A lot of us as woodworkers want tools that make life easy. We want tools that make smooth efficient joints without needing to save long and hard to make the payment. You are looking for the best cheap biscuit joiner on the market. Are you sick of your own scrutiny of finish that the nails, screws and bolts give? Because a biscuit joiner makes internal plunges that hide the joint and secure the wooden pieces together the self-criticism stops now.
You already know these tools make joining boards dead easy. However, you might not know that only a handful of joiners can deliver this precision with such little effort. Before delving into the best budget biscuit joiners available, let’s look at who buys these tools.
Buy A Biscuit Joiner?
A biscuit joiner is a necessary tool for you to work on wood-related projects, whether you’re an amateur hobbyist or a professional cabinetmaker. This versatile tool can be put to work to make inside joints and plunge cuts that are a necessary part of woodworking. You use them on joint jobs when making premium quality furniture.
Some of the most widely used biscuits for a biscuit joiner are made from beech wood. Together the joiner, quality biscuits and wood glue will bring your design into reality. You can use it to create tabletops by joining boards side by side; work on the legs and hide the support frame joints within the corners. Your joiner is a valuable tool to make cabinet drawers. Since the biscuit joining technique works on two pieces of wood in a corner it is durable without the support link being visible.
You can design and make picture frames, and similar projects requiring corner joints, knowing that you definitely get very secure joints with a professional finish. Biscuit joiners can handle end-to-edge, edge-to-edge, and miter-to-miter without missing a beat. Biscuit joiners have been helping woodworkers create reliable joints for over 50 years using compressed wood biscuits and glue.Making Joints With A Biscuit Joiner?
The biscuit joiner is a versatile multi-purpose woodworking tool. Following are the most common joints you can cut with the best cheap biscuit joiner.
- A 90-degree Corner Joint: It is carved to join pieces to be pulled or pushed in a specific direction, like a drawer.
- A Mitre Corner Joint: This joint offers a smooth clean finish on items like boxes and furniture.
- Widening Joint and Butt Joint: The joint to use for tabletops as it enables you to conjoin pieces edge-to-edge (the widening joint) or end-to-end (the butt joint).
- Frame Joint: If you want the most professional looking joint, cut this joint for a picture frame.
- T-Joint: A T-joint is generally used for connecting central areas such as attaching a fixed shelf to a bookcase.
What To Look For When Buying The Best Cheap Biscuit Joiner
Are you a DIY project enthusiast who carries out occasional timber assembly tasks requiring a simple biscuit joint? Then you don’t need to spend lavishly on a top of the line biscuit joiner. You will want to save those dollars for getting more tools. Even cabinetmakers making an occasional set of doors for cupboards want to save money and still create sturdy structural joints.
It is important to recognize that many cheap biscuit joiners do not pass the precision and durability tests. So when it comes to getting value for money buying some cheap biscuit joiners are just cheap. Precision is a critical aspect of this tool, because being off target by a millimeter or two can result in a weak moveable joint. I have used super cheap electric tools (not joiners) that broke down in the middle of their first assignment. So, we studied the market to give you five options, each one of them being the best cheap biscuit joiner in its own regard.1. VonHaus 8.5 Amp Wood Biscuit Joiner
The VonHaus 8.5 Amp Wood Biscuit Joiner means business. It is created to complete the DIY, restoration, carpentry, and furniture building jobs. This joiner offers the strongest connections. The tool can carve adjoining slots with pinpoint accuracy, thereby enabling you to get neat butt, miter, T-joints, edge or corner joints.
On the operational side, this joiner has an adjustable fence that allows you to lock the thing into a desired position from 0 through to 90 degrees. This option is ultra useful when you need to make an angled entry for a miter joint. Moreover, the manufacturer included pre-configured stops that are ideal for common biscuit sizes such as 0, 10, and 20.
The machine comes with a huge top, which allows you more control, while at the same time the slim, ergonomic body gives a smooth operation. And there is more; the dust extraction and collection system delivers an outstanding suction function, and keeps all the dust in one place. That means you can dispose of the powdered wood at your convenience. All this makes the device very easy to clean. Then, isn’t it a good surprise to know that such a versatile biscuit joiner is available at such an affordable price?2. Gino Development TruePower Biscuit Joiner
The lightweight Gino Development TruePower Biscuit Joiner might be the perfect machine to tempt you to buy your next woodworking tool. Looking for the best cheap biscuit joiner, look no further. This lightweight Gino delivers your creative output every time and offers carving angles between zero and 45°. However, the machine’s awesomeness doesn’t end here: it’s comes out of the packet with a unique 4” long carbide-tipped blade.
