Thread: Biscuit Joiner at Aldi

it has more in common with Porter Cable rather than GMC.

BUT it is not a "clone" as such, it merely uses a quality brand model as inspiration for it's features.

If you have never owned a biscuit joiner and was thinking about purchasing one this model would be fine. It has all the features I personally look for in this tool and what it will teach you is how to set one up and use it effectively. However the drawbacks will be as follows:

Bloody noisy
Probably no friction material on the face so it'll slip around
Side to side and up and down slop
Poor dust extraction
The bearings will terminally poo themselves after a few hundred cuts.

My first biscuit joiner was an Ozito I bought about 5 years ago. I wasn't sure how much use I would get out of one so I wasn't about to spend a lot of money on it. Then having knocked up some kitchen cabinets I realised how versatile and useful this tool was and how a better quality one would eliminate all the annoying little niggles mine suffered from. After a while I loaned it to a friend and that was the moment the bearings gave out (my mate was mortified; he had convinced himself he'd destroyed it through some fault of his own). So, I went out and purchased a better one the next time I neede a joiner.

If you're in the market for a joiner but unsure about the capabilities of one, or how much you'd use it, then this model won't disappoint too badly! Buy it, use it, assess it and make your own conclusions.

I've got one of these, and I agree with Chief Tiff - it does a pretty decent job, but you do have to take a fair bit of care setting it up and holding it in the right position during the cut in order to get good results.

Mine's done maybe eighty cuts - four bench/table tops - and is holding up OK, dust extraction isn't too bad, even into the little baggie it comes with.

I was happy paying $70 for it last year, and haven't regretted dropping the money on it since. $50 looks like a bargain - and it does look like the same model as mine.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Probably no friction material on the face so it'll slip around

This will probably we the most annoying 'feature' and you could glue some light sand paper, or that thin non-slip rubber matting, to the face to help keep it still during cuts.

I have what appears to be the same model and I can only reiterate what has already been said.

For the limited use I give it it has been acceptable for my needs.

Looks good value to me.

Thanks for the info guys. I have a GMC at the moment which works but suffers from similar shortcomings. The biggest issue to me is that it cuts slightly oversize holes which it says in the manual is to accomodate varying thickness of biscuits altho none I have tryed have been a snug fit. From what I had read, I thought that the Aldi one may have been considerably better but it sounds like it will be the same sort of thing again so I guess I'll perseve with the GMC till I can justify $500 one.

Originally Posted by notenoughtoys

The biggest issue to me is that it cuts slightly oversize holes which it says in the manual is to accomodate varying thickness of biscuits.

Is this due to "up and down slop" on the plunge bars allowing the blade to wobble up and down, or is it simply the balde has too wide a kerf? If it's the blade have you considered replacing it with a better branded one?

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Is this due to "up and down slop" on the plunge bars allowing the blade to wobble up and down, or is it simply the balde has too wide a kerf? If it's the blade have you considered replacing it with a better branded one?

I believe the blade simply has a wide kerf (the manual says this is to accomodate varying thickness biscuits, I suspect it's simply poor tolerances in manufacture). I hadn't thought of replacing the blade but now you mention it, I guess it would be similar to replacing a grinding wheel (arbor size etc). I'll look into it.

To be honest I didn't know enough to know whether they were supposed to be a loose fit but in videos I've watched they seemed to be snug. The height adjustment was hard to get tight so it did tend to creep as I did a few plunges so the sloppiness helped me the first project made. I've since replaced the plastic nob with a metal nut which I can tighten up enough for it to hold firm now.

I don't have a current need for a biscuit joiner but I always thought that I would like to try one to see what the "fuss" is about with them.

The thing about Aldi, of course, is that if you are not desperately in need for such a thing and are prepared to wait a few weeks after the item appears in their catalog, they usually drop the price by typically $10 on unsold units.

So it was that I bought their biscuit joiner yesterday for $40 (or $39.99 if you want to be pedantic).

At that price, it goes into the pile of other cheap power tools that I have bought over time and which at some time can become very useful for a particular task, as long as I remember that I have the tool, of course.

After a while, one accumulates so many cheapies that one forgets what is sitting in the back of the workshop somewhere. Where would we be without Chinese manufacturing to sell us ridiculously cheap tools and buy our ridiculously expensive iron ore and coal?


Now to discover where to get the biscuits from. Aldi don't seem to sell a pack of biscuits associated with their sale of the biscuit joiners.



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I gather there is meant to be a bit of extra space with the completed cut. The biscuits are usually somewhat compressed. When you add a touch of glue it should cause the biscuit to swell a tad and thus fill the void.

Triton biscuits were certainly like this and it was their advice to wiggle the joint into place before the glue set. Triton biscuits seemed to be a better fit than some of the Bunny biscuits I have tried. You could certainly see the compression lines in the biscuit.

I have seen some work (using another type of biscuit) where a very excited furniture restorer was keen to try out his first biscuit joiner - a rather nice Dewalt. This hyperventilating individual cut/glued/sanded the article before allowing the (admittedly into thinnish wood) glue to expand/set/contract. The next day there were noticable depressions in the surfaces above and below the biscuit join points as the glue fully dried out.
A "snug" fit (though I may be misinterpreting your concept of "snug") would be the last thing one would want - bulge!

I've been using a cheapie Ryobi that has seen a bit of work over the last 12 years. I want my mate's tradie Dewalt which is still going strong!
What great machines they are.

TA

I bought the makita one many years ago. I've been very happy with it. I've just finished my second box of 1000 biscuits and the machine is as new. I've never even had the blade sharpened. Biscuits are a snug fit in the slots.

Like every other makita tool I own it's bloody noisy, has a terrible switch and the cord is too short. I still reckon it was good value.

I saw the aldi buscuit jointer for $29 in the "sale" box. This was at the Quakers Hill store.