Freud JS100A 6.5 Amp Plate Joiner

by Freud

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 12.3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0000223OK
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: JS100A
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,635 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #20 in Home Improvement > Power & Hand Tools > Power Tools > Plate Joiners

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Tool that is Easy to Use, February 4, 2001

By 

Al the Pal "Al the Pal" (The Fruited Plain, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freud JS100A 6.5 Amp Plate Joiner (Tools & Home Improvement)

I have used this tool to place hundreds, if not thousands of biscuits on all kinds of projects. The fence can be a little tough to adjust, as it tightens with a wing nut on each end of a threaded rod. You must turn both ends at the same time to get a tight grip. I find that I use it without the fence most of the time. The blade is mounted such that it hits the middle of 3/4" stock just sliding on the base. I clamp my work to the extension table on my table saw and just slide the biscuit joiner on the table surface. It is easy to hit your marks on edge joints this way. For right angle joints, I use a guide clamp (like a Tru-Grip CT24C) squared on the workpiece (i.e. the side of a bookcase) so the base of the joiner rests where the bottom of the shelf will be. It is easy to make a verticle plunge into the board resting on the table.

The depth of cut is easy to fine tune, and there are positive adjustment stops for three sizes of biscuits.

One thing I don't like about this tool is the "clattering" sound it makes while running. I have run this machine quite a bit and never had a problem, but it has sounded like a loose bearing from the time it was new. The fence could use some improvement, but that is easy to work around.

If it ever breaks down and I have the cash, I'd like to try a Lamello. That's the one Norm has on the New Yankee Workshop!

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Joiner, November 21, 1999

By 

Gerald H. De Voss (Lansing, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freud JS100A 6.5 Amp Plate Joiner (Tools & Home Improvement)

I've used this Biscuit Joiner on hundreds of projects. It's quick, cuts multiple sizes for different biscuits, and does a really great job. I also bought a kit which allows one to make a stand out of the joiner. This has also been extremely handy. The joiner is mounted upside down and allows you to line things up real easily.

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars OK for occasional use, but has many annoying design defects, June 19, 2003

By 

Bic Ballpoint (Red Bluff, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freud JS100A 6.5 Amp Plate Joiner (Tools & Home Improvement)

The Freud JS-100A is my first biscuit joiner. I picked it because it looked well made and inexpensive. After two years, I now use biscuits for everything and am putting the Freud to heavy use. It is an increasingly annoying resident of my shop; as of today I am in the market for a better-designed joiner.

The Freud continues to work OK--I have become used to the motor noise, which sounds like a handful of ball bearings rattling around in a coffee can. The dust collection system is its worst failing--the chintzy plastic manifold doesn't make a good seal and dust blows out the joint into your face. And when you have to remove the manifold to get the tool into a corner, you find access to the screw is blocked by the biscuit size selection dial. Oh, and dust goes right through the bag too, again right in your face if you're bending over to see what you're doing.

The crude fence adjustment mechanism is a real pain. When you are trying to center the cut in a board, it's just a trial and error game. Some kind of screw adjustment would be most helpful (as in the Porter-Cable 557 I bought to replace the Freud).

In production use, the tool seems heavy and poorly balanced. The on/off switch is awkwardly located, at least for me--I have to turn it on and then position it for a cut (instead of lining it up and just switching it on briefly for a quick cut. Then I have to set the tool down and turn it off. You have to wonder what they were thinking when they built this thing.