Such tungsten blades are long lasting, and can also bite through the toughest and densest hardwood pieces. Additionally, the motor speed is 11,000 RPM, so you can anticipate precise cutting and penetration. The Gino Development TruePower Biscuit Joiner is good for all common biscuit sizes such as #0, #10, and #20. It is a fantastic tool for small scale and regular work.
On the down side, according to seasoned operators, its attachments are not as durable as the machine, and there’s no dust collection attachment. Still it’s an ultra cost-effective joiner, and the machine is accurate so there will be not wasting wood pieces. Mind you, there are very few good models in the market with the capacity to deliver such premium value at what seem second-hand prices.3. Chicago Pneumatic 4” Plate Joiner
The Chicago Pneumatic 4” Plate Joiner is the best cheap biscuit joiner in terms of its standard features. This machine is simple to operate and offers quick high-end functionality. You can trust Chicago for cutting the strong joints such as edge, miter, butt, and T-joints.
The Chicago Pneumatic 4” Plate Joiner is equipped with an awesome adjustable fence. Most seasoned woodworkers will testify how much room for customization this adjustability brings your working. This machine has pre-defined depth stops that are ideal for common biscuit sizes such as 0, 10, and 20.
This very affordable tool comes standard with a very practical feature; a carbide tipped blade. The blade adds durability to the joiner and the capacity to cut through the tough and dense hardwood pieces. Additionally, the Chicago Plate Joiner is packed with an ultra efficient dust port and bag to keep your work place clean and debris-free.
I have encountered one major problem with the joiner: The device can produce crooked slots. The reason this happens is that the fence of the machine is not packed in a levelled position. Nonetheless, this lightweight joiner is a perfect option for any woodworker. It can be applied on a small-scale project or a heavy duty one.4. Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner
There are better biscuit joiners described above but I still put this one among the best cheap biscuit joiners in the market. It is because the Chicago Electric plate joiner gets the job done. According to seasoned woodworkers, in the right hands the results can be pretty impressive. This joiner is equipped with a thundering 6-amp motor, which delivers an incredible performance of 10,000 RPM.
Moreover, the 1-1/8 inch fence can be tilted at any angle up to 45° which ensures great performance with excellent results. The dust port is engineered with preset depth to work on all common biscuit sizes such as 20, 10, and 0. The tool is ideal for making panels, face framing, or putting together a DIY table skirt.
It’s a great tool to start on, and a rookie woodworker can learn the necessary skills on this machine. A little gem at the price making this biscuit joiner a good tool to give your teenagers to learn on (compared to Dewalt and Porter Cable tools) and still expect consistent working performance.5. Ryobi -JM83K-AC Biscuit Joiner Kit
The JM83K model is Ryobi’s latest offering, and is an AC-powered biscuit joiner. The tool carves slots for holding biscuits with pinpoint precision, and has the capacity to cut angles from 0 to 135 degrees with affirmative stops at 0, 45, 90 and 135 degrees. The machine comes with metal fences alongside rack and pinion adjustment, and a slick carbide tipped blade.
Moreover, it is a powerhouse with a potent 6 Amp motor which delivers 11,000 RPM, and is effective even with the hardest wood. The product’s weight is 11 pounds and its dimensions are 15 x 7.6 x 8.3 inches. The JM83K has an ergonomic handle for comfortable extended use. This designed in comfort is what sets it apart from competing, more expensive alternatives. The motor is arranged vertically, and the handle is designed in a smooth natural angle.
The price tag of this biscuit joiner still makes it a viable option for a budget-conscious occasional woodworker. Also, compared to the Ryobi’s previous model, the JM82GK, this joiner is cheaper and faster (the previous model ran at 10,000 RPMs.) Finally, the Ryobi JM83K comes with a corded wire.There you have it, some functional knowledge of the best cheap biscuit joiner available in the market today.
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