#1. DeWalt DW682K 6.5-Amp Plate Joiner

Editor's Rating:  (4.7 / 5)

You can purchase this model as the joiner only, or as a combo kit with biscuits of size 10 or size 20. The motor of 6.5-Amp offers plenty of power to the blades, allowing the DW682K’s blades to rotate at 10,000 RPM. At this speed, this unit is guaranteed to deliver a clean and professional finish cut.

What we really like in this biscuit joiner is the presence of a rack and pinion fence that is adjustable and gives you extreme precision over your cut. Additionally, the fence can perform the traditional 45-degree miter cut with outside indexing.

Pros

• High-quality build construction with a flat aluminum shoe. Durable and long-lasting
• Powerful motor of 6.5-Amp delivers 10,000 RPM to the blades for a clean cut
• Rack and pinion fence system for accuracy

Cons

• No dedicated 135-degree miter angle. Can only be positioned at 45-degree.

Who Should Buy?

For joinery work like making boxes or cabinet work, this model from DeWalt is one of the best plate joiner for the money. It does not have a dedicated 135 degrees miter lock, but you can quickly reverse the fence to provide this functionality.

#2. Porter-Cable 557 7.0-Amp Plate Joiner Kit

Editor's Rating:  (4.6 / 5)

The fence can tilt from 0-degree to 135-degree and be locked in position. With this type of angle versatility, you can perform professional miter joints in a matter of seconds. For your convenience, the fence can be locked in position for repetitive use.

This Porter-Cable biscuit joiner has a more powerful 7-Amp motor that delivers 10,000 RPM to the 4-inch blades. With this kind of power and speed, you will get a very professional finish cut in your joinery work.

You can purchase this model is there as deplete joiner alone or with an assortment of biscuits ranging from size #20, #10, and #0.

Pros

• Very powerful motor of 7-Amp. 10,000 RPM blade delivers a very clean cut
• Can be purchased with an assortment of different biscuit sizes.
• Presence of a dedicated miter angle of 135-degree. Can be locked in position for future use

Cons

• The dust collector's filter is not the best. It can quickly clog with dust and debris. Will require frequent cleaning

Who Should Buy?

One of the best things about the Porter-Cable 557 is that you can purchase this model with a wide range of biscuit sizes. It is also a very powerful model that can be used with great ease. Therefore, we recommend this model to those who are looking for a professional and easy-to-use biscuit joiner.

#3. Makita PJ7000 Plate Joiner

Editor's Rating:  (4.6 / 5)

However, since it is a little bit underpowered compared to other models in this plate joiner review, this model is mostly ideal for lightweight work on relatively soft wood. There is a 6 depth setting that allows you to perform common biscuit sizes of #0, #10, and #20.

Additionally, the camlock adjusts the fence angle quite easily, and of course, you can easily lock the fence to your favorite angle. It does not perform a 135-degree mitre cut, as it only has three angle stops of 0, 45, and 90 degrees. But to make up for that, the rack and pinion fence delivers extreme accuracy when you want to get fine joinery work.

All in all, despite being a fairly older model, it still has excellent features that will come in handy when making biscuit joints.

Pros

• Dedicated 6 depth setting for making different biscuit sizes
• Camlock system locks your mitre angle for repetitive use
• Rack and pinion fence system for more accuracy
• Ergonomic form factor. Large and comfortable handle

Cons

• Expensive for the features offered. There are superior biscuit joiners for less in this biscuit joiner review

Who Should Buy?

Despite being a very good model, we believe that this model from Makita is a little bit overpriced for what it offers. Get this model if you can grab it at a discount. Else, there are better biscuit joiners for the money in this review.

#4. Festool 574432 Domino Joiner DF 500 Q Set

Editor's Rating:  (4.4 / 5)

This unit has been machine engineered to deliver the most accurate joinery work and you can create miter cuts anywhere from 0-degree to 90-degree. It has positive stops at 22.5, 45 and 67.4 degrees for repetitive use. As expected from a biscuit joiner of this calibre, it obviously has indexing pins for edge alignment and joining panels.

The flat aluminum shoe can be leveled to make miter cuts of 135-degree, despite this unit not having a dedicated camlock for this setting.

One feature that is rarely seen in other biscuit joiners is the presence of a dust extraction system and not a dust collection system as most traditional biscuit joiners come with. You can easily connect this model with your external dust extraction system for a cleaner joinery work. This dust extraction system is also very beneficial in the sense that it helps prolong the life of the cutter and the unit in general.

Pros

• Very powerful motor with 24,300 RPM blade speed
• Small and compact. Can easily be carried to the job
• Ergonomic form factor with a large handle that limits hand fatigue
• External dust extraction system keep the work area clean as well as prolong the life of the unit

Cons

• The price. Very expensive

Who Should Buy?

We can only safely recommend the Festool 574432 Domino to professionals who make a living from woodworking. This is mostly due to its high price. However, it is a very durable and long-lasting biscuit joiner that will allow you to make very fine joinery work for commercial purposes.

#5. Festool 574447 XL DF 700 Domino Joiner Set

Editor's Rating:  (4.9 / 5)

You can buy this model either as a vanilla model with only the biscuit joiner, or with an assortment of tenon sizes for more versatility. Frankly, we do not know of another biscuit joiner that offers such kind of versatility and ease of use. Clearly, this is a professional biscuit joiner intended only for commercial purposes.

