One thing not mentioned in the video is the resistance to cyclical loading (fatigue) and to the seasonal expansion/contraction of wood. Pocket screws gradually loosen with both of these loadings. I use pocket screws for shop cabinets, never plugging them on the expectation they will have to be tightened up every once in a while to get rid of the rickety. I also have a biscuit joiner, inherited from my dad. I've used the stink out of it in both appropriate and inappropriate scenarios. "Appropriate" would be relying on the glue joint for strength and the biscuit for alignment. "Inappropriate" would be considering the biscuit as a structural member, as you would a dowel or a domino. I used to have that loose biscuit problem until I discovered what I was doing wrong. You have to hold the fence tight against the workpiece and focus on straight insertion and withdrawal, otherwise the rocking of the tool will open up the width of your slot. In most cases I need a mallet to lightly tap the biscuit in.
Biscuits have their place. Sometimes you have to join the narrow face of boards. They are meant so much for high load. I used them in places where concealment is needed. I might combo with finish nails for extra hold where they will bight across the join but still be hidden. There are times when pocket screws are not exactly concealed. You can greatly increase the strength of a biscuit join with finish nails along with the wood glue. Each adds its own level of bond.
everyone always says that the "correct": way to use biscuits is to use them for alignment and rely on the glue for the actual strength. but considering how loose and inconsistent they are in thickness, i really dont see how theyre useful for even that.
@@Hephera I guess there are different quality standards among brands, as long as I've punched the holes properly I haven't had any inconsistencies with my lamello branded biscuits. they're a bit expensive for biscuits, but really they're cheap in the big picture when bought in bulk for a business.
I use biscuits all the time when I make custom dimension kitchen cabinets. (instead of the premade ones that have cnc drilled dowel holes.) The material is always the same 16mm melamine chipboard so I never need to adjust the fence whether I do 90° or flat plane joints. Just grab the tool, punch holes and glue together. And it is a non visible joint which is a must.
I love the reality check about ppl wanting to make "heirloom quality" pieces. You remind me of my good friend talking me down from overcomplicating projects using rational, practical, grounding advice.
About 10 years ago, I built my 20' workbench in my garage. The frame and drawers were all pocked screwed together. The top was made from joined 2x4's using biscuits and a good glue. That bench hasn't budged. Still looks great and zero issues.
We still have the desk my grandfather made as his journeyman piece. It will get passed on the next generation too. Make it well and beautifully and it is worth it. Consider styles that are still used 100 or more years later instead of the latest trend though.
Problem is most people do not give a damn about things like this. Not to say build crappy things but it would stress me out like mad to try to build things with the idea of in a 100 years people talking about me......will never happen. And if it magically does, itd be 1 or 2 people and what will that do for my dead me? Bring me back to life? lol
@@lastdaysofhumanity4114 I dunno, if it survived the attrition of time and ended up in a museum or antique store with a hefty price tag, that'd be kinda cool. It's more for your kids and grandkids to enjoy rather than you, like planting a tree when you're too old to see it mature. Odds are none of us are going to be making anything that anyone will want a century from now, other than for the sake of family memories. Sometimes that can lead to a white elephant situation though, your great grandkids might not want the coffee table or rocking chair you made but would feel really bad if they sold it.
I have been using dowels and pocket holes for years. Dowels are by far my favorite. As you stated, pocket screws have their place. I sold my biscuit cutter, just never liked it and didn't feel like it fit my what I needed in my shop. I use dowels for joining table tops for glue ups. Makes the alignment process so much easier. I have tried my neighbors Domino cutter. I liked it, but have been using the Dowelmax and JessEm systems for so long, I have gotten really fast at making the joints. I use 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" dowels and buy them in bulk so the cost is very minimal per joint. The strength of the joints are amazing. Every system has their place in woodworking. Every one has a preference and mine are dowels.
Bought the Dowelmax for 10mm and 6mm dowels years ago. Beats my biscuit jointer hands down for accuracy and is a fraction of the price of a Domino jointer.
