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What Are Wood Biscuits Used For?

Author Archives: Ryan Potvin

  1. What Are Wood Biscuits Used For?

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    Wood biscuits are oval-shaped, compressed beech or engineered wood pieces used to join two wood elements together. Utilizing a method invented in 1956 by Hermann Steiner in Liestal, Switzerland, the use of wood biscuits remains a popular choice for many craftsmen today. 

    What Are Wood Biscuits Used For

    What Are Wood Biscuits Used For?

    When joining two wooden pieces together, wood biscuits are often used to create a strong bond that is easier than utilizing other joining methods such as mortise and tenon joints. The process of using a wood biscuit involves creating a crescent-shaped hole in the two pieces of wood being joined. An adhesive is placed into both holes, and a single wood biscuit is inserted into both slots, seamlessly bringing the two pieces together. Some of the most frequently used applications for wood biscuits include:

    • end-to-edge joints
    • edge-to-edge joints
    • rail-to-leg offset joints
    • face-to-edge joints

    Used in cabinet making and other areas where a joint spans a large area, wood biscuits provide a strong, straight alignment, which needs much less sanding than other methods. While these are the most popular uses, there are a wide variety of applications that utilize wood biscuits as a wood-joining method. 

    Common Sizes for Wood Biscuits

    There are three commonly used engineered wood biscuit sizes:

    • #0: 5/8″ x 1 3/4″
    • #10: 3/4″ x 2 1/8″
    • #20: 1″ x 2 3/8″

    Engineered wood is comprised of strands, fibers, veneers, or even thin wooden boards that have been compressed together with adhesive to form a solid piece. Common types of engineered wood include medium-density fiberboard (MDF), particleboard, and plywood.

    • MDF utilizes a hot press to compress the wood fibers. This process creates a higher density and, therefore, a more robust engineered wood product.
    • Particleboard is formed by using synthetic resins to bind wood chips, sawmill shavings, or sawdust together. 
    • Plywood consists of cross-laminated wood veneer sheets that have been bonded together using heat, pressure, and moisture-resistant adhesives.

    While each of these processes is slightly different, they all create engineered wood products that continue to prove their value year after year. Durable and water-resistant, engineered wood is affordable and easy to manufacture. In addition, engineered wood creates a much more efficient construction process. By using fewer trees and creating less waste than other wood products, engineered wood is also an environmentally sustainable product.  

    EW Hannas Manufacturing Buttons, Plugs, and Biscuits

    Whether your needs are best suited to standard biscuit sizes or require custom sizing, EW Hannas provides quality biscuits with the close tolerances needed for exceptional craftsmanship. In addition, we can meet any packaging needs you have in order to supply or display biscuit products on your shelves. 

    EW Hannas applies the same quality assurance to our buttons and plugs in order to meet all of your precision wood product needs. Request a quote or contact us for more information on how our quality wood biscuits can drive your business forward. 

  2. Understanding Dowels & Dowel Pins

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    While working on any wood project, you need dowel pins to secure wooden parts firmly. This ensures your crafts are strong enough in every joint. You can use dowel pins in structural reinforcements such as shelf support, cabinet making, toy wheel axles, movable game pieces, and more. Read on to learn more.

    Dowel Pins

    What Are Wood Dowel Pins?

    Wood dowel pins are straight, solid pins that contain chamfered ends. These pins help during alignment and insertion, usually utilized as fasteners.

    What Are Wood Dowels?

    They are made from a cylindrical wooden rod, usually cut into shorter lengths. You can purchase a wide range of pre-cut dowels that are ready for use in your project.

    How Do Dowel Pins Work?

    For dowel pins to work, you should first drill holes in your wooden pieces that will fit your dowel pins perfectly. You can then squeeze the dowel pins inside the holes to subsequently attach the other pieces of wood. When you insert a dowel pin in concentric holes through two or more components, it locates and securely keeps them together. A slight transitional fit or interference is also used to compress the pin and generate enough friction to firmly hold the pin in the hole.

    Advantages of Using Wood Dowel Pins and Dowel Joints

    No Need for Hardware

    When using dowel joints in your woodworking project, you can forgo nails, screws, and staples. This means you will also avoid the potential injuries caused by these hardware items when connecting wooden pieces. Aesthetically, your project will have a professional, finished look, because screws won’t interrupt the grain pattern.

