Thread: Triton Biscuits

James, how is the triton going?

I'm still looking for the barrell of biscuits I had, I know they are here somewhere, so if you do get a biscuit joiner, sing out and I'll see what I can do.

Not sure that other biscuits will work, they ate a lot longer and narrower that a triton biscuit.

I have cut others down when I had run short, but don't think I would like to be doing that all the time.

Aldi have a $69 biscuit cutter this week that gives you more options than the triton unit

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f15/biscuits-69419


you are looking for this link
http://www.bix.com.au/epages/ecorner...ath=/Shops/bix

Originally Posted by James@Canberra

I'm thinking of getting a Triton biscuit joiner, but the Triton/GMC situation means I probably won't be able to get any more biscuits until Triton starts selling spares and consumables again.

Can biscuits from other suppliers be used?

Thanks

Are you confident enough to buy a Triton biscuit joiner when it's quite possible that the resurrected Triton may not even go back to all of the old range of equipment they used to sell. With the cost of standard BJ's it may not be profitable for them to continue with their old one.

Personally I think the new reborn Triton will only support the items that sold well, especially the new tools that GMC introduced and their saws and routers.

The workcentres and their add ons may not be continued for better table saws are available at equivalent prices.

Just my opinion and I have no knowledge what the new consortium may do but from an accountants point of view this is a golden opportunity for them to dump old lines and concentrate only on profitable ones.

Peter.

What got me hooked into Triton wasn't that it was a cheap table saw. Besides, I can't easily wheel "stay put" table saws into sheep yards or many of the other places I take it to work at the job site.

The Workcentre got me interested because of its functionality, portability, storability, accuracy and all round bang for my buck. That interest then led me to purchasing the other tools ... more because they were orange, than their price. But also because of their design and features.

Accountants and new owners have killed many a good business by having a very limited and short sighted view of the products. (ie Anchor products / Loss leaders, etc ... the Marketing types probably have a unit in their courses now on how to deal with such logic.)

I've just spent a few hours reading through past issues of the Triton Times and think that there are a lot of lessons in Triton's history about what worked and what didn't. It's not Secret Men's Business .... or is it?

I agree that the new consortium has to make money and there are a number of ways for it to do that .... not just red pening the product catalogue. We may have to pay more for spares, like we do for car parts. We may have to order On-line.

Alternatively, we might end up getting more from Triton. (Imagine the whole project - plans, timber, tools, adhesives and finishes - being sourced from one point and arriving in the one "convenient" delivery. . )

Good luck to the consortium and the staff that will run it.

Interwood

PS. Sorry for hijacking thread; Peter, I still regularly re-read your posts regarding Triton and Jigs.

I hope that I'm wrong too and that Triton will again be a profitable concern with all it's product range back.

But remember James was asking about biscuits because he was thinking about buying the biscuit jointer. He hadn't bought it as yet.

I was more concerned about giving a warning not to buy at this stage as we don't know what will happen when you don't know if spare parts or consumables will be available. Remember over the last week or so we have seen many posts about people wanting to get parts for their Triton equipment, so far to no avail.

Peter.

I've thought long and hard about buying a Triton biscuit joiner for just those reasons.

I bought Geoff Dean's gear even though I knew Triton might never return to the market. I like the way that every part of a Triton has been thought about. There's a practical reason for everything, it's built with safety in mind, and it's portable. In fact, I moved it to another house where it's doing sterling work trimming wood for some repairs.

I hear Triton gear is reliable, so for an occasional user like me, replacement parts shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The problem with the biscuit joiner is the biscuits and the links above say I can use the BIX biscuits, so that's out of the way. I'll assume the joiner is as reliable as the rest of the Triton gear. I couldn't find any complaints about them in the forum, except they weren't as versatile as a hand-held biscuit joiner. OK. I can live with that.

Peter sees the receivership as a reason not to buy. Think of it the other way. If Triton never get back to the market, over time there will be less and less chance to buy their products, even through the second hand market. I'm a new user and I'm willing to take the plunge based on the quality of Triton tools, even though they're in receivership.

