Would You Like a Biscuit?

A wood biscuit, that is.

The biscuit jointer was invented by a Swiss carpenter in 1956, but the first portable biscuit joiner wasn't marketed until 1968. It revolutionized cabinet-making.

A biscuit joiner (or sometimes plate joiner) is a woodworking tool used to join two pieces of wood together. A biscuit joiner uses a small circular saw blade to cut a crescent-shaped hole (called the mouth) in the opposite edges of two pieces of wood or wood composite panels. An oval-shaped, highly-dried and compressed wooden biscuit (beech or particle wood) is covered with glue, or glue is applied in the slot. The biscuit is immediately placed in the slot, and the two boards are clamped together. The wet glue expands the biscuit, further improving the bond. -- Wikipedia

I just got my first biscuit jointer, and after making a test joint, I already love it. It's going to make it so much easier to glue up mitered joints, in particular.

The most stressful part of a woodworking project is, for most people, the glueing together of the pieces that have been carefully cut and shaped over many hours. There's only so much time to get everything aligned properly before the glue sets. I can still remember the tense hush in the woodworking class at my grammar school when our instructor was in that mode. We tried to be as far away from the process as possible in case things went wrong.

Provided biscuit slots are properly located -- and it's quite easy to do that with a well-designed jointer -- the biscuits ensure exact alignment. I can't wait to get the glue flowing and the clamps applied!