    Versatility

    You can use dowel joints in flat or angle joints as well as complex joints. You can make reinforced dowel joints for use in items such as shelves and cabinets that need extra accuracy.

    Stronger Joints

    Dowel joints provide extra strength to parts that are constantly pulled or twisted. These joints provide an even more secure connection than using a tail and pin.

    Different Types of Wood Dowel Pins

    When wood dowels are cut to dowel pins, they are utilized as reinforcements to joints. Note that you should always leave a path for air and excess glue to escape once you press the dowel into place. If you decide to hammer the dowel to relieve the hydraulic pressure, it can lead to a split in the wood.

    If you join two wooden pieces using dowels embedded in blind holes, you can place pieces of shot between the wood to produce indentations once you clamp them. After releasing the clamp, the indentation indicates the center point where you can drill.

    Here are different types of dowels:

    • Pointed Dowels
    • Color-Coded Dowels
    • Stained and Finished Dowels
    • Slotted Dowels
    • Tenoned Dowels
    • End-Bored Dowels
    • Ladder Rungs
    • Engraved or Imprinted Dowels
    • Stakes – Sod Stakes, Plant Stakes
    • Craft Dowels
    • Skewers
    • Apple Sticks
    • Cosmetics & Healthcare – cotton tip applicator, make-up sticks, and cuticle sticks
    • Poles
    • Marshmallow Sticks
    • Mop Handles
    • Pennant Sticks

    E.W. Hannas Manufactures Superior Dowels for Your Needs

    Dowel pins make your woodworking projects easier because you don’t need hardware, and you actually achieve stronger joints. Even better, your final project has a professional, finished look. As you plan to work on your next wood project, get the highest standard dowel pins from E.W. Hannas. Contact us today for the custom wood part you need.

  3. Solid Wood vs. Manufactured Wood

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    Solid Wood vs Manufactured Wood

    Houses, furniture, boxes, decor, cutting boards, skewers, popsicle sticks, and so many other items are made of wood. Durable and reliable, wood is a go-to material in a number of industries. However, different applications call for different types of wood, and the first big decision is whether to use solid wood or manufactured wood.

    Solid Wood

    Solid wood is wood that comes directly from the tree. It’s divided into two primary categories: hardwood, like oak, walnut, and maple, and softwood, like pine and cedar. Each has its advantages and disadvantages in certain applications.

    While solid wood is more expensive than manufactured wood, many people prefer it for its natural beauty, density, and strength. Because every tree is different, every item made of solid wood features unique grain and coloring. It’s incredibly durable—many pieces of solid wood furniture can be passed down for generations—and is commonly used for flooring, construction, fine cabinetry, and more.

    Engineered Wood

    Engineered wood is a composite made of wood fibers held together with adhesives. These manufactured woods include plywood, particleboard, and fiberboard. While it’s not as strong or durable as solid wood, it offers its own advantages.

    Manufactured wood is much less expensive than solid wood. It’s as versatile as solid wood, with the added advantage of being easier to work with and install, and it’s available in a wide range of colors and patterns to suit your aesthetic preferences. When used for flooring, for example, it’s more affordable than a solid hardwood floor, but it can be made to look like real wood with better resistance to scratches and stains. Manufactured wood is not as susceptible to water damage.

    Engineered wood is also more sustainable than solid wood. A home made of manufactured wood, for example, demands fewer trees than a home made of solid wood. Some types of engineered wood are made of waste products like sawdust and wood chips, and they may also incorporate the use of bamboo or hemp, both of which are rapidly renewable.

    E.W. Hannas Manufacturing Wooden Products

    Manufactured wood is a great choice for packaging, affordable furniture and cabinets, interior doors, cost-effective construction, and products that aren’t subject to a lot of wear and tear or aren’t meant to last for decades. From crates and advertising novelties to handles, drink stirrers, and more, manufactured wood is often a practical choice.

    E.W. Hannas is a fourth-generation family company specializing in custom wood products. For more than 100 years, we’ve been your go-to source for high-quality wooden crates, handles, food-safe products, dowels, crafts, and more. We uphold the highest industry standards, as evidenced by our certifications, including ISO 9001:2008, FSC, and C-TPA, and our involvement with industry associations like the National Association of Home Builders, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the Wood Products Manufacturers Association, and the Global Food Safety Initiative. Contact us to learn more about our standard and custom wood products and our range of services, including private labeling, shipping and warehousing, and more, or to request a quote for your project.