measurement is not required, as the biscuits are hidden when the pieces are assembled, so a quick pencil stroke that marks both pieces where they align is all that is required. The parts are separated and the machine is used to cut the slots in each piece. The machine has reference marks on the centerline of the blade for easy alignment to the marks on the materials being joined. The body of the machine with the blade is spring-loaded, and in the normal position the blade is retracted. The operator aligns the machine and uses firm pressure to push the body forward against the base plate to make the cut. The waste material is blown out of the slot on the right of the base plate. Because the slots are slightly longer than the biscuits, it is still possible to slide the panels sideways after the joint is assembled (before the glue sets). This fact makes the biscuit joiner easy to use, because it does not require extreme accuracy or jigs to achieve perfect joints. The depth of the cut can be altered by an adjustable stop. The smaller base can be rotated through 90°, and accessories are provided for altering the offset of the base to the blade (for use with thicker or thinner materials as required). Some models allow slots to be cut at angles other than 90° to the joining face, for example 45°, which greatly speeds up the assembly of things like cabinets. Standard biscuit sizes Six-depth settings of biscuit joiner (six-size biscuits with no blade change) include #00, #10, #20, D, S, S6 Sizes of Porter Cable biscuits Note: The sizes were taken verbatim from the Porter-Cable website. Detail biscuit sizes Detail biscuits are smaller than standard biscuits and are typically used to join smaller pieces of wood together, and offer less structural support. Blades and depth For most portable plate joiners, a nominal 4 inch or 100 mm diameter blade is used for the #0, #10, #20 biscuit cuts. The blade is set deeper for joining the larger biscuits. Most blades have 4, 6, or 8 teeth and fit a inch or 22 mm arbor. The thickness of the blade is typically 0.156 to 0.160 inch or nominally 4 mm. See also Router (woodworking) Laminate trimmer Dowelmax — another loose-tenon joining method Notes and references Bruce Gray, "Testing Joints to the Breaking Point", Fine