The Biscuit Joiner Handbook

Rating:
Summary: A lot of book with little practicle infprmation
Review: 2/3 of the book is related to types and brands of joiners. The other third is devoted to types of biscuts and simple joinery that any beginner can figure out. To be fair the section on biscut types opened my view towards many different possibilites of " biscut " use ( hinges, knock downs etc.).

Rating:
Summary: Biscuit Joiner Handbook
Review: As a new user of a biscuit joiner I found about the first 70 of this book's 208 pages somewhat useful, although most of the information prsented I had already read in the Owners Manual provided by the manufacturer of my joiner[Porter Cable]. Most of the book is devoted to a reveiw [with no recommendations] of joiners which were on the market when the book was published in 1995-outdated information.

After using my joiner I believe that it is such a wonderfully straightforward tool to use that it would be very difficult to write a book which provides much useful information beyond what you get with your owner's manual.

Rating:
Summary: Now has a complementary book!
Review: Hi,
I have just bought Jim Stack's biscuit joiner examples and projects book and it has the examples that are missing from this book(See my review I gave Jim's book in amazon.com).
I bought this book at a firesale for US $4 so I don't feel very ripped off. It was handy when I went to buy an Elu biscuit jointer that was missing all its attachments - meant I kept my $ and didn't waste them.
I give the book 2 stars cause its not very informative on technique, the information is out of date and the photographs are so murky (they look like they were taken on a very dark night).

Rating:
Summary: A poor book
Review: I am amazed about the lenght of the book, most of it devoted to outline every biscuit joiner in the market. Most of these pages useful for nothing if you already own one joiner. Just a few pages on common sense ways to use the jointer. Very little to learn.
My Makita instruction manual covers most of the information you can find in this book.
Maybe we all expect this useful power tool to do more things than it does.

Rating:
Summary: the ins and outs of biscuit joining
Review: I have owned 3 different biscuit joiners and I just recently reread this book. After owning three biscuit joiners and using a biscuit joiner for thousands of biscuits, I appreciate this book much more now than I did on its first reading. After noticing the weaknesses in the porta cable and the dewalt I finally got wise and bought the Lamello Top 20. Most of the illustrations in the book are from Lamello and most of the valuable tips work best with the Lamello. If your time has any value and you dislike sanding and scraping glue with a chisel this is an excellent book to own. They give great tips on how to get exact strong joints, but I know from experience that the Lamello is the only hand held machine out there today that has exact tolerances of less than .001. Most people that first buy a biscuit joiner would probably breeze right over the excellent tips and not even notice. Some of the woodworkers in the shop next to me still have not figured out how to use the biscuit joiner to its full advantage after 5 years of use. Their are two kinds of people, those who look at the words and those that actually read. I disagree with the previous review where the person compares the porta cable handbook with this book. I had a port cable and I gave it away because I thought it and its hand book lacked the finer points of what a wookworker really wants. The book gives an example of how you can cut, biscuit joint, and glue up a complicated bookshelf in 1 hour with no glue to clean up or uneven wood to sand. This book deserves at least two readings if not more. It might be a little out of date, but the tips that you need shall still apply. Learning how to use a biscuit joiner can save you time, and money that you might spend on other tools that you do not need. After 20 plus years in this business I am finally getting wise, and in a few more years I shall die like many masters of what they do and all of that knowledge goes with us. Thank goodness someone wrote a book of excellent wisdom to pass on.

Rating:
Summary: A little disapointing.
Review: Long on the history, and available models.

Short on the part that is important to me: Tips, Tricks, Jigs, and Fixtures to get the most out of my Biscuit Joiner.

I'll keep it around, because it does give sources for some neat hinges, and knock down joints. But, it will never be in my top twenty woodworking books list.

Rating:
Summary: A little disapointing.
Review: Long on the history, and available models.

Short on the part that is important to me: Tips, Tricks, Jigs, and Fixtures to get the most out of my Biscuit Joiner.

I'll keep it around, because it does give sources for some neat hinges, and knock down joints. But, it will never be in my top twenty woodworking books list.

Rating:
Summary: very informative
Review: My summary says it all!

Well, maybe not quite all -- there's also too much description of different makes of biscuit joiners. And it's about half the book before I found actual istructions for using a biscuit joiner.

OK, also I found the photos overall bland gray and difficult to interpret, with no labelling in the picture to tell me what was what in it.

And, yes, I had lots of trouble understanding the text. It was like reading one of my worst college books where I'd read a paragraph and ask, "Now, what the heck does that mean?"

Sad, I'd just bought my Freud bisquit-cutter when I bought this book. What a letdown.