I'm not a Festool fanboy, but a neat thing about the domino is the ability to cut wider mortises, providing some slop to the joint along the joint but not across the joint, allowing it to be moved a small amount when assembling, which dowels can't do but is intrinsic to the biscuit. It can be a lifesaver during assembly, and can have advantages for controlling expansion across the grain direction without causing splits. Edit: mortises, not tenons derp
@@robertpearce8394 heh, that's kind of where I'm at. Fortunately I have access to a domino I can use occasionally without imposing on it's owner too much, but am finding it difficult to justify dropping that much for one I'd maybe monthly at best in a non professional context. But I'd probably (maybe) practice more and varied joinery if I had one in my garage. All of those tools have an application where they excel, though, so I don't consider them wasted money, necessarily.
Dowel can do, just remove the jig and tilt your drill in the hole in the right direction few times, you won't get much more than couple millimeters but that usually enough.
Re Festool. I worked in a yacht builders, wooden hulls and furniture, mostly oak and teak. There was quite a variety of tools, lots of Makita and Bosch, just a couple of Festools. Guess which tools were always grabbed by the first guys in the workshop each morning ? Clue: not Bosch or Makita . The dust extraction on the Festools was in a different league.
Pocket screws are hands-down the ONLY choice if you only have one choice, they completely revolutionized woodworking when they came on the scene. Biscuits are great for panel joinery and joints that have to be invisible from both sides. Dowels are strong, but novices have a lot of trouble lining them up, and I have to admit in my 40-someodd career in woodworking I have had some misaligned dowels too. The Domino is great for some limited applications that involve larger scale, for example they are wonderful for making doors. The really small dominos on the other hand don't do much for you, except maybe amortize the cost of the too-expensive machine. In terms of what you will use most in practical application, they go in thew order I listed them. If you have nothing and want to know which to buy first, it's pocket screws and jigs hands-down. Low cost and will make face frames an absolute breeze.
Domino provides the flexibility of biscuit joints with near the strength of a dowel. I use all of the methods in the video as they all have their place.
My cabinet company (I’m a dealer) has been in business since 1965. Until a few years ago, the face frames were assembled using mortise and tenon joinery. They made the switch to pocket screws. Made no difference on the strength of the assembled cabinet. In fact, I am impressed by how strong the joint is.
Well, I'm glad someone openly said it. There are a lot of worse than bad dowel jigs out there. Early on I recall buying two dowel jigs. The first a budget jig. Then a mid-range jig. I kept wondering why I was so bad at dowel joinery until it dawned on me how really sloppy and bad these jigs were. In frustration, I essentially gave up on dowel joinery, unwilling to invest any more time and effort. I bought a Domino while I also use biscuits (sparingly) and pocket screws where appropriate. But yeah, a lot of really bad dowel jigs out there. I wonder how many people unnecessarily wrestle with dowel joinery not really knowing they're just using a crummy dowel jig.
I have used all of these methods. The biscuits the most. Now I use a Domino most often. I can tell you in 25 years of woodworking I have never had a properly done joint fail. It doesn’t matter which method as long as it is tight fitting and not glue starved. All that said I have observed lots of factory furniture with failed dowel joints.
I would argue that it's the proper application of the glue that makes all your joints work. Biscuits, dowels, and dominos are more for alignment, or for folks who don't use enough glue.
Scott, the vid you showed of the biscuit joint test showed the failure of the wood, not of the joint itself. The joint actually stayed intact. Biscuits certainly aren't good for every joint, but in situations where you don't want to see the fastener they obviously superior to pocket screws. For instance, I've used them many times to secure face frames to cabinets...and they work great for that. Makes alignment onto the carcass a snap, and provides a rock solid connection of the face frames to the carcass.
I think that clip was the only biscuit joint where the wood failed, for the rest, the joint failed, but didn't capture as good of a camera angle with them.
A joint failure is a failure. The biscuit failed because the biscuit itself added no strength to the joint. Whereas every other method did add strength to the joint. So point lost. You can plug off pocket screws. That may not make them invisible but they can certainly look acceptable.
