Thread: The size of biscuits

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

No worries Crowie; I was actually impressed that they had that useful information readily available which allowed you to pass it on. It's just a pity that their product is so poor; I just pinged on the Bix name and started to shudder! I don't think anyone has actually ever reccommended them at all..... I still have a few hundred biccies from a batch order of a 1000 but I only ever use them on really lightly stressed components, or purely for alignment purposes.

Lamello are absolutely tops with their biccies; they claim to have pretty much invented the whole concept and their machines are probably the most expensive on the market. One day...

Col, you will come across many arguaments about the relative strengths of biscuit joinery; personally I have found that decent biscuits combined with quality glues are a must, and that you need to design the joint so that the biccies are under shear or slip stresses for maximum strength.

Hi Chief the post I started has been an interesting journey for me... I started out not knowing there was a number 5 plate biscuit… believing there was only 20,10,0.
I now know not only what the 5 is for but the correct methods and practices in using it.
China has put valid reasons forward as to why it would not be the best joining method for my drawer frames from this I have altered my idea’s a bit by putting triangular supports in the corners of the frame and vertical braces between the rails to support the drawer runners which in turn would be the correct load strength for the drawers to run on
As well as this I would be attaching the frame to the bench frame with 30mm x 30 x 3mm angle and Tech Screws 12 gauge 50 mm in length the back of the bench frame is bolted back to the C channel in the shed.
Overall the main method of holding the drawer frame together initially will be the biscuit plate with the correct glue Titebond 111 and clamping I took your comments on board about shear strength and slip strength I think I have met these criteria’s although I must be honest and say I am not up on their exact meaning I do appreciate you saying the biscuit method of joinery is ok to use in this instance if basic principal are adhered to. I was beginning to doubt my methods.

Crowie is a good forum mate of mine and we generally hang out in the toy making department and tend to help one another from time to time.
Just to sum up one final thanks to all if it was of interest to any one they can follow my progress on the post called After Forty Years in the shed side of the forum I will roll on with the drawer fit out there with pictures.
Colbra