Making The Cut - Craftsman professional PLATE JOINER 900.277303 Manual Del Operador

2. BISCUIT LOCATION AND LAYOUT
Generally, biscuits may be spaced and
located at your discretion. For edge joints, a
good rule of thumb is to space biscuits
every 6-10 inches on centre. It is further
recommended that biscuits be placed so
that the centreline of the end biscuits is
2-3 inches from the end of the workpiece.
When joining face frames or picture frames
where the workpiece is narrow, you may
have to choose the smaller biscuit sizes to
keep from "breaking out" on the end of the
joint. Breaking out should be avoided if
possible, but if not you can assemble the
joint and trim off the exposed biscuit tip after
the glue sets (see Figure 12). When working
with material up to 1" thick, we advise to use
a single biscuit located in the approximate
centre of the material thickness. If thicker
stock is to be joined, you may choose to
use 2 biscuits across the thickness for
greater strength (see Figure 13). Biscuit
locations should be marked by first
positioning the mating pieces exactly as
they are to be assembled.
FIG 14
Next, make a mark at 90° to the joint
interface across both pieces at the desired
biscuit locations (see Figure 14). See
Application section for more specific
information on joint layout. The marks you
make will then be aligned with one of the
centre registration marks on the tool,
again, depending upon your specific
application.
FIG 15
6"-10"
2"-3"

3. MAKING THE CUT

Prior to making any cut, be sure that all
fence adjustments are set and lock knobs
are tight. Also, be sure you have selected
the proper depth setting. Clamp your
workpiece firmly and align the plate joiner's
centre registration mark with your layout
mark. Turn on the tool and let the blade
come up to full speed (approximately 1
second). Grasping the paddle switch and
handle and positioning the fence firmly and
squarely against the workpiece, plunge the
blade until it bottoms against the stop.
Continuing to hold the tool squarely and
firmly, allow the return spring to retract the
blade from the work and then release the
switch to shut the tool off. It will take some
practice to obtain a "feel" for the tool to
produce accurate joints, so practicing in
scrap wood first is advisable.
4. JOINT ASSEMBLY
After your joints are cut, you may wish to
trial fit everything together before gluing.
When you are satisfied with your joints,
evenly spread any good quality wood-
working glue in each slot as well as on
the mating flat surfaces of your joint. Place
biscuits in the slots, assemble the joint
and clamp until dry. For a biscuit joint to
be most effective, it is important that the
biscuits themselves be in contact with the
glue. This is because the biscuits absorb
the moisture in the glue and expand to
form a tight joint.
APPLICATIONS
1. EDGE TO EDGE JOINTS
This is the simplest to make and most
common joint for the plate joiner. Follow
the steps below to produce this joint.
A. Prepare the workpieces and lay them
on a work surface exactly as they are to
be assembled.
B. Spacing biscuits 2-3" in from the ends
and 6-10" apart, lay out the biscuit
centres.
C. Set up the plate joiner by first selecting
the proper depth setting. Set the fence
to 90°. Set the height adjustment to
position the biscuit in the approximate
centre of the stock thickness.
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