This is definitely the most useful place for a biscuit jointer. I know a couple long time professionals who use biscuits for face frames. As for the comment on pocket holes, there are times when the face frame is installed on site and there would be no access to screw from the back. And certainly any customer will be unhappy if you drilled a pocket hole on the inside of the cabinet.
@@Tensquaremetreworkshop people do seem to have a penchant for invisible fastening anymore. Just another symptom of the unrealistic expectations so prevalent these days. Things have to hold together with no visible means of doing so. My world must be more magical than Harry Potter's!
Using exposed dowels also will allow you to do it without any jigs or fit concerns. I'll be doing that on the next structural project I do. I think they look cool too.
@@baddog4347 they have a series of videos that cover how to use it. Important to note that you use the dowelmax and the domino the exact same way, by matching registration faces between your workpieces. The cheap "self-centering" jigs usually don't, which is why they don't align well.
I liked the concept of dowel joints and went through a series of jigs that only left me frustrated. Then I bought a DowelMax and after the first couple of uses I wonder why the other products are even on the market any more. The DowelMax is very precise and very configurable. You do have to learn to be consistent with the orientation of the jig to the boards on both surfaces, but the documentation that comes with the jig explains this to a degree.
I really found it hard to convince myself to pay a $200+ for a dowel jig. I made one from steel spacers and some scrap wood and it's just as good. Lol. Sometimes the psychology of paying a high price makes people think what they paid for was worth it. I admit it looks pretty though.
Great Video! For quick projects that I dont need a lot of strength from, I use pocket screws. When I need strength, I use a combination of dowels and pocket screws on the same joint.
Great video and I enjoyed it. Thanks Scott. I do want to add a point in the favour of biscuits. I started out using biscuits, not using a biscuit jointer costing £200, but using a router I needed anyway and then a £10 biscuit router bit. For a real novice it was a cheap and easy way to make great joints at minimal cost. In addition it uses very little storage space. Often a real plus for a beginner.
That is only for somebody that wants to experiment and already has a router. A person with no router and not looking to experiment is not going down that route.
@@bighands69 Well, except that routers are super common and even if just starting out is hardly more expensive and far more versatile. I'd suggest if one does not own a router that would be a much better buy than a biscuit joiner.
@@marcelomelamed3196 I’m not really looking for fastest. Strong is higher on my priority list. Biscuits are often strong enough, but I’m more likely to just take the time to make a mortise and tenon joint if there is any doubt. More pride in that too, if that is something that interests someone.
Dude. I've watched a bunch of these woodworking experiment videos and as a scientist, I really appreciate you making replications and taking an average! Nobody ever does this! All that's missing is standard deviation but I'll let you off on that one. Well played!
I’m a mechanical engineering professor, you did well for an initial testing system, main issues are small sample size and you didn’t load the joint in it’s weakest orientation. I’d love to see how orientation effects strength between joints.
The biscuit joiner tool is great for z-clip slots for underside joining replaceable table tops. That's pretty much all I use it for. Bought it for joinery but pocket holes are great for quick and unstressed joints (drawers) and the other two are better for higher stress, more alignment perfect scenarios. Great video!
This comment fully sums up my thoughts. I’m staying with dowels just for cost. I’ve taken to careful layout and free hand drilling dowels as my jig just isn’t very good
Yup! "No one will want your furniture 30 years from now" 😢. I use pocket holes without glue so I can take the item apart and reuse the materials. Great video.
I used to be a big festfool fan and that faded about six years ago but the domino is definitely king when it comes to joinery in my shop. The dust collection, versatility and precision is unmatched. It is expensive though so there are definitely other ways to do it but they don’t compare.
I agree in every single thing you have said, even down to the 6 years. Still the best industrial design by a million miles but the build quality and issues with there products has become ridiculously bad. Cords shorting out, sanding pads disintegrating, arbor not aligned on power saw, rotex sander melting down ten minutes from new. I could go on…..
