Finger Joint Bit by EAGLE

Try as I might I cannot get the finger joint bit to work. I am trying to join 1 1/2 thick stock which in the description says it will do.I have been the full range of the cutter no luck. I am setting the cutter and cutting both pieces of stock one side down and one side up and i still have miss match. I have read the reviews of others and there doesn't seem to be a problem with miss match. I am at a loss as to what I am doing wrong. If anyone reads this that has experience with Eagle America finger joint bits please write me and explain to me what I am doing doing wrong I am enclosing my personal email awillis6@ec.rr.com . I would appreciate any constructive advise ! Cutter quality is excellent .....

I don't know what the other reviewer is on about. The top bearing is the GUIDE--you run it along the straight edge of a board. No router table required, just a straight edge. The joint is perfect--no run-out--if you just use the router over the top of your board. An incredibly tight joint, good enough to join end grains to incredible strength. Actually does 1-1/2", not 1-3/8" as advertised. No micro-fine adjustments really needed: just take a good guess and plane your boards to fit after cutting, or after doing your first cut, practice on a scrap to get your second cut to join it in line.

I might agree with the other reviewer--the instructions aren't worth much--but the bit itself makes perfect joints if you know how to use it. It has the advantage over glue joint bits in that it does not require an edge guide. I use it on my router, and not with a router table. Here's how to use it. 1) Start off with all of your wood the same thickness. Route the edges of your board straight using a straight edge or a perfectly cut piece of plywood. 2) Determine how many cutterheads you will require to cut your thickness. The bearing will be riding the top edge of the wood, and at the bottom, you place the wide cutterhead. Be sure that all of the cutters are facing the correct direction. 3) Do an eyeball adjustment: the amount touching the bearing should be the amount touching the bottom cutterhead. 4) For any given plank, cut from the same side (top or bottom) for both edges that you are going to join. 5) Flip every other board in your sequence. So if you are doing a tabletop with 4 planks, route from the top side for planks 1 and 3, and the bottom side for 2 and 4. 6) After routing, push your pieces together. Unless your "guess" setting as perfect, every other plank willl be either alternately high or low. You will probably be off by a mm or so. Pass through a planer to even up. 7) If you don't have a planer, do every other board, then use a scrap piece to adjust the cut on the other boards, and adjust your router until you get it right. No router table required. 8) Gluing--and this is important--note that with a finger joint, your glue has a long, long way to navigate from the center grooves. Use a slightly runny glue like Franklin Type 3. Apply sparingly. I use a pointy glue bottle, and I don't brush it--just get a nice even bead. If you put glue on both sides, it will squeeze into every last nick and cranny. Don't apply out in the sun--give your glue time to squeeze out before

Fairly high quality router bit. However, not easy to use without micrometer router-table adjustment. Guide bearing at outer end is virtually useless. This is a fairly long bit, so any normal run-out generated by router collet tends to degrade final joint fit. No instructions included. Brief instructions in catalog are incorrect.