As its price suggests, this biscuit joiner is in a class of its own. Thanks to a soft-start motor, there’s no chance of the Top 20S kicking itself off the mark when it’s turned on. The plunge action was super smooth, and the clearly marked fence has detents at 22.5, 45, and 67.5 degrees. There’s a height stop that can be attached to the base to aid in parallel alignment and vertical use. It can reach 2-3/8 in. to center biscuits in 4-3/4-in boards. It can also be slipped onto the base for more surface area and a sturdier tool. In addition, there is a thickness plate for centering biscuits on 1/2-in. stock.

For precision biscuit placement, the blade can even be adjusted 2 mm up and down inside the housing, a feature unique to this biscuit joiner. The tool did not come with a dust bag to test, but the dust port worked well. An accessory vacuum hose is available from the manufacturer. Out of the box, this joiner will cut slots for all biscuit sizes except mini-biscuits; an aftermarket blade is available to make mini-biscuit slots. Accessing and changing the blade on this tool was easier than on most of the others. This joiner came with a nice wooden case, suitable for the top shelf in a shop but doomed to break in the back of a truck. At $650, this tool is better suited for precision shop work than rigorous job-site applications, anyway.