Exactly. The tools I bought 10-15 years ago were indeed the best you could buy. They started making parts in China, tried to bank on their quality name and wound up throwing their reputation in the trash. My ridiculously expensive CT36ac vac just had the electronic module replaced again for the 2nd time after frying with very little use. I used to get things repaired all the time for free when they are out of warrantee. That ship has sailed with the new corporate suits that have taken over.
One of the raps on dowels, typically related to cheap dowel jigs, is alignment. I've bought a few cheap dowelling jigs but I found the best, in my experience, is the Milescraft. It's only draw back is trying to use it on smaller workpieces. However, if you really want to eliminate alignment issues and you don't want to spend $200+ on a better dowel jig, get some dowel pins. With dowel pins, all you need is a drill, which you probably already have because hey, you're a woodworker. Yeah, you need to work on your drilling skills but a couple of small scraps of wood and you've got yourself a drilling guide for making straight holes. If nothing else, you can blame your lingering alignment issues on yourself instead of a cheap jig.
Great vid. While I think the general conclusion on strength of biscuits is correct, I do think your biscuit joiner and brand of biscuits may be much like the crappy dowel jigs. I use a Lamello joiner with their biscuits for table tops and they are a very tight fit. I have to be careful to get them in immediately after any moisture contacts the biscuits or they have to be pounded in. They absolutely do their job for aligning boards flush. For reference, I have used all the systems shown and have no bias. Each has their place.
That is a good point on the Lamello. I had one of those when they first came out and really loved it. I sold it when I moved and have regretted it ever since... Bought a new b jointer recently and was underwhelmed. It too is collecting dust.. Never would have thought the dowels would be so strong...may try out the system...Great video... very informative and raises the level of thinking, which I appreciate greatly!
We use Lamellos for most joinery purposes at the cabinet shop I work at. Definitely no comparison to the biscuit joiners you can buy from the big box store brands.
The big plus of biscuits is alignment in glueups, like big MDF pieces of furniture, where you are in a hurry to get things together before the glue dries. I basically never used the biscuit machine with that flap down. Push the pieces against a flat surface (your working table) and make sure you machine each part from the right side. It's very effective when you get used to it. The sideways slack might be a downside, but also a upside. If you are precise enough when using the biscuit machine you can get perfectly alligned when glueing up. I really can't see pocket holes being even close to as effective as biscuits.
@@patrickarchuleta9594 The occational slightly stressful 10 minutes might be unavoidable in big glue ups. I worked with furniture making a few years, and big custom glue ups were quite common. Being two persons, planning well, and being a little creative worked well. We're typically talking MDF that was sent to painting afterwards. We could conseal minor faults as long as the glue up was tight and proper, and all alignments/angles were correct. Making those big pieces of furniture in more sections could mean visible seams, more work when installing the furniture or even possibly mismatches. If your customer wants a big shiny block without seams a big glue up is the natural choice, and biscuits is a nice tool during the process.
@@patrickarchuleta9594 i know this channel/video is for hobbyists, but in a professional environement, being in a hurrry means making money. The workshop I work in currently uses mostly dominos for glueups (and clamex for quick on site instalation), and the artisan therre will biscuit a whole piece of furniture in less than 10 minutes with around 20 biscuits. And yeah they're great for glueups, you just eyeball the allignmennt and then allign it after the glue makes contact.
In the real world you would put two dowels in this case, not 4. I’m not convinced :) (no, I don’t own a domino) Also you can add tolerance play with the domino, which seems great for long joints
Nice comparison video, a lot of good information for the newer to intermediate woodworker. Over the last 45 or so years I've used each of those joinery methods (and a few more) and the issues you pointed out for each was spot on. The only thing I would have added is alignment. With pocket screws, to get good alignment you need to clamp the joint heavily or the force of the screws seating will pull the wood out of alignment. Biscuit joints tend to wander top to bottom because of the loose fit of the biscuit. Dowels, as you pointed out, all depend on the jig you have. Dominos are my favorite for sure, despite the cost of the machine. Alignment never seems a problem with them due to the accuracy of the mortise placement (for that much $ they better be more accurate) and the snug fit of the domino. I used them recently to join the mitered corners of my kitchen butcher block counter tops. They slid right in smooth as silk, and the surface alignment was perfect, better than any other joinery method I've used. Thanks again for the video, these are always great to watch
You mitred the end of butcher block? Big no-no! Now the butcher block will crack, since it will move with humidity and the ends will try (unsuccessfully) to prevent it.
