo.

[rburkett1]

You can use the PC biscuits. (with honey OR gravy)

Ron

http://basecamp-1.com/ronsworld/woodwork/projects.htm

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it"
- Henry Ford

[MorePowerMatt]

Thanks.

I'll use them and the DeWalt biscuits if I can ever find them.

Matt

Ummmmmmmm..... Biscuits....

[TDHofstetter]

Uh...

Brand-name biscuits. That's something I REFUSE to understand. Biscuits are sold in standard sizes, regardless of brand - they're probably all made my the Tai Ching Bis Kit factory, and sold under various labels so the labelers can get their share of the profits. A #1 biscuit with any brand name should fit a #1 slot cut by any biscuiter in the world, period - unless it's taken on water & swollen in which case it needs to be dried out before it's used.

A rose by any other name... :)

Oh, except BisQuick biscuits. They're INSTANT. :) Can't count doggie choppercleaners, either, or British biscuits (which are "cookies" to us Merry Cans), and are probably metric to boot, like with size 2.35. :)

-- Tim --

Lesson: An aptitude adjustment.

[MorePowerMatt]

Someone in another thread said that there are special Ryobi biscuits for use with the Ryobi biscuiter's wider slot. (Maby this is a mask for poor runout characteristics. I don't know. I'm not buying the Ryobi biscuiter anyway.)

Because of this, I thought that Porter Cable biscuits were sized for PC slots, etc.

Matt

Learned something new today.

[deathwish2]

Are you sure they didn't mean the 'special' biscuits for the Ryobi 'Detail' Biscuit Joiner (mini-biscuits)?

[Cody Colston]

Matt,

I've got the Ryobi detail biscuit joiner which takes a different, smaller biscuit than regular. I use the PC biscuits with my Dewalt biscuit joiner because I like the plastic canisters that the PC biscuits come in.

None of the biscuits in any given package, regardless of manufacturer, will fit with the identical snugness. There is just not that much QC possible with a piece of pressed beechwood.

One magazine article that I read once advocated test-fitting all of the biscuits from each package and separating them into 3 lots - loose, snug, tight. Supposedly that would help ensure easier fitting/glue-up. When more slop was necessary for alignment, use a loose biscuit. When you want the tolerance to be minimal, use the tight biscuit. Then use the snug for everything else.

Sounded like a lot of work for little benefit to me, but thought I would mention it. You are an avowed perfectionist, so maybe it's right up your alley. :)

Cody

[ol]The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline[/ol]

[deathwish2]

True about the 'variety' in the sizing of the biscuits . . . I had read a similar thing to what you had (about sorting) so I used my dial caliper and found that the biscuits (P-C brand) varied in size from about .148' to .164". I did read about the 'slop' in the Ryobi Biscuit joiners . . . but I cant feel any motion in the arbor. When I checked out the blade itself, I found that it was a bit 'sloppy' as to the teeth . . . a couple actually looked like they were on crooked . . . I ground the real bad ones down a bit and then lapped the whole thing on my 'scary' setup . . . better than new now ;)

[MorePowerMatt]

That's a good idea. Can you let us know how it does now that you've lapped the cutter? Are they slots still loose or are they close to the size of the biscuit?

Cody,

I may try sorting the biscuits like that. Or O may just slap 'em in there like the guys who taught me how to use a biscuiter did. :)

Matt

Co-president of the Anti-Nanny Filter League.

[deathwish2]

It's definintely tighter . . . I don't know that the teeth are all in perfect alignment on the blade, and with the blade's plate, but, if there is any 'slop' in the arbor, I have made up for it with the narrower kerf.

I didn't go so far as to sort my biscuits though. ;)