April 15, 2015

DIY Tool Tip:  Biscuit Cutter

The biscuit cutter, also known as a biscuit joiner or plate joiner, is a very cool woodworking tool that allows you to join two pieces of wood without any hardware, drilling or nailing required.  

How it works: In the simplest of terms, the biscuit cutter has a small circular saw blade that cuts an identical “crescent-shaped” hole in the two pieces of wood that are to be joined.  Glue is then inserted into the holes. Next, a corresponding size wooden “biscuit” is inserted in the middle, fitting into the hole in each piece of wood.  This joins the two pieces of wood together.

The biscuit cutter method is usually used for joining for sheet-type lumber, such as plywood and particle board, however, it can also be used to join together  pieces of solid wood.

History

“The biscuit joining system was invented in 1956 in Liestal, Switzerland by Hermann Steiner. Steiner opened his carpenter’s shop in 1944 and in the middle of the ’50s, while looking for a simple means of joining the recently-introduced chipboard, invented almost by accident the now world-famous Lamello joining system”. ¹  Lamello still makes a very high-end version of the tool.  Other tool companies, now make less expensive compatible versions of biscuit cutters.

Buying Guide

You can purchase biscuit cutters for anywhere between $60 for a budget model, and upwards of several hundred for a higher-end tool. The wood biscuits themselves come in different standard sizes, the most common being #0, #10, and #20.  The biscuits are relatively inexpensive.

How to Use a Biscuit Cutter

Watch this video, Using a Biscuit Cutter to Attach 2 Pieces of Wood, where we show you the biscuit cutter in action, and exactly how to operate it.

by See Jane Drill, Copyright 2015, All Rights Reserved

¹ Wikipedia, “Biscuit Joiner”