Understanding that it is probably overkill compared to these other joining methods, I prefer the traditional mortise and tenon joint. Yeah it is less efficient timewise and easier to mess up but I just like them and the satisfaction they give me. I also like the look of dovetails and box joints and use these a lot too. Yeah I know I am a joinerysaurus but I like puttering around my shop and am rarely under any deadline so I just do what I like.
Right there with you! If I want to put something together fast I'll use the pocket holes. I will use dowels for gluing panels up, but I love the old-school work for nicer pieces. Not a pro making deadlines, just enjoying myself on weekends.
Good video. In the last 45 years I built a slot morticer then bought a combination machine with another slot morticer. Sold it then bought a hollow chisel morticer. Had 2 biscuit joiners then got a Domino. Sold one biscuit joiner but now never use the other. After 45 years in the trade I'd recommend the Dowelmax to anyone starting out and a Domino 700 for a genuine full-time small production shop.
The furniture passed down from my grandparents to my parents is from my grand-grandparents or older. So we talk about 1850-1900. Those are gorgeous. I hope that they one day are passed down to me and I would be really sad if they don't last. That said, I don't think that anyone wants the furniture I build in a hundred years.
This was great! First because it was informative. Second, because being critical of someone's wood joining methods, to some people, is like telling them that their kids are funny looking and can't sing. So thumbs up for the courage!
Good comparisons, Scott. The pocket hole system is certainly an easy start for most intrepid woodworkers. The dowels really do shine and I have been using them for years, as opposed to my biscuit joiner, which is collecting dust in the cabinet. As for the Domino, well, it's cool and all, but it's a Festool and OMG, that cost! I was pricing out a couple of Festool tools and realized I can get a pretty nice cabinet saw for the price of one of their dust collectors and one hand tool! You're "right on the money" here.
Thanks so much. Just what I needed. I like your rating system and honesty. My bicuit joiner has failed and I was considering replacing it. After reviewing my options I am now leaning toward a DowelMax.
The Domino is amazing IMHO. That said, Castle USA makes a pocket joinery tool and torx screws that change the game in pocket hole joinery. Before I got the Castle 110, I loathed pocket joinery, but now I love it! These are both my go to choices. I do occasionally use dowles with the Jessem jig when I feel the Domino is too bulky or awkward.
63yo retired mechanical engineer/novice woodworker here. Bravo Scott, excellent balance of depth and breadth of subject. I especially appreciate your disclaimers on the limits of your approach including your treatment of the data.
I used dowels before getting a Domino. For large panel layups it works like a charm and each domino, especially if you are using the larger ones, each one will be stronger.
If you use headless 23 gauge pin nails on your biscuit joints you don’t have to wait for the glue to dry. If your biscuit is wobbling in the cut you’re using the wrong blade. I use the porter cable biscuit hole cutter and have to tap the biscuits in with a hammer because the cut is tight.
The dowels had higher strength because the bending force generated by your testing rig translates to tension on the bottom of the joint and the dowels are closer to the edge which makes a larger lever arm and a lower tension force for the same bending moment. In other words it creates a stronger joint in bending because the dowel is closer to the edge than the domino. Also you should check out Jessem's new domino tool, it is a fraction of the Festool and uses your cordless drill to make the holes.
Solid point, also because the load is carried "sequentially" by each dowel rather than spread across them equally, so to they fail in "zipper mode" rather than all at once. Which might actually be an argument for why testing 4 dowels instead of 2 may not be a big deal, since you're (kinda) only testing them one at a time. Scott did acknowledge that it would be impractical to test a full variety of joint types and configurations -- it's always hard to give a simple answer to a complex question -- breaking that joint in the direction perpendicular to the one chosen might have been more illustrative.
