Biscuit use in table top

[Cooler]

shoot (drive) the brads into the field leaving them proud at least 1/4". take end nippers and clip off the heads leaving about 1/8" protruding

I generally set the field slightly higher than the edging (makes slight alignment issues in the solid stock instead of the thinner veneered field that can be cleaned up with a cabinet scraper )

glue and slide in the part to the field and clamp; the pins grab the stock and hold it in place

A good description.  I would only add that he should use very small diameter brads as they clip easier and  penetrate the edging easier.  I find the brad pusher a great help.  Driving the tiny brads would require me to use a needle nose pliers to hold them and a hammer to drive them.  The brad pusher holds the nail in a spring loaded tube and with a magnet and a plunger drives the pin into the wood.  

With this method, because it has no slop or slack in the system, it is possible to get nearly perfect alignment with minimal sanding to get the edging level with the ply.  

With most types of wood I can align the edging and lock it into place with a strike from my palm.  Clamping (or sometimes just masking tape for narrow edging) is still required.

Fast, easy, cheap and with almost no equipment required.

This video is about 2 minutes and about 3 times as long as it needs to be.  The video is proposing that a brad pusher replace a pneumatic nail gun.  Ignore that.  And ignore the use of collated brads too.  But it shows how it is used and is worth watching for that:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6f127jtkCY


If you are going to  use a lot of these then get them by the pound from UMS:  http://www.unitedmfrs.com/cart/detail.cfm?item=743

About $9.00 for 20 gauge x 1/2"  (0.035" x .500").  That would buy you about 8,000 brads.

[EricU]

my experience doing this with biscuits convinced me that I didn't really want to learn how to do a better job.  I didn't get divots though, I knew that could happen and let it dry for some time.  I just felt like things didn't end up where I wanted them

[JGrout]

About $9.00 for 20 gauge x 1/2"  (0.035" x .500").  That would buy you about 8,000 brads.

That is why I have always use pneumatic 18 ga brads 

it it not that hard to shoot them proud; couple of folds of non corrugated cardboard work

[Cooler]

That is why I have always use pneumatic 18 ga brads 

it it not that hard to shoot them proud; couple of folds of non corrugated cardboard work

I never thought of that.  It would certainly make fast work of this.  No hammer, no pusher, no need to clip the pins.

[JGrout]

as a matter of clarification: I meant to say 23 gauge pins not 18 gauge. 

most 18 gauge you have to clip the heads on still.

[Steve N]

I've always used 3d x 1.25" finish nails. Hammer it dead center into a 3/4" board, leave a little over 1/2 of it out. Snip the head off at an angle, leaving it sharp helps knock the pieces together. I use a reference plate to sit the pieces on, put the unattached piece with part of it hanging off the plate, and a deadblow to whack it together. The reference plate keeps it dead flat, and putting a couple of registration marks on the pieces get you lined up correctly. Someone said to use wire nail gun nails, and I found them whimpy on knocking the two pieces together, so I went back to the 3d's, just stout enough, without being too stout. Being metal they don't absorb any glue, so you don't need to wait around like with a wood product.

This is obviously a blown up pic, as it is described as a 3d 1.25" nail, Even here it looks 2" or more in length, so the diameter is off too. Didn't have a pic of one, and too lazy to take a pic tonight

[Edwin Hackleman]

I can't remember ever using a nail or a biscuit to help edge glue up a table top or a bench top. But, if you guys want to use them, go ahead.

[Bill Lyman]

I can't remember ever using a nail or a biscuit to help edge glue up a table top or a bench top. But, if you guys want to use them, go ahead.

Me either. Just trying to learn.

[Joel H.]

I can't remember ever using a nail or a biscuit to help edge glue up a table top or a bench top. But, if you guys want to use them, go ahead.

Me either.  I just lay out the pipe clamps and lay the wood on them and use pressure to align the joint as I tighten each clamp.  However, that said, I've never used plywood for a tabletop either.  

Joel

[Cooler]

I can't remember ever using a nail or a biscuit to help edge glue up a table top or a bench top. But, if you guys want to use them, go ahead.

The first time you start clamping and the molding slides out of position you will change your tune.  And if you want to clamp both sides of the table at one pass you will need to do so.