Any recommendations for a reasonably good DIY biscuit jointer? I wouldn't have asked but, surprisingly, even looking back over the last year I cannot find a uk.d-i-y post with the word "biscuit" in the subject. Maybe there is another name for a biscuit jointer...?
There is a massive difference in price between DIY models - which cost, say ?60 - to more advanced models - which cost, perhaps ?250. For example,
The latter is far too expensive for the use I would get from the tool but is there anything I should be aware of and look for in a cheaper model that would make one DIY version better than another? The only important setting I can think of is a fence that can be depended on to remain parallel to the cutter blade and, perhaps, dust collection would be a boon.
I have seen material saying that biscuit joints are strong but even with the extra glue surface I wonder what difference a small piece of wood can make. The biscuit slots don't seem to go very far into the timber to make a really strong join. I know that biscuits are supposed to be compressed when manufactured so that they expand in the joint when wetted with glue but, even so, is the main idea of a biscuit join to *align* boards reliably rather than give strength?
James