I agree and disagree but I am not in a position yet to make a verifiable test but my scenario for testing would involve robots which places the test setup outside of what most people would consider a reasonable investment vs. return but is where I will be headed in my pursuits of a fully robotic factory so such tests could provide a little bit of income via internet presentations along my way . Yes a long shot I have considered via business math and my multidisciplinary skill-sets .
I agree that the dowel and domino comparison is not entirely fair. To me, it would seem more reasonable to use dowels nearly the same diameter as the domino thickness (not 50% greater) and to place them (still two dowels per domino) with at least the end dowels of the row matching the ends of the dominoes.
Love the comparison, I'm not a woodworker, but I do a lot of DIY projects and work around the house. I use biscuit joints for putting together door/window casings and ensure that they're aligned at the ends. None of the other options would work as they require thicker material.
Under dunn put his biscuit cutter on some stones and thinned it out so the biscuits fit tight and had great success. The problem with biscuits is the biscuit is to loose and glue needs a tight fit. So his solution is really good.
Over 15 years ago I built two side tables and a small dresser 100% with pocket holes and it has stood up great even after moving half a dozen times from deserts to southeast humidity and being stored in pods for over two years. I wouldn’t jump up and down on them but their strength and stability is way more than enough for most “light” duty furniture. I wouldn’t suggest making a bed or chair out of them but are more than satisfied to use them for tables and cabinets when I want to build it fast. I think pocket hole joints are very under rated on the whole by many woodworkers.
I really don’t use biscuits often but the joiner is handy for cutting slots for Z-clips to make removable table / desk tops. The Z-clips let the top expand and contract with temperature and humidity changes without destroying the frame or cracking the top
As an elder woodworker, being eighty seven, I have used many joining methods in my lifetime. All have their place. As a youngster, I was taught how to make mortise and tenon and dovetails by hand. This was before the advent of power tools to make life easier. Today, I use power tools to accomplish what I did by hand. It saves time and money, which is important if you are making a living from wood. For me pocket screws work for cabinet carcasses and, at a pinch, face frames. Would I stop making dovetails and mortise and tenons and buy a domino machine?, no. But they have their place as well, just not in my shop.
Two affordable options that weren't covered: the Rockler Beadlock system, which is a fancied-up dowel jig that makes space for a version of the domino, and the Tianli router jig that cuts domino-style mortises. Both about 1/5 the price of the Festool.
Agree w/ you 100% about dowels (and specifically the Dowelmax -- been using it for years, and the precision/flexibility is remarkable). However, I wouldn't say throw out that biscuit joiner right away. It's a relatively cheap power tool, and works great for Z-clips (my preferred method of attaching table/bench tops), and mobile slotting. Great video... always informative and entertaining.
I see festool as the apple of the woodworking world. It's more expensive, but it's also very well refined. It's doing what many other tools do for cheaper, but what it does, it's meant to do it very well.
Biscuits are for panel materials they not a suitable for wood furniture, but they are excellent when installing feature walls and ceilings made from 16mm mdf panel in commercial applications.
Right off the hop. The very first test on the biscuit joint fail on the grain of the wood NOT the biscuit joint it self like the pocket hole joint. If you tried it again where the grain of wood traveled further down the board I’m sure it would have tested much better. Just a note as well. When doing biscuit joints, they are designed for carpenter glue for swelling,as you mentioned but not for polyurethane glues. So many inconsistencies in wood can really flaw tests. Great video and keep ‘‘em coming. 👍🏻
Pocket screws are actually surprisingly strong. Most tests show they fail just before wood around the joints, which in my opinion is the preferred mode of failure. It's much easier to fix a ripped out screw than a broken piece around a domino. I think dowels in gangs are also just as good as dominos. You need a good jig like JesseEm, but they work exceptionally well, and much cheaper. Freud makes great dual doweler for fast joineries, but they are no longer made as far as I know. You can usually buy one online cheap.
