Mrs C
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Has anyone got anything bad to say about the Makita PJ7000 before I buy one and wish afterwards I had saved up for a Lamello?
Thanks
Thanks
Makita Biscuit Jointer
- Thread starter Mrs C
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Biscuit jointers are a bit subjective, if you buy one without the facility to adjust the fence to 135 degrees you will probably never miss it, but if you have one with that adjustability you will wonder why they all don't have it, same goes for cast alloy fence's, the tin plate ones bend and go out of adjustment, I have both versions on two different jointers, although not Makita, guess which one does not get used a lot.
Mike
Mike
Eric The Viking
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I've got one. I like it a lot.
It feels like a quality tool. It plunges nicely and the DX is good, and I find it easy to use. There's a rubber/plastic strip around the blade slot that holds it fairly still against the workpiece, and which you can remove if you want to slide it along for grooving/slotting tasks. I've had some success using it that way - for wider grooves I just pack under the base plate with 2mm MDF, then remove the packing to get a 6mm slot: two packers and three passes altogether gets me 8mm and so on - not an exact science but sometimes really handy.
I suspect, however, that the motor and gearbox are from a small grinder as it is very noisy, but they all tend to be like that. I doubt the Lamello would be particularly quiet.
HTH, E.
It feels like a quality tool. It plunges nicely and the DX is good, and I find it easy to use. There's a rubber/plastic strip around the blade slot that holds it fairly still against the workpiece, and which you can remove if you want to slide it along for grooving/slotting tasks. I've had some success using it that way - for wider grooves I just pack under the base plate with 2mm MDF, then remove the packing to get a 6mm slot: two packers and three passes altogether gets me 8mm and so on - not an exact science but sometimes really handy.
I suspect, however, that the motor and gearbox are from a small grinder as it is very noisy, but they all tend to be like that. I doubt the Lamello would be particularly quiet.
HTH, E.
Review here: http://lumberjocks.com/topics/6956
In all the reviews the Porta Cable 557 comes out on top, even above the Lamello.
Mike
In all the reviews the Porta Cable 557 comes out on top, even above the Lamello.
Mike
Eric The Viking
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I've not seen Porter Cable sold on this side of the Atlantic.
Are theysold here, and in 220-240 versions?
If so, they also make nice routers by all accounts.
Are theysold here, and in 220-240 versions?
If so, they also make nice routers by all accounts.
custard
Established Member
Fine Woodworking ran a test on eight different biscuit jointers a couple of years ago.
The best were the Lamello Classic X and the Lamello Top 21, the best of the lower priced makes was the DeWalt 682K.
The Makita PJ7000 was criticised because the auxiliary fence (it's designed on the same auxiliary fence principle as the Lamellos) had some play in it and the 90 degree stop on the fixed fence was out by over a degree, but it was praised for having a smooth plunge action.
In an earlier FW biscuit jointer test they measured exactly how parallel the cuts were when referencing from the tool's fence. They found the Lamello and the top of the range DeWalt were precisely parallel, but every other brand was off by a greater or lesser amount.
I've used quite a few different brands of biscuit jointers in several workshops, in the UK it's a choice between Lamello or Mafell if you want the very highest quality, but having said that unless you're chasing absolute precision then most named brands do a decent enough job. The ones to avoid are the real bargain basement biscuit jointers, I've used a few and some of them were absolute shockers.
Good luck!
The best were the Lamello Classic X and the Lamello Top 21, the best of the lower priced makes was the DeWalt 682K.
The Makita PJ7000 was criticised because the auxiliary fence (it's designed on the same auxiliary fence principle as the Lamellos) had some play in it and the 90 degree stop on the fixed fence was out by over a degree, but it was praised for having a smooth plunge action.
In an earlier FW biscuit jointer test they measured exactly how parallel the cuts were when referencing from the tool's fence. They found the Lamello and the top of the range DeWalt were precisely parallel, but every other brand was off by a greater or lesser amount.
I've used quite a few different brands of biscuit jointers in several workshops, in the UK it's a choice between Lamello or Mafell if you want the very highest quality, but having said that unless you're chasing absolute precision then most named brands do a decent enough job. The ones to avoid are the real bargain basement biscuit jointers, I've used a few and some of them were absolute shockers.
Good luck!
Mrs C
Established Member
Cheers Custard, thank you - I know far too much about cheap biscuit jointers 
You may just have cost me an extra £200, but thank you anyway - just don’t tell Mr C!
You may just have cost me an extra £200, but thank you anyway - just don’t tell Mr C!
MattRoberts
Established Member
If you're going that far, it's it worth considering the festool domino? Since buying one, I haven't touched my biscuit joiner.Mrs C":30jy2h9h said:Cheers Custard, thank you - I know far too much about cheap biscuit jointers
You may just have cost me an extra £200, but thank you anyway - just don’t tell Mr C!
I'm with Matt.
In fact I have a Makita Biscuit Jointer, was a great piece of kit before I bought the Festool Domino. Do you want to buy it? In good condition!
Mick
In fact I have a Makita Biscuit Jointer, was a great piece of kit before I bought the Festool Domino. Do you want to buy it? In good condition!
Mick
MattRoberts
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I think you need to work on your sales pitch, Mick!MickCheese":ltnhty55 said:
custard
Established Member
MattRoberts":2jsw7cjj said:
There's some good sense in that suggestion. Personally I use both a Domino and a biscuit jointer, but for most furniture scale projects a 500 Domino is probably the more versatile tool.
Eric The Viking
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Glad you've decided.
Actually, I found that my own Makita is the older model (3901), which might explain why I have never had any issues with the auxiliary fence. I found one review that mentioned it, but honestly it hasn't been a nuisance. But then I do mostly reference off the benchtop, I suppose.
Anyway, if I had found it to be a problem I would have said.
E.
Actually, I found that my own Makita is the older model (3901), which might explain why I have never had any issues with the auxiliary fence. I found one review that mentioned it, but honestly it hasn't been a nuisance. But then I do mostly reference off the benchtop, I suppose.
Anyway, if I had found it to be a problem I would have said.
E.
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