Every professional contractor and DIY hobbyist should have a plate joiner in their collection, although it is one of those tools that is very often overlooked. The job of a plate joiner is of course to make two precise cuts into a piece of wood, which will then allow a wood biscuit to be glued in place. That then provides stability for joints and ensures joints will line up perfectly. Adding a biscuit joint can really make a big difference to your constructions and is a must for anyone who wants to make professional-grade furniture. Can you live without a joiner? Probably – but once you’ve seen the difference you’ll not want to go back.
The question is: can the DEWALT DW682K 6.5 Amp Plate Joiner be the tool to help you do that?
Everything You Could Want in a Joiner
A good plate joiner should be able to cut with consistent precision with the desired depth and location. You should also keep an eye out for safety features (and general features generally), the versatility, preset stops and the power.
The good news is that the DEWALT DW682K 6.5 Amp Plate Joiner really excels when it comes to most of these criteria. It is a nicely made product and has a great design. The name DEWALT also always inspires confidence. At 10.6 pounds, it’s not terribly light but it is very well balanced and is generally ergonomic.
The fence can be adjusted between 0 and 90 degrees and is made from one piece, which ensures the blade and fence stay parallel. It can also make flush cuts at zero degrees with no need to remove the fence – something that you won’t find with a lot of these tools.
In terms of features, the DeWalt DW682K 6.5 Amp Plate Joiner comes with heavy-duty non-marring aliminum shoe. This helps to protect the wood around the area that you are cutting, which of course is a very handy feature unless you want your furniture to look dented and battered!
Preset depth stops are also handy and include the most common biscuit sizes (0, 10 and 20). This makes it very easy to set everything up and means you can be certain that the depth is accurate and you aren’t going to cut too deep or too shallow. This comes in very handy if you use the tool frequently. Oh, and it’s powerful too with a 6.5 amp motor capable of driving the carbide blade at 10,000. This allows cutting depths up to 20mm in even the hardest woods and you should have zero probably cutting through oak or maple.
Pros and Cons: Power and Performance… If You Don’t Mind the Noise!
The DeWalt DW682K 6.5 Amp Plate Joiner is simply a very well made tool from a highly respected manufacturer. It has a lot of extra features, including the shoe and the preset stops and these help to make it easier and faster to accurately create your joins. It’s powerful enough to handle the toughest of tasks and in general will be ‘future proof’. If you’re a hobbyist now hoping to take on bigger projects in the future, then the tool will be likely to grow with you. In our tests, this has been a joy to use.
Another pro here is the smorgasbord of extras that come packed in. You get the carbide blade, the dust bag, vacuum adaptor, torx key, wrench and even a kitbox.
On the downside though, this is a noisy device. And at $354.18 (at full price) it’s also not expensive. And while the machine is actually fairly light considering its capability, it’s still definitely heavier than some tools you’ll have lying around.
Conclusion
As ever, the suitability of this joiner comes down to your requirements. If you’re a pro and you design furniture for a living, then you’re going to need a joiner and this model is as good as any. Likewise, if you’re a hobbyist and you want to really step-up your game and potentially sell your work in future, then this will help you do that.
But for those who just ‘dabble’ it may not be essential and you might not want to store something so big and loud.
source http://www.toolerant.com/review-dewalt-dw682k-the-best-amp-plate-joiner/
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