Pros

• Very high-quality model
• Extremely accurate biscuit joiner. Can be used for fine joinery work
• Easy to adjust tenon size and can work with a maximum of 5-1/2” tenons
• Can be used for large and commercial purposes

Cons

• Too expensive for the average woodworker

Who Should Buy?

If you are a professional who regularly work on large joinery projects with biscuit sizes of 5-1/2 inches, then this model from Festool is the best biscuit joiner money can buy. Sure, it is expensive. But it will last you a long time and few models can come close to it in terms of versatility, accuracy, and ease of use.

#6. Lamello Classic X 101600 Biscuit Joiner

Editor's Rating:  (5 / 5)

It is also CNC machined engineered for maximum accuracy. However, the only problem we have in this model is the lack of a rack and pinion fence. Instead, it uses a dovetail fence system that is not as accurate and easy to use as a rack and pinion.

While this Lamello plate joiner has the popular angle stops of 0, 22.5, 45, 67.5 and 90 degrees, it lacks a 135-degree miter stop. However, this can easily be circumvented by referencing the unit outside of a 45-degree miter joint.

Despite all this, it offers a custom angle miter cut which brings a lot of versatility to the table. Lamello is known for its superior quality power tools, and the Lamello Classic X 101600 Biscuit Joiner is no exception. We have yet to find someone complain about this model, even if it has a fairly expensive price.

Pros

• CNC machine engineered for precision and accuracy on the job
• Powerful 780W motor will deliver a very smooth and clean biscuit cut
• Simple and yet easy to use

Cons

• Does not have a dedicated 135-degree miter stop
• Fence is not rack and pinion. Beginners will have difficulty aligning this biscuit joiner

Who Should Buy?

We recommend the Lamello Classic X 101600 to semi-professionals and professionals who are used to working with the dovetail fence system rather than with a rack and pinion.

#7. Makita XJP03Z 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless Plate Joiner

Editor's Rating:  (3.9 / 5)

It has the traditional biscuit height of 3/4” with biscuit stops of #0, #10 and #20 for more versatility. The rack and pinion fence can also be easily pivoted to 0, 45 and 90 degrees when required and equally easy to lock in position with the camlock system. It is quite accurate. Note that there is no 135-degree camlock fence in this unit.

The dust collection system provides a clean joinery cut and we generally like the ergonomic and compact form factor of this joiner. The rear handle is coated with a soft rubber material for handling comfort.

All in all, the main advantage of this model remains its portability.

Pros

• Cordless model powered by a battery. Portable
• Can provide up to 320 biscuit cuts or 160 joints on a single charge
• Works with common angle stops of 0, 45 and 90-degrees
• Rack and pinion fence for accuracy and ease of use

Cons

• You will need to purchase the battery and charger separately

Who Should Buy?

If you need a cordless biscuit joiner and already own a compatible 18V lithium-ion battery to go with this model, it is one of the best cordless biscuit joiners for the money. It easily competes with more premium biscuit joiners at half the price.

Things to Consider When Buying a Biscuit Joiner

Before purchasing a biscuit joiner, keep an eye out for those basic and yet important factors.

#1. Motor Power

The motor power is very important in a biscuit joiner. If the motor is inefficient and stalls, it can damage your joinery work. Since those are fine work joints, ensure that your preferred model has a sufficiently powerful motor. Anything in the range of 5 - 7 Amps should be sufficient for workshop joinery work. For commercial purposes, or if you consistently work with hard material like hardwood, we recommend getting a model of at least 7 Amps and above.

#2. Blade Speed

Usually, a blade speed of 10,000 RPM is enough and recommended. At this speed, the blades generates a clean and smooth cut in material. The cut will be spinterless, even if you use material that are easily splintered like 1/4 inch plywood. Additionally, with a blade speed of at least 10,000 RPM, the cut will be professional and clean, requiring little to no afterwork. Practical if you use a biscuit joiner for commercial purposes.

#3. Fence System

The base of the biscuit joiner is the reference point of the unit. All biscuit joiners obey an industry standard of 3/4” of joinery when the tool is layed flat to the material. However, sometimes you may want to cut higher than 3/4” with a biscuit joiner. This is where the fence system in a biscuit joiner comes into play, as it allows you to level the blade up or down in an accurate and uniform manner. For the most accurate result and best stability, we recommend that you get a biscuit joiner than comes with a rack and pinion fence.

#4. Fence Tilt

In addition to the fence system, ensure that your fence system is tillable for working with miter joints. For best bang for the buck, get a model that offers an angle tilt of 135-degree. This is the standard angle of a miter joint. Additionally, it needs to have a lock mechanism to save the tilt angle for repetitive and future use.

#5. Dust Collection

Of course, the biscuit joiner generates a lot of sawdust. To help keep your work area clean, only go with biscuit joiners that have a dust collection system. It does not need to be fancy. A simple cloth dust collection will work wonders in helping keep your joinery clean.

#6. Handle

The handle is the trigger mechanism of the biscuit joiner. Since your hands will rest on the handle every time you use this power tool, we recommend a biscuit joiner with a large, ergonomic, and comfortable handle. This will allow you to work for longer periods without hand fatigue.

Sources: popularwoodworking.com, finewoodworking.com