Plywood biscuits ?

[recipio]

Are these out of production ? I was converted to them at one of the shows in London when the demonstrator kept snapping the Lamello biscuits by hand then invited the punters to snap the plywood version - no chance of course. Can't seem to find them anywhere.

 

[powertools]

I have been using Silverline ones that are ply wood.
It has been a while since I purchased any but on line listings all say they are made of compressed laminated hardwood so I assume that is plywood and they are still the same as the ones I have.

 

[JobandKnock]

The name I associate with these is Tanselli. Haven't seen them for more than a decade, now, though

 

[Inspector]

I have the standard biscuits and have never broken one along the length of the biscuit once glued in place, so can't see how plywood ones would be any stronger. Snapping the standard biscuit along the diagonal was just a showman's trick to get you to buy.

Pete

 

[recipio]

I have the standard biscuits and have never broken one along the length of the biscuit once glued in place, so can't see how plywood ones would be any stronger. Snapping the standard biscuit along the diagonal was just a showman's trick to get you to buy.

Pete

Thanks all.
I agree and it worked ! Its been so long since I ordered them I forgot the Tanselli name. Silverline seem a reasonable option. I have some 9 mm ply to join and I wondered if the plywood biscuits would prevent 'telegraphing' of the biscuit in such thin material. Any thoughts ?

 

[Inspector]

I have never joined plywood that thin before so can't even say if offsetting would help. A non-swelling glue like epoxy rather than water based glue that swells the biscuit might work better. I would experiment some and see.
Once upon a time Ryobi marketed a detail mini biscuit joiner that used biscuits 25 x 12 x 2mm (there are 2 smaller sizes) that were great for small projects. They didn't catch on, probably since the were a lower end tool but they work well and would probably not telegraph in your project. If they ever sold them in the UK you might find one on eBay.

Pete

 

[JobandKnock]

They weren't the only ones, Lamello used to do a small biscuit, but it did require a special, smaller diameter cutter

 

[Inspector]

Curious, were the biscuits thinner too? Or the same thickness as the standard?

Pete

 

[powertools]

I have the standard biscuits and have never broken one along the length of the biscuit once glued in place, so can't see how plywood ones would be any stronger. Snapping the standard biscuit along the diagonal was just a showman's trick to get you to buy.

Pete

The reason I like to use them is not for extra strength but they are all of a consistent thickness unlike the solid wood ones I have used in the past.

 

[JobandKnock]

Curious, were the biscuits thinner too? Or the same thickness as the standard?

I seem to recall that they were a bit thinner (3mm or 3.2mm, maybe?)

Edit: Just checked on Axminster - they are called H-9 biscuits, they are 3mm thick and are still available, which means the special cutter is still on the market, too. Lamello machines have an "H" depth setting for them

 

[Inspector]

Thanks. My Lamello is older (early 80s) and doesn't have that setting, just the 0,10 & 20. The regular biscuits are about 4mm according to my calliper so the H-9 is in the middle of the large Ryobi ones and the 0 Lamellos.

Pete

 

[Nelly111s]

Thanks all.
I agree and it worked ! Its been so long since I ordered them I forgot the Tanselli name. Silverline seem a reasonable option. I have some 9 mm ply to join and I wondered if the plywood biscuits would prevent 'telegraphing' of the biscuit in such thin material. Any thoughts ?

Can you not try with a piece of ply rather than a specific biscuit? I jointed an olive wood worktop with 6mm ply loose tenons rather than biscuits. I needed to get marine ply to make sure that 6mm ply was 6mm and not 5.2mm and then a 6mm groover in the router.
You could try with a few ply offcuts to see if you can “see the join”.

 

[TheTiddles]

Using ply as a loose tennon/tongue is a technique as old as ply is, it’s very effective.

making laminated biscuits that don’t swell , what’s the point? Ordinary biscuits seems pretty strong to me, if I have to smash apart something with biscuits in it’s usually the material around the biscuit that yields, not the biscuit