Lamello Biscuit Joiner

EARLIER THIS YEAR, seasoned deck builders Andy Henley and Mike Mitchell agreed to step into the big shoes left behind by Marv Johnson, Deck Specialist’s previous tool review columnist who passed away last year.

These two craftsmen, who own and operate deck building companies and are active NADRA members, will share their reviews and discussions about tools and technology that impact the decking industry to equip you with the tools to build your business to the next level.

Andy is the owner and operator of Hen-House Decks, Uniontown, OH., a national award-winning deck company known for its creativity and high quality. If you know the name, then you are probably familiar with the company’s amazing guitar deck project.

Mike is a second generation, award-winning owner and operator of Mitchell Construction in the Chicagoland market. The company specializes in low-mainte- nance, outdoor living spaces, focusing on the customer experience throughout the process. In addition, Mike is invested in the industry, actively learning, educating, and elevating others.

In this first column, Andy and Mike have added a new section, the Contractor’s Corner, which focuses on the favorite tool of a featured contractor, and have chosen to review Lamello’s 101402S Zata P2 Biscuit Joiner.

About the Biscuit Joiner

Andy: Lamello opened their doors in 1944 and launched their first handheld biscuit joiner in 1968. The Zeta model was launched in 2010.

The Zeta P2 is a biscuit joiner for P-System connectors and is used to create a form locking groove within seconds. It is a special joiner that creates slots to inset P-system-style biscuit anchors. The integrated vertical mechanical drive is automatically triggered at the maximum cutting depth and performs a lateral cutter movement for the P-System groove. Connectors with various functions can then be inserted into the groove. This particular model has a cord, but a cordless option was released in some markets in September 2022.

Mike: The carrying case really set the tone for how this tool was going to perform. It is a solid container with form-fitting plastic to hold the tool, its accessories, and the various biscuits securely in place. The containers stack and lock together for organized storing and ease of bringing it out on the jobsite. I was excited to plug this thing in knowing how much effort they put into the carrying case!

Andy: Although there are a few different types of biscuits or connectors in the P-System, and a variety of additional components, there are two biscuit-type connectors worth noting: Tenso-P and Clamex-P.

Tenso-P. This is a two-piece self-clamping biscuit. Each half of the biscuit rotates into the secure slot. Just apply a little glue before you push the biscuits together and, thanks to its self-locking technology, the biscuit securely locks together, clamping the board in place. That’s right, no clamps needed! There is also an optional piece, to insert in one half of the biscuit to reduce the amount of pressure it takes to push the biscuits together.

Mike: It cuts a quick and accurate slot for a hidden fastener in the side of solid boards, and you can do it right in place while setting your picture frame border. This reduces screws, lets the hidden fastener set the gap, and results in a cleaner finish!

Clamex-P. This biscuit has a moving-center-locking clamp that secures the two biscuit halves together, similar to the way a double hung window locks. This requires access to the back of the board to rotate the locking mechanism. The access is through a small hole drilled to fit an Allen wrench into the lock. This has what we believe to be the highest clamping power that is also removable. Just unlock the clamp and pull the biscuit apart.

With a quick change of the blade, it becomes a versatile biscuit joiner. You can use this to cut standard biscuits in miters to reduce movement or cut slots for hidden fasteners.

Why you need this tool

Andy: Let me tell you a few reasons a biscuit joiner is a must-have tool in your arsenal. Imagine, it’s 4:30 pm and you’re one board shy of being finished with laying the decking for the day. It’s too late to grab another grooved board, however; you have an extra solid board just staring at you.

Contractor’s Corner

When we asked Kevin Choquette, Ravin Builders, Wood River Junction, R.I., what tool he found essential to have in his tool collection, he shared with us his experience with the The Muro CH7390 Ultra Driver collated fastener gun by Starborn Industries, Inc.

“The decking industry is constantly evolving through product innovation and development. We are challenged to remain teachable and seek better, more efficient, and lasting methods of building. The Starborn gun checks those boxes for us. We preassemble our stair treads, fasten with coated or stainless screws, and plug the holes for an almost unnoticeable finish. With around 24 screws per tread on a standard set, this innovation has become a serious growth of efficiency, accuracy, and also eliminates dropped, stripped, and lost screws. The collation makes transporting and storing them easier, and the way the screws drive and exit the gun seems to promote better vertical drive into pressure treated lumber.”

Check Kevin out on Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube @ravinbuilders.

For more information on the Starborn Collated Fastener Gun, visit starbornindustries.com.

That’s when you realize you have a secret weapon in the trailer. Boom! The biscuit joiner to the rescue! You grab the solid deck board and place it on the saw horses and you make your own slots for hidden fasteners. This also works great when you want to use hidden fasters on only one side of a solid board, such as on a picture frame border.

Andy: Another reason to use biscuits is to help keep your miters tight! Have you ever cut a tight miter and left the jobsite for the day with perfect miters, only to return the following day to find the miters have a small gap? A biscuit joiner is a great way to prevent this from occurring.

Billy Shirey of Shirey Construction, Copley, OH., has been successfully practicing this method for a few years.

When we asked Billy about the tool, he said, “Aside from setting yourself apart from the competition quality, what really made me pull the trigger on buying this product was that every guy on the crew could put down picture frame stair treads without struggle and they will be perfect.”

“If you don’t know the tricks of the trade it can be hard to accomplish perfect 45s on multiple stair treads, but the Lamello biscuit joiner eliminates that problem. Also, it’s something you can prep in your down time or on a rainy day if you sell a standard size of steps,” Shirey said.

“Although we will do quite a bit of custom stairs, the majority of our stairs are 4 ft. There is a bit of a learning curve in the beginning, but once you overcome that it is worth the wait. I honestly don’t know all the capabilities of this tool but it works great for what I do,” he added.

Mike: The Zeta P2 is really a high-end tool. It has a full range of adjustments for every direction and angle with pinpoint accuracy. It is very powerful and plows through wood or composite with ease. The sliding movement is super smooth, and you can hardly feel when the actuator moves the blade up and down to create the slot. The weight is well balanced when holding in one hand. I liked how easy it was to get the switch to turn on and then it remained on while making your plunge. I was not a big fan of the secondary handle. It felt a little flimsy and I couldn’t get it to lock into any position. I did not like dealing with the cord and feel like the cordless option will be a big advantage especially when working out in the field. Although there are plenty of benefits, it is rather expensive—as are the biscuits. If you do a lot of miters and are looking for a consistent way to lock them together, it is worth breaking open that piggy bank! For those of you in the AMC (Anti-Miter Coalition) a regular biscuit jointer may suit you just fine.

If you have any questions or tools you would like to see featured in this column, please reach out to us directly on the Decking TNT Facebook page. DS