4" Plate Joiner

Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner:

I reviewed as many of these as I could before I purchased this one. I actually purchased two more expensive ones and returned them before I kept this one. It compares very closely to the expensive yellow one version (at <1/4 price). handles great, very accurate, everything including the plunge is adjustable. For the people who complain about the millimeters, honestly you should use whatever measuring tool that you're using on your project anyway for adjustments just due to differences in measuring devices. The front rubber stoppers are a little inadequate, but a little tread tape and Exacto knife fixes it right up. Dust collection is sweet, good job on this one!

Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner:

Harbor Freight's other plate joiner (model #38437, which I believe is being replaced by this model) had a lot of negative reviews, the most damning of which were the flimsy plastic fence and poor dust collection. It's nice to see that they've apparently taken those reviews to heart with this updated model.

The fence is now all metal, and rock solid. It's a little stiff at first, though. I had a really hard time moving it up and down when adjusting the depth of cut, but after about two weeks of steady use it seems to have "worn in" a bit and now slides easily without feeling loose. Also, when adjusting the angle to a 90 degree cut (fence pointing straight out from the body), make sure you hold the fence in place when tightening the knob, since twisting the knob has a tendency to rotate the fence back about 8 or 9 degrees. This is not a big deal in my book, though. Kudos.

The other big "con" from the older model was the poor dust collection. I saw plenty of reviews which said things like "just throw the bag away", or words to that effect, since the bag did very little to contain the dust. Now, I've used a friend's high priced joiner by a big name company (that starts with "Mak" and ends with "ita") and the dust collection bag might as well not have even been there, so I figured that was a fairly common drawback with plate joiners. Not the case with this joiner. Seems HF found the "sweet spot" for the dust chute. I was amazed when I first used it and had almost no dust flying around. After about 45 or so cuts, I noticed a little dust coming from the blade area, so I checked the bag and it was plum full. That's a really nice feature when working with MDF. Also, the bag comes off easily (I take the short plastic tube it's clamped to off instead of unclamping the bag) and the bag has a zipper on the end making it extremely easy to empty. More kudos.

Another wonderful feature is the Locking Trigger. This works as both a trigger lock and a safety to keep the trigger from being depressed accidentally. I'm used to my friend's joiner, where the on/off switch is on the top and operated by your thumb. In the two weeks I've owned this, there have been a few times when I picked it up while plugged in and grabbed the trigger by mistake. While I'm getting used to the trigger being on the bottom, I'm very happy to have this safety built in. I haven't had the need yet to lock the trigger for multiple cuts yet (and honestly I probably won't any time in the near future), but this seems like a nice feature if you have many cuts all set up at one time.

My only "con" for this model is that the depth scale is in millimeters instead of inches. I work mostly with 1/2" or 3/4" stuff, so I had to do some calculations (and test cuts) to figure out where to put the indicator in order to get the slot cut right where I wanted it. The manual mentions nothing about the scale used (just says raise or lower the fence to the desired depth using the indicator on the side), but it was fairly easy to see that it wasn't inches since the numbers go from 10 to 20 to 30 to 35. I find this amusing since the website description states "Fence adjusts to a maximum depth of 1-1/8 inches". That being said, the scale isn't etched into the side of the body. It's etched into a small plate which is attached to the body with screws. The mounting holes are slightly elongated making it possible to dial it in (mine seems to be right on the money straight from the box). I feel that for a few more pennies they could have included an additional plate with imperial measurements on it, allowing the user to choose his or her preferred scale. I don't consider this to be a major drawback, however, and wouldn't have even dropped my rating by a half star (if that were possible) because of this.

In closing, I have to say that this joiner is a pleasure to use. It has plenty of power and excellent features. In my opinion, choosing a higher priced "name brand" model over this would be a total waste of money. Well done, Harbor Freight!

Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner:

Joiner works pretty well out of the box with minimal setup. Like a reviewer said before, the height adjustment screw needs to be tightened pretty good.

The blade it comes with is garbage for any hardwoods. Cuts pine no problem, but smokes like crazy and burns hardwood. Replaced the blade (not from HF) and it is a very respectable tool.

Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner:

This received high reviews so I got one. I performed a quick test before using this on a job. I set the adjustment screws pretty tight. I started plunging my expensive custom milled lumber only to find out that the guide was wandering. My grooves were slowly travelling further from the center of my work. Out of frustration I tightened them so much that they may be stuck now. It solved the problem and it kept up the pace for several hours of demanding use.

Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner:

This is a really decent biscuit joiner, it really can compete with the major brands like the "DeFault" brand. My only complaint is with the dust collection system, the problem I had was my vacuum filter was clogged and the suction wasn't enough to pull all the debris through. Plus the fact the dust collection system has a horrible bottle neck and can get clogged really easily. With a decent vacuum attached I think this is a great little unit for the price, easily comparable with a $300 unit. But the dust collection bag is worthless, the big pieces of wood debris bunch up right before it the nozzle for the dust collection which in turn makes the joiner blow all the remaining debris out the front of it which makes a HUGE mess.

Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner:

the fabrication seems ok. not much that can go wrong with this tool, unless the motor burns up or something.

the adjustments are easy.

nice price compared to the name brand tools you'd get at the big box stores.

Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner:

I bought this tool after reading the generally positive reviews from others. All in all, it's good but there are a couple problems. The fence on mine is not square..it's actually a bit crooked. I discovered this when I tried to make a custom jig for this tool. The power lever is a bit kluge and takes some getting used to. And finally, the motor takes about four seconds to reach full speed. I took the advice of others and did not even bother trying out the blade the unit ships with. Instead, I bought a Harbor Freight carbine tipped blade and had no problems cutting into Birch and oak hardwood. All in all, I like it, but it could be better.

Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner:

This saved me on a large picture frame. It was cheaper to buy this than an air compressor and brad gun. The size of this is big, and the millimeter gauge doesn't make much sense, but this does the job just right. I'm not sure if it's the HF biscuits that I'm buying, but I end up having to shave them down as they either don't fit or don't line up.

Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner:

Let me say, the price is definitely good for such a unit however there are some caveats. After cutting a few holes I noticed that the fence is not level from side to side. This causes the joiner to cut slots that aren't parallel to the wood which means the 2 pieces don't line up correctly. As others have noted, the biscuits also fit extremely tightly which makes it difficult to align the workpieces. Finally, the blade that comes with it is junk. I couldn't cut oak without smoke rolling off the piece. Overall, save your money and buy a better unit.

Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools 4" Plate Joiner:

So, the handle on this tool is connected to the part of the body that moves instead of the fence like other brands I've used. This leaves you with basically no way to hold it in place.

I took the handle off and use the heel of my hand against the fence to keep it from running off when I turn it on and plunge.

Okay if you roll out the biscuits once in a blue moon, but otherwise I'd go with something else.