Dowell or Biscuit Joints

[Quickthorn]

I do a bit of woodwork, bits of furniture & stuff. All I've got is handtools, and most of the joints I use are mortice & tenon, chopped/sawn out by hand. I find these joints are ok, but they take a lot of time (especially setting out), and as I don't have a great deal of time outside of work, I don't get much stuff made. I'm looking at using dowells or biscuits instead of M&T, to speed things up, but how do they compare in terms of speed/accuracy to make and strength?

 

It seems that dowells would be the cheapest in terms of new tools, but it looks like they have to be drilled very accurately to work well. Biscuits look better, but there's the cost of the jointer.

 

As far as biscuit jointers go, can anyone recommend one? I don't think I can justify a Lamello, but I've seen a Bosch for £249, a Makita for about the same, and a deWalt for £184.

[agg221]

Not having a biscuit jointer, I use dowels. They have to be fairly accurate, but I find I'm close enough with a power drill, with a jig to hold it square. I scribe a true centreline, with good spacing accuracy, and drill one side, then stick temporary steel rods in, with centrepoints that just stick out, and push the two parts together to get marks to drill the second set to match. I tend to do heavier stuff, sometimes correcting some tendency for distortion in the board at the same time, so I can use stainless steel dowels where necessary.

 

I do tend to do my final finishing after joining - lets me take out up to 1mm or so of inaccuracy, and I'm never worse than that!

 

Alec

[Pat Ferrett]

If you joining large boards you can cut a grove in both pieces and use a strip of 3 mm ply as a tongue.

Smaller joints are a piece of cake with a biscuit cutter, I bought a trend for £80 years ago and its still going strong.

 

Got to knock a sash window up for the house and ill use buscuits with a good quality glue, which IMO is just as important as the joint its self.

[scraggs]

I bought a biscuit jointer for the camper build and only used it for one joint.

Not a bad joint though.

Might be tempted to sell it if you are interested

[pgkevet]

I think it depends what you're making. Edge jointing of two planks is probably easiest with a router. Routers and straight edges are great and routing bits with guide wheels make life easy.

I have built a few sets of built-in cupboard units in the past and for those the dowels worked a treat. As already said, drilling a hole and then dropping in a pointed stud to mark the opposing drill hole works simply and effectively. Again if you want an accurate perpendicular hole and have the access room then using a plunge router does the job. For a hole in the end of a short plank then clamp it flush in a 'workmate' face and plunge rout..easy.

[harvey b davison]

You dont need to buy a jointer, just get a biscuit cutter for a router, there cheap enough, and do the same job, as jammydodger said, if jointing large boards then make grooves down the boards and use ply as the 'sandwich filler'. If you are furniture making then i would use dowel joints, but you still carnt beat M & T joints in joinery.

[Ian Leach]

I would use dowels or stick with the mortise & tenon especially if your building solid furniture. Biscuit joints are good but i wouldn't use them on anythig to big.

[Ian Leach]

This site is quite good, lots of different jigs.

 

 

Search results for "dowel jig " from Rutlands.co.uk

[NeilG]

What do you guys think of pocket holes? Things like the Kreg jig.

 

Very quick to do, if slightly un-craftsman like. I knocked up a freestanding kitchen unit with face frame and doors using pocket holes.

 

If you want to get as much built as poss in limited time it might be worth looking at... Axminster sells all the stuff.