• 6.5 Amp, 10,000 rpm motor provides power for working in the hardest woods

• Dual rack and pinion fence ensure blade and fence are always parallel for accurate joints every time

• Integral one-piece fence is adjustable and tilts 0-90 degree

• Flush cuts can be made at 0 degree without removing fence

• 45 degree locating notch in fence allows indexing off the outside surface of a mitered joint; Non-marring, heavy-duty aluminum shoe allows joiner to be clamped for stationary work

Since I wear hearing protection with ALL power tools I cannot comment on how loud it is. (My ears don't ring all the time, either.) The dust bag, as is usual with all dust bags, doesn't work and I haven't used it since the first try. The shop vac does the trick.

It has worked flawlessly on everything from positioning slats in a headboard (OK, I could have used mortise-and-tenon joints, but there were a LOT of slats) to attaching edging to plywood, to table-top glue-ups. The only biscuit failure I've had was when I tried to use it to attach the aprons to the legs on a children's play table. Some places NEED better joinery!

I am a little confused about the other reviews talking about the machine dumping dust on your feet. Mine has a swiveling plastic nozzle that I direct to the side when I cut without the vac. It seems to work fine. Have they changed this design lately?

... it, it seems like a bargain. The Lamello is unbelievably expensive (at least for a hobbyist), the Porter-Cable seems like a nice tool (that I have not tried yet), but the DeWalt seems like the value champ.

58 of 60 found the following review helpful:


Buy For Your Needs  May 09, 2000 By Pablo "Shuwatch"
This tool was a great buy for me: I needed a plate joiner for occassional use, one that cuts square and is accurate in its settings; It has done a beuatiful job each time. It is loud, the dust bag is not worth the trouble, its a fuss to get it back in its carry-box and setting the the x and y depth coordinates precisely takes extra care. Once set, it does stay put.

Where your money is better spent if you do a lot of this work is with a high end tool. The Lamello is a silkier setup at a much bigger price: but you make up the cost on time and hassle savings.

For my purpose, I'd buy the DeWalt again.

40 of 40 found the following review helpful:


Three minor problems  Jul 24, 2000 By Brent Danielson
I'm no pro with biscuit cutters, but unlike my other DeWalt tools, I found three problems with this right off the bat.

One, it clogs after about 5 cuts, sometimes after 3, for #20 biscuits in ash. The shaving port has a metal projection in the middle of it (too keep fingers out?). I'm contemplating removing it.

The fence angle indicator is not even close. Not a big deal, it is too crude to use reliably anyway.

Third, when edge joining, the cut is not parallel to the surface of the board. If I make two cuts side by side, the right-hand cut will be a bit higher on it's left side, than the left-hand cut is on it's right side. If that makes any sense to you, it indicates that the machine is not trued to the fence as is should be. If this is fixable, I have yet to figure out how. The discrepancy is fairly minor, but I'd sure like it to be better than this.

It seems to be a good product, but not as good as a DeWalt should be.

Brent

89 of 100 found the following review helpful:


Lacking some engineering  Aug 22, 2001 By Michael "Soccovitch"
I read the reviews and had it narrowed down to two jointers; DeWalt and Porter Cable. I decided that the price was right on the DeWalt and figured it would do the job. I tested a few joints with it and noticed that the wood was a little off. I figured that it was user error and continued on with my project. Then I decided to check for sqareness off the adjustable fence. The pointer lined up just past the "0" mark and sure enough it was off. No problem, I thought, since it had an adjustment screw, I could not adjust it to where I needed it to go. I had to file the stop block to get it at "90". This failed to fix the problem with the line up of the wood. I finally measured the cut and found that it was a 32nd higher on the right side of the cut. No matter how I hold the tool to the surface it was off. A visual look at the blade and you can see the blade comes out at an angle. Bottom line, the mechanics of the tool are strong, but the machining of everything else hooked to the motor needs more attention. It is going back tomorrow. A 32nd sounds picky, but it sure racks your project when you put all the biscuits in place. Not a good tool for fine woodworking projects.
Update: Fine Woodworking magazine did a review in their September/October 2001 issue and out of 12 jointers, DeWalt had the worst score for biscuits out of parallel. Exact quote was, "although I can live with 0.017 in. out of parallel, biscuit joints assemble with less fuss when the number is 0.007 in. or lower." Lamello Top 20 came in at 0.000 and Makita came in at 0.001. The Porter came in at 0.005. They liked Lamello, Porter, Makita, and the DeWalt even after what they found. Being a casual user, I think I will consider the Makita because of the cost savings.

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