What biscuit joiner????????????

[bramers]

i dont want to spend a lot at all screwfix are doing a ferm for 25 quid, i am tempted but i have heard that it is insccurate to 1mm. but then others say it is fine????

what to do or any good links? also what the drapper like?

 

[Waka]

Bramers

Like the Clifton and Xcalibar save up and get a decent Biscuit Jointer, you won't regret it and it will last you a lifetime. My recommendation would be the Porta cable, but there are some out there who say the lamello's a good machine, mind you they are both pricey.

 

[Scrit]

Just to be bl**dy awkward I have two. A Mafell LNF19 (earlier version of the current LNF20) This is very similar to the AEG/Atlas-Copco - Mafell makes the front end for AEG/Atlas.

Why the Mafell? Apart from the fact that it's really well made and finished. it's one of the very few biscuit jointers with a turret depth stop like a plunge router. This means that the thickness setting can be preset for a project where you are using/jointing say 12, 18 and 25mm thick materials and changing thicknesses is then just a case of loosening the plate, flipping the stop round then resetting and tightening again. Can't think of anyone else's machine that does that.

The other machine is an old Elu DS140 (not called a deWalt DW685). An offbeat machine but good in its own right. One of the few biscuit jointers you can use to saw a groove for hardboard (3.2mm) backs - the fence means it works like a saw. That also means that you can biscuit joint up to about 4in in from the edge of a piece (also unique). It's last trick is the ability it has to be used instead of a flooring saw when installing laminate floor - it has the ability to cut shadow joints in skirtings, etc. It hasn't got the depth of a true flooring saw, but have you ween the price of one of those. The main limiting pactor is that it's not as good for mitred corners. But who does many of those? (and there are other techniques for that)

I'd keep away from cheap ones. They don't last and aren't accurate.

Sorry, but I don't like the P-C, either. I reckon the opening ion the front is a bit big for some of the work I do. I also reckon the deWalt DW682 has a flimsy fence that seems to rack on some of the ones I've seen

Now I've displayed my bias, I'll get my coat.... :lol:

Scrit

 

[LyNx]

at the stage your at, don't spend loads. I use the beast you can get but at home i have the £25 machine. You don;t need to fork out loads as you won;t get any return on it. Buy cheap until you know how to use it and know what you need. To many people will tell you that you need it, but you don't!!!!!!!!!!!

Andy

 

[ikd]

My £25 Ferm busicuit jointer is probably one of my best purchases (for the money). If I win the lottery I might buy a Lamello :shock:

 

[DomValente]

Wait and buy right, I have the Lamello and an old AEG both excellent machines. As has already been said you can probably live without for a while. There are many ways to overcome their use and will give you a better idea of how to work your timber

Dom

 

[PowerTool]

I have the Ferm as well - it's fine for the money,and for the three or four projects a year I use it for.
As a DIY user of power tools I tend to buy cheaper tools to start with,then upgrade the ones that I find I use most.

Yes,it would be great to have top-of-the-range everything,but unless you are using them for your livelihood,then I would go for cheaper (but not necessarily cheapest :wink: )

Andrew

 

[Paul Chapman]

Like Scrit, I have the Elu DS140. It's a fabulous machine and very accurate and dependable. As I see it the benefits of using a biscuit jointer are its simplicity, speed of use and its accuracy. I don't think I would be happy with a biscuit jointer that didn't consistently produce accurate work.

Paul

 

[Scrit]

If I understand it right Brammers is training to go into the trades, surely, therefore his tools need to be of trades quality. As Ruskin said "There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse cannot make a little cheaper and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.

Scrit

 

[LyNx]

If I understand it right Brammers is training to go into the trades, surely, therefore his tools need to be of trades quality.
Scrit

At the age of 16??????? i don't think he needs trade quality tools until he understands how to use them or realises that he needs them.

I wouldn't waste the money, save it for other things

Andy

 

[luthier49]

I bought a biscuit jointer from Screwfix a week ago, the Erbauer ERB900 £49.95 specially to use on my latest project, a long case clock. I did`t want to spend too much money on one because I`m mostly hooked on making musical stringed instruments now. I`ve found this tool to be a very good buy indeed. I`ve used it for a week now for jointing boards with number 20 biscuits and it`s very accurate. All my boards jointed with the face sides being absolutely flush. I just took pot luck at a cheapish biscuit jointer and came up trumps. Well pleased.

 

[bramers]

thank you so much, i just came on here to ask about the eraubar one it looks good, i just read in a tool mag that eraubar stuff is not bad. i think it would be a good start for me.
dont you think?

 

[Scrit]

At the age of 16??????? i don't think he needs trade quality tools until he understands how to use them or realises that he needs them.
I wouldn't waste the money, save it for other things

Ermmm..... Well he's stated that he's doing woodworking at college, presumably NVQ 1 or Foundation Level. In 3 years time that puts him in work and if he buys a cheapie now he'll probably end up replacing it within a year of starting trade work. When I started doing trade stuff all my DIY tools seemed to expire in that first year of working, so..... Over the last 25 years or so there have been very few significantly improved machines over the Steiner Lamellos of the 1970s - the Elu was a patent avoidance design and was in many ways innnovative and unique, and in any case Elu's quality was spot on in those days. The only machine to appear in the last 10 years with the same quality as the Lamellos or Elus and with something new to bring to the party has been the Mafell and its derivatives, and even then the changes weren't significant. So a good biscuit jointer bought today could be expected to last 12 to 15 years, or maybe more (my Mafell is about 8 years old).

I'd therefore say that money spent on good tools is never wasted. My DS140 is now over 20 years old (bought 1980 or 81), passes it's PAT test every time and still works and you can still get spares for it (BTW, that includes two house renovations and about 8 to 9 years of trade use). The fact that this machine can do double duty (for laminate flooring) increases its' worth in any toolkit. Buying too cheaply never pays in my experience - I'd rather do without than buy stuff which won't last. But then I don't believe in a throw away society, either.

So maybe I should have said "If you want a tool which will not go phut! within 3 months of starting work......." :?

Scrit

 

[johnelliott]

Buying decent tools is always the best way to go.
In the current context though, I say the young gentleman should buy the Erbauer and learn how to use it. He's not in the trade yet, and presumably doesn't have the kind of purchasing power that a full time professional has. So he can dream about having a pro machine or he can buy a cheaper machine that already has one positive vote and start using it

John

 

[bramers]

if you havent seen my other posts i am going to but a sip or an erauber biscuiter but what one i am stuck in the middle??????????????????????

 

[PowerTool]

If you are down to a choice of the two,I would err on the side of whichever one has a dealer local to you.
For instance,I have bought a reasonable amount of workshop machinery from Machine Mart - other places may have been five or ten pounds cheaper,but you then have to consider postage or transport costs,and I like to be able to walk in to the shop and pick things up before I buy them (also,the only problem I have ever had with anything from MM was resolved with an instant,no-question replacement)
The opening hours suit me,and local shop is less than five minutes away.

Andrew