BTW - if the revamped company ever listed on the stock exchange I'd seriously consider buying shares, even in this economic climate. They have a unique product, great ideas and strong patents.

James

I have the 2000 series Triton biscuit joiner. I have also had the older style for the Mk3. Once set up the first time they are easy to use. (I have never use d ahand hled unit)

To make biscuit joints, line the two boards beside each other. A hort pencil line across where you want the biscuit is all that's needed. or for end cuts using the triangle sliding guide crosspiece makes it even easier.

It works best on small pieces up to no more than about 1 metre long.

Down sides.
If the router bit slips a little in the router, you won't know until you line it up. My old router would sometimes move a mm or so.

As the pieces get bigger it gets a bit awkward as it's the work piece has to be moved flat without lifiting at any point.. If they are long, doing the end is difficult unless eth opposite end is supported at just teh right level.

The level of the table top also affects the cuts, as does the small amount of flex.

If you forget one cut it is almost impossible to reset to the same point, especialy if the router doesn't have fine adjustment.

It ties up your router table, especialy if you want to alternate between biscuit and then router cuts.
Can't cut in the middle of a panel.

Hand Held benefits that I can see. (again I haven't used one)
Leaves Router table free.
looks as easy to set up for multiple cutes.
Can cut in the middle of a panel.
can use on any size timber.
May have diffculty with small pieces.

Me personally I would be swayed by the hand held. They werent available when i bought my Triton, or at least at a reasonable price

Triton disappearing? Even if it does I haven't had to replace any parts on my Triton gear, except one locking pin I lost. On the workcentres there is little to wear out or break, and if it does most could be made out of something else easy enough.

Originally Posted by James@Canberra

The problem with the biscuit joiner is the biscuits and the links above say I can use the BIX biscuits, so that's out of the way.

James, the problem is indeed the biscuits and I read the links too and I'm not convinced that the normal type of biscuits fit the Triton biscuit joiner.

When you compare the normal biscuits with the Triton ones you'll find that they are not the same shape ( I've tried to fit one of mine in a Triton slot and it didn't work), hence you will need to cut the normal ones on a bandsaw to fit the Triton biscuit joiner. Okay for a few in an emergency but longterm wise not practicable. One of the links I read said that he had to adapt the normal type biscuit.

Generally I have no problems with the quality of Triton, I've had a lot and only had one problem. My MK3 has lasted about 17 years without ever needing maintenance except for the height winder as the plastic bit stripped from frequent use and when it happened mine was out of warranty.

So my only concern was if Triton drops the biscuit jointer (for the handheld ones are cheaper and the old GMC one outsold the Triton BJ ) and instead sell a reborn normal style BJ under the Triton brand instead then you will have the problems of supply of the disposables like glue and biscuits.

Peter.

You can cut normal shapped biscuits with pincers to any shape , even triton shape

After doing a bit of research, contacted the company who supplied the Triton biscuits. Naturally this company supply a wide range of biscuits throught Australia.

They have a #7 biscuit that is coming. This is the same shape as a Triton biscuit. The markings and pattern alone differ.

They also have a mountain of the Triton biscuits left, which due to them being stammped "Triton", they cannot sell. So suppliers too are caught in the waiting game. If Triton continue, they can convert their stock to cash. If not, they start making and selling the #7's however theseon the market may affect the sale of the stock they have for Triton.

Either way, long term there will be biscuits available. Once there is some certanty.

Steve

Could you make 2 or more side by side cuts with teh Triton to make a longer slot?

Originally Posted by bpj1968

Could you make 2 or more side by side cuts with teh Triton to make a longer slot?

You've already been given a link above (in post #4) which contains the answer (which I wrote):

Look at this picture, noting the pencil mark on the workpiece and the datum marks on the cutter rail above it:



In use, you simply plunge the workpiece in as normal, in line with the right-hand datum line in this picture, then slide the workpiece to the left-hand datum line. This gives a standard size 20 biscuit slot, perfect every time.

Ray

Saw a few packets in the hardware shops. There are other designs that can fit. What model are you after. I have one that is unused I may make available? Comes with a packet of 50 buscuits.