the approximate width of a #20 biscuit so
that you'll know where the edge of the
blade is and can prevent breakthrough. To
avoid breaking through the workpiece,
align the shoe so that neither outside mark
extends beyond the end of the workpiece.
If either side does, there is a good chance
that the blade will break through the
surface and ruin your work.
FIG 10
Vacuum hose connection
6. DUST EXTRACTION
There are two options provided for
collecting dust from your plate joiner as
described below.
A. Dust Adaptor (See Figure 10)
This attachment, when inserted as
described above, allows the use of
several common sizes of vacuum hose
to be attached for direct vacuum pick-
up of the dust.
FIG 11
B. Dust Bag (See Figure 11)
The dust bag provided fits snugly over
the dust adaptor described above. To
empty the bag, open the zipper
underneath and dump dust out.
NOTE: When the bag becomes full, the
dust will back-up into the adaptor and the
exhaust port on the right rear of the tool. To
clean out, turn off and unplug the tool and
remove packed dust. The bag will hold the
dust generated from approximately 70 to
100 #20 biscuit cuts before filling up.
GENERAL OPERATION
Plate joiners are primarily used for making
cabinetry and furniture, joining millwork or
other similar applications where a strong,
accurate joint is required in wood or wood
byproducts. There are literally hundreds of
variations of joints that can be made with
your Plate Joiner. We will limit our
discussion to six basic joints (see appli-
cation section) that can be used to build on
and adapt to your own applications.
The following are some basic set-up steps
that will apply to all biscuit joints.
1. BISCUIT SIZE SELECTION
As mentioned earlier, the three biscuit
sizes are #0, #10 and #20. It is a good
rule of thumb to use the largest biscuit
size that will physically fit in the
application. Unless you are joining narrow
face or picture frames or using 1/2" or
thinner stock, you will find the #20 biscuit
size to suit most applications. After
selecting the biscuit size, set the depth
adjustment knob to the corresponding size
(see Controls section). Also, be sure the
fine depth adjustment is correctly set by
first testing in a scrap piece. This is
extremely important as you do not want to
discover during glue-up that your biscuit
slots are not quite deep enough.
FIG 12
FIG 13
1" or greater stock thickness
7
Protruding biscuit
end (Trim off with
saw and sand
smooth)