My buddy said to skip the glue on a miter joint and just use biscuits, I thought he was crazy.

I was building a picture frame for a client in Boise and tried it on a test piece, the joint held up better than my usual method after a week in a humid garage. He showed me how the wood movement with seasonal changes can crack a glued miter but the biscuit lets it flex a bit. Has anyone else had a similar experience with this technique on small projects?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan_ellis3d ago

What size biscuits did you use for a picture frame?

the_linda3d ago

Wait, your buddy was right about the glue cracking? That's wild but it makes total sense with wood moving. I've had a few frames come back with tiny splits in the corners and now I'm wondering if that's why. Good point from @logan_ellis about biscuit size too, because a big one would probably blow out the thin frame stock. What did you end up using, the zero or the ten?

jake9863d ago

My shop teacher back in high school drilled that into us. I used a #10 biscuit on a walnut frame last year and it actually pushed a hairline crack right down the miter. Switched to the zero for anything under an inch thick and it's been solid. Honestly, that tiny bit of extra space for the glue to flex makes all the difference.