Budget biscuit jointers?

[chunkolini]

Aye, webby is right, what did Flanajb go for in the end?

 

[Webby]

Aye, webby is right, what did Flanajb go for in the end?

Curious so bumped :mrgreen:

 

[Saxwood]

Love the Atlas Copco, absolute bargain

 

[pswallace]

I have the SIP biscuit jointer and it seems ok,it leaves A small bit of feathering at the right hand side of the slot but for £50 I'm happy. I was going to post A question asking about adding A better blade (cmt) to A cheep biscuit jointer then seen this thread...Anybody any advise?

 

[Shane]

I put a freud blade in mine, cuts well

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

Makita 3901, great bit'o kit IMHO. Got mine for £90 off the Bay. Just keep a look out for ones that are finishing in the middle of the day (if you can) and I'm sure you'll be able to get one for around that price point.

Cheers _Dan

 

[Bremner]

Has anybody used the Clarke BJ600 and can compare it to the DeWalt or Makita would be nice to see hear from someone who has used them all. Wish I'd have read this thread last week though, had a VAT free voucher for machine mart

 

[jaywhoopee]

I will add don't touch the Wickes one. The depth stop keeps slipping.

The demo one in my local Wickes is falling apart after only a couple of months of display. There's a sprung button on the side that popped out and fell off when I picked it up (spindle lock?) so I steered clear.

I came to the conclusion that to get something that didn't feel cheap and nasty I'd have to spend a lot more, so in the end I changed my plans to use dowels and rebates/housing joints.

 

[MikeJhn]

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I would resurrect it rather than start a new one as it does have some good information on the previous pages and things have moved on since the last post.

From the recent reviews I have read, the Porter Cable 557 seems to win out over all the others (including DeWalt and Makita) by virtue of its excellent fence, looking at other budget jointers the same fence now seems to be used by some of the very inexpensive jointers, namely the Silverline, SIP and Neilson, all available for under £50.00 with free delivery, anyone any experience of these?

Mike

 

[damo8604]

member15177.html This chap was selling a SIP 07904 last month I don't know if he's moved it on yet but it might be worth dropping him an email or PM

*Edit - Please ignore, didn't realise it was a resurrected post

 

[MikeJhn]

Thanks for the reply anyway, I have done exactly the same on many occasions. LOL

Mike

 

[Eric The Viking]

You won't get Porter Cable here easily - USA brand (and 120V).

I don't do much biscuiting, but I've found cheap solutions to be frustrating. I now have a Makita, which I really like (the other good brands are almost certainly are every bit as good, and some are indeed better). There's a lot of direct copying out there, so just because the cheap stuff looks the same doesn't mean it's well machined, and that's everything in a BJ - you need smooth action and accuracy.

Don't over-rate that complicated fence system either. There's an auxiliary fence for the Makita (and similar designs) that gets you the acute angles, and anyway reinforcing some mitres with a biscuit leads to an unnecessarily weak joint, compared to say dowelling, or using the jointer to cut slots for keys, either visible or at the back in picture frames, etc.

You can do long loose tenon joints, too, by using the jointer to cut slots. On mine you just pop oout the rubber strip that normally makes it grippy, so it can slide along the stock. The minimum groove thickness is 4mm, but you can open it out with more than one pass. I have skirtings to plant stuff on at the moment, and I'm undecided whether to use a line of biscuits or one, long loose tenon. It'll be the biscuit jointer either way.

 

[MikeJhn]

Erice

Amazon have the Porter Cable available for $199.00 with free postage from the US, total cost including import duty works out at under £200.00 if anyone is interested in getting a 110V devise, I already use 110V in the workshop so it is an option fro me.

I do understand everything else you have said, but that is why I asked the question in the first place to see if anyone has experience of the jointers mentioned, have a look yourself, they all look exactly the same, not just similar, even to the 135deg fence angle, something the Makita and DeWalt do not do, the folding front fence looks very convenient rather than having to attach another piece of gear you can't find in the workshop. LOL

Please don't forget the title of this thread, "Budget" not main stream, or even mid stream.

Mike

 

[Eric The Viking]

Fine. Glad you're sorted.

 

[MikeJhn]

Sorry do not understand your last post, but have you looked at these product as I suggested?

Does anyone have any information on the SIP, Silverline or Neilson Biscuit jointers as per my first post, they do seem to be of the same ilk as the Porter Cabin Product, I would like some first hand experience from someone if possible, without diverging into other areas that are not Budget items.

Thanks in advance.
Mike

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Porter Cabin biscuit joiners? Never heard of them.

 

[MikeJhn]

Porter Cabin they are a bit like a pre-fab if your old enough to remember them. LOL

Mike

 

[Peter Sefton]

I picked up a second hand Fern for about £15 hardly used. It works OK but does clog up still at £15 it's a bargain and works.

Cheers Peter

 

[misterfish]

I've had an old white Axminster buscuit jointer for some years. It took some fettling when I got it to get one of the fence clamps to grip without slipping and I have to be very careful to make sure the fence is actually parallel to the blade.. Also its extraction is a joke nearly always blocking. I wouldn't recommend it even as a used purchase but with some care it does a reasonable job.

Misterfish

 

[MikeJhn]

Thanks guys, it seems that the extraction on even the expensive ones are a bit of a joke and need a shop vacuum attached to them to take any debris away, I will not be surprised if I have to fettle with whatever I eventually buy, at the price point we are looking at its not going to be a Lamello, even second hand.

Mike