May 6, 20197 yr I have 5 pcs of 1-3/16” hard maple laying on my TS and max. mismatch measures 0.025” in the center when I added clamps to the board ends. The longer boards are 60” long. Do I need to use biscuits between each board for glue up? The two ¾” cherry strips are already glued to the center board. Danl
May 6, 20197 yr Because of the length, I would use biscuits. Sometimes a glue up that long can have a mind of its own.
May 6, 20197 yr It seems easier with b's. I would. This assumes you have a b-cutter or can rout short splines. A couple in the centers?
May 6, 20197 yr Danl its not that much more expensive to add biscuits now...and it might save that old saying later on...I sure wish I had used biscuits....I use them between boards as long as the boards are longer than the biscuits.
May 7, 20197 yr Author I have a Porter-Cable biscuit joiner. I just have not used it much. What do you suggest I use for the spacing between the biscuits? Is one row using #20s what I should use? Danl
May 7, 20197 yr Danl, biscuits or splines add little to the structural integrity but, they do make alignment much easier. As such, they only need spaced in such a way as to allow for that. I'd use maybe four on the 5' sections. Three, on the other lengths.
May 7, 20197 yr I never use biscuits, and I haven't had a failure in so long that I cannot remember the last one.
May 7, 20197 yr 12 hours ago, Danl said: I have a Porter-Cable biscuit joiner. I just have not used it much. What do you suggest I use for the spacing between the biscuits? Is one row using #20s what I should use? Danl Oh, a scientific challenge!! You said the boards were about 60", and 0.025" offset. I don't think the size of biscuit matters because you're not looking for strength, only alignment. I'd put one in the middle, and one about 12" from each end. Remember to cut the b's registered to the same surface on all boards (i.e., cut the b's with bottom side down on all boards). If possible, clamp the boards in the middle to your table so you zero any bow. When positioning the end b's, remember whatever it is you're going to do to the ends (cutoffs, breadboard, border) so you don't expose the b's.
May 7, 20197 yr Sometimes i use them and sometimes I don't. If alignment is important and I don't want to spend a lot of time sanding to get it flat, then yes, use biscuits.
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