I Bought the Cheapest Biscuit Joiner on the Internet. What the $%#@ was I Thinking. Wen Joiner.

WEN JN8504 8.5-Amp Plate and Biscuit Joiner with Case and Biscuits
I needed something to do some down and dirty joining tasks efficiently specifically alignments between boards and parts. So on an impulse buy on Amazon I bought this Wen Biscuit Joiner. The cheapest Biscuit Joiner on the internet.
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Wen Biscuit Joiner
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[@nickanderson8305]

I have basically the entire line of wen tools. I love em for the price and have been using them hard. The jigsaw/sawzal just died after about 4 years of regular use

[@SoWeBoughtaHouse]

Thanks Nick for the feedback on Wen. I encourage people on a budget to consider them. The imperfections I can pick on on a review do not disqualify them from doing the job they were meant to do. They are great when you are on a budget and don’t need every bell and whistle. Have you used any of the new battery tools they released?

[@nickanderson8305]

@@SoWeBoughtaHouse I have the most current drill. I do like it quite a bit more than the previous generation. The chuck is infinitely better in my opinion and it does feel slightly more powerful, however still under powered for any heavy duty work

[@SoWeBoughtaHouse]

Not going to compete with the big guy s when it comes to performance but for the price they look great for weekend warriors and homeowners. I would like to test them against second tier players like rigid an ryobi, flex and harbor freight. Not going to buy all those tools though :) so it will stay a curiosity.

[@cadizwilmo9687]

Thanks for the video. I just bought the 20V Wen Jointer for $65 on Amazon. So I hope it'll be good enough for the small projects I do.

[@SoWeBoughtaHouse]

I haven't tried the cordless. It looks like a similar build so I think it would be fine for hobby work where if the battery dies or it is a little slow it is just an inconvenience. I have heard that some of the battery tools being newer have some upgrades and fixes over the corded ones. Let me know what you think of it. We can compare notes :)

[@paristo]

Interesting that so cheap machine eventually get job done what is required from it, after it is tweaked and learned how to use. The biscuit swallowing is surprise for many, but that is their purpose to hold them in place, and it is better first put glue and then insert biscuits just before joining parts. I still take the drill, as it is fast to use when space and drilling station is aligned for serial drilling. Even for a thin boards a thin drill (like 3-4mm) is enough to help to align boards in place and hold for glue to dry. I see just simple self-made jig with 90 degree drilling be easier as you just get it quickly by handholding jig in place and go through. One feature that seriously improved all alignment tasks for me, was to start using very fine pencil, or even a knife. And then of course old method, physically aligning parts first for copying/transferring markers. Less measurements and more transfer is better.

[@SoWeBoughtaHouse]

Great comments. The thing I live about making is that there are so many ways to do things and you don’t need the most expensive tools to make something amazing. Don’t get me wrong though nice tools do make these easier and faster but that shouldn’t be an impediment. Alignment for me is really critical with panel glue ups especially if I want to maintain the thickness or can fit it through the 13 inch planar. The biscuits are nice and fast and the dowels I used where I needed a strong joint and didn’t want to cut mortise and tenons. So many great options to work with and a great discussion.

[@danburch9989]

That's probably a good, entry level basic joiner. 6:04 Another YTuber mentioned the same problem with their WEN biscuit joiner. The biscuit slots aren't parallel with the edge of the board if you use the fence. That probatly caused the fit up issue that you experienced. For 3/4" stock, I always use the base plate on a flat surface. I have the Porter Cable brand. To me, it's a better quality with a couple extra features that most other joiners don'[t have.

[@SoWeBoughtaHouse]

I like the Portocable a lot. I wish I had the ability to do a shootout of the different price points but it is hard to justify the expense to the supervisor here :) The Wen worked fine for what I really wanted it for which was alignments on smaller projects. I just used it on a chessboard build (video coming soon). And had no problems. Those bigger heavy board sometime bow a little coming out of the jointer and precision is really key which is why I preferred the dowel jig there. I’d like to test this against the grizzly at 75, Triton at 150 and then the dewalt and portocable in the 250 range. I think if you are going to spend more than that because those last two can’t do what you want I don’t think any will do until you get to the domino level. If the choice became Lemello than I’d move to the Domino.

[@cinemasanders977]

It's gonna be a lot better than using my multitool that's for sure 😳

[@SoWeBoughtaHouse]

A multitool is some dedication to your work lol.

[@apuuvah]

No matter how expensive the joiner, the biscuits are the problem.

[@SoWeBoughtaHouse]

It is a precision/quality verse speed thing for me. I prefer dowels, but they are slower and aren't always needed. If I'm making something really nice it is hand tenons and mortises, which are super slow, but can be enjoyable when time allows. Now if money is no object you can't beat the Domino.

[@GeorgeLowrey]

Helpful review. Thanks!

[@SoWeBoughtaHouse]

Glad it helped. Let me know if you have any questions.

[@jaygraham5407]

I don't believe you are supposed to glue the biscuits

[@SoWeBoughtaHouse]

I always have glued them and do the same for any kind of tenon. The glue makes the biscuit swelll and locks the pieces together while the glue dries. On a long grain joint the glue is likely not needed as the biscuits provide no structural support compared to the long grain joint. If you are making something like a picture frame with essentially an end grain joint I think the glue is mandatory to reinforce the connection. This is how I do and was shown how to it in the past and may be not be right but i have never had any issues doing it this way. I hope that helps and good luck on your project.

[@jaygraham5407]

@SoWeBoughtaHouse I guess I am thinking about the butcher block countertops I will be attempting to install. I read that the biscuits shouldn't be glued in this application to allow the butcher to swell and contract. Sorry for the confusion. I agree gluing the biscuits on smaller scale joints. Thank you.

[@SoWeBoughtaHouse]

No problem. Always here to talk things through :)