Makita PJ7000 Plate Joiner, Blue

This is a great biscuit joiner. I had to replace my old one of a different brand and read the reviews about the Makita and the Dewalt and couldn’t decide between the two. So I ordered both of them and first opened the Dewalt and was very disappointed in the finish of the tool. The fence did not move smoothly, and there were many sharp edges that needed to be deburred which I did while inspecting the tool. One very important requirement for this tool is that the blade is parallel to the bottom of the tool and the fence so I put the tool on a flat surface and inspected the squareness of the tool. The blade was out of alignment by about a degree and a half and I was not able to ever correct it. This is enough to make assembly difficult. As a result of this, I didn’t even plug the tool in and returned it.The Makita on the other hand was very nicely made, and everything fit and moved perfectly. It’s easy to adjust and one of the best features is the ease in clearing out chips when they get stuck in the exhaust port, which will happen on all biscuit jointers. The Makita has a single screw that does not require tools to open up the base and clear out the chips. The Dewalt required a screwdriver and removing four screws to clear out the dust port.My only complaint about the tool is the location of the switch which is not compatible with left-handed operation. I have dealt with this issue my whole life with switches on power tools being set up for a right handed person. I would definitely buy this tool again, but judging from its quality, I may never have to.

Best Biscuit Joiner! If you need to glue two big pieces of lumber together this is the tool to use! Stronger than nails, prettier than screws!Bought this and the Kreg HD Jig to have two alternatives for putting 2x4's together for a work bench I'm building.Feedback for Makita:Love that it is Japanese Engineered and USA assembled. The attention to detail is good, but here is where you can improve...The two plastic levers are replaceable, but should be metal!The depth guage with 6 settings is IMPOSSIBLE to read. Raised small lettering on chrome is no good! Use the debossed red line method for the dial too. Use color coding for biscuit sizing - I ended up using finger nail polish dots to coordinate with my 3 air tight jars of biscuits. The S, D and Max are meaningless. D looks like the 0! Put a depth chart next to the dial. 0-8mm, 10-10mm, 20-12.3mm, S-13mm, D-14.7mm, Max-20mm.Design the wrench to fit inside the handle instead of the tool case.Tool case too small. Forces cord to bend and the most vulnerable place. I suspect this is where a lot of cords will eventually break.Like that the dust port is replaceable but look at using larger standard PVC elbow joints to improve dust collection (sawdust is cancer causing in California P65).Sawdust bag can't be on tool when putting into the case. Means users without dust collectors will likely skip using the case :(PLEASE include some sample 0,10,20 biscuits in a sealed bag with desiccant. Also include a sample wood glue tube. You should be able to get free samples frommanufacturers.Like the spare blade storage!Case has a plastic fence (set plate) that you use for cutting biscuits in thin pieces of wood. Any chance you can spell out min and max sizes you can join?Design the manual so I can easily pull out the other language sections I don't want and toss.Design the manual so it fits in the storage section of the case (trim a couple inches either side).

I completed a fair effort in visiting several local hardware and wood working specialty stores before selecting the Makita plate joiner. The fence design is superior to the P-C and D-W brands, and it is far far better than the cheap line sold by Home Depot and Sears (same tool). In particular the fence is all metal (save plastic knobs) and it slides smoothly on close tolerance (hardened?) round shafts (very clean and rugged design!). The fence adjustments are accurate and square, however with any similar tool (router, etc.) I never trust the scales built into the machine -- i.e. double check with calipers or other measuring tools. The cam-type fence lock works smoothly and does not push or cock the fence off its setting. I was surprised to read that some fellow reviewers reported loose or binding fence mechanisms -- fortunately this simply was not true in my case.I will note that although spring loaded the on-switch latches too easily in the continuous run position. This is not a big deal, for a tool that has such a specialty application, and thus usually much lower shop use time. The fence plate or "foot" is all die-cast aluminum and Makita only provides a narrow slot which is aligned over your work lines. This has not been a limitation for me, but other reviewers expressed some frustration in this regard. Instead I like the large footprint of the fence for its stability, and I will thus deal with the relatively small alignment "aperture".The machine is somewhat noisy but has plenty of power for clean cuts in hardwoods and various "engineered" woods. I use a vac setup so I can't comment on the dust bag. I've been using D-W biscuits and they fit firmly in the slots cut by the Makita.In sum, I've been very pleased with the performance of the JP7000 and thus rate it a solid 4.5 stars.

Does every thing a plate joiner should and well built Makita quality . This replaced an older porter cable plate joiner that just got worn out over the years (15+). I just couldn’t justify the Festool domino system which is super cool stuff but not $1500 + cool.Festool is for the pro who can afford it and justify the cost by production needs. I’m a semi pro DIY GUY so I use the plate joiner a lot and the cost is around $200 and I’ve not had any joints fail yet so it’s way more cost effective for me. Either way they both have their place. If I wad rich and just wanted the best and cost wasn’t a consideration Festool is a no brainer.