Great Video. They all have their place in the shop or on the job site. I use a triton dowel joiner which allows for 2 holes to be drilled at once and can speed up the process. It’s a great alternative to the festool domino. Though I don’t think it has the range of dowel sizes compared to drill jig you highlighted in the video. Even though biscuits might be the “weakest”, they still have their place. I use them mostly in casement trim around doors and windows. This is where that “slop” becomes really handy as it allows the piece to come together across uneven surface that you might encounter on a wall. I like to use Kreg screws to attach my face frames to box cabinets. You can hide the pockets between the cabinets in most cases except for the end caps. There are applications for all of these tools and methods.
Hi Scott. Thanks for the video. Your triangle is a visual representation of what a friend of mine that was a fine guitar maker (he's retired) was telling me: if you want something done, you have to chose 2 out of these 3 requirements, the last one will most likely be neglected: well built - fast built - cheap. Keep it up! EDIT: also I have a very good dowel jig, and it really is a great tool. Unless I drastically change my way of woodworking (currently: hobbyist), it's going to be more than enough for the rest of my career.
Good video! I think your conclusion definitely holds water, the average weekend warrior with a limited budget shouldn't feel the pressure to get a Domino. They're great, but you can get the exact same results and save a ton of cash with dowels. Production speed for us isn't the issue it is for folks that are selling pieces every day.
After using a Lamello biscuit joiner for years we finally got a domino. Love it. The ability to make our own dominoes to exact dimension is the game changer.
Love the commitment to the hard stop at the end! :) And I would like a domino but can never justify the cost as a DIY'er. So I have the dowelmax jig. LOVE it. And yeah, I've never really used the biscuit joiner much. The only use would be a narrow piece that needed to be jointed. Where a dowel is just too thick. But then again, I've never had to joint a 1/2" stock for strength so..... it's a made up scenario (for me). As usual, great video. Thanks for taking the time to do it five times. Better you than me. LOL
@@nharber9837 Honestly, the dowelmax works so well that I don't find the need to make one. If the price dropped to $240 or so, I would for sure grab it. But I guess I have to wait for the patent to expire.
I have been using the dowel max for several years…..it does take some time to get the adjustment correct After a few projects I don’t notice set up for the max is any slower than the Craig…how much time to set the screws vs pressing in the dowels….a toss up for me. Very well done 👍 .
Would be interested in a comparison to a conventional mortise and tenon joint. I built a small dresser using hand-drilled dowels (no jig, just lots of planing) in 1995, and it's still going strong. But great video, and great to see T-dot represented on the you tubes.
Great video! Man you took so much into consideration. I agree with you on the Dowelmax. It is an excellent highly precision tool that is extremely accurate. Don't waste time and money on all those budget doweling jigs. They don't last, and worse the fit is usually off when you join the pieces of wood. If you are no great hurry (like me) to build something of quality, this is the way to go as far as joints go. What is also cool is that you can make your own dowels very simply by drilling a hole in a piece of metal that is the same size of the dowel you need. Plenty of tutorials on how to do that.
This was fun to watch and very informative! I recall first hearing about biscuits years ago when Norm Abram and the New Yankee Workshop started to use them. I do believe he’d odd a few table tops with them. This was before the Domino system from Festool (or even Festool tools!). But he did also use floating tenons on many projects. Of course… The was Norm, simply the best!
I have 3 of the 4 systems. I started with the domino, then the pocket screw jig, then the Dowelmax. I find all three systems have quirks and all are finicky to use. I use dominos the most mainly for alignment purposes. But it has taken several hundred uses to get really good and fast with the thing. The most finicky jig for me is the Dowelmax. Alignment is super critical and I find the jig wiggles out of alignment very easily. Once you set up the Domino jig it is rock solid and you just have to line up the marks and go. Also the ability to make tight versus loose fitting mortises is really useful. thanks for the comparison.
Thank you, from someone with adhd, for making the most interesting and comprehensive content i can find on my favorite hobby. Keep up the awesome work!
I've built 4'X8' carriage doors for the garage using something called 'Beadlock'. Beadlock uses a modified doweling jig and ready-made tenon stock that has more surface area than the 'domino' but is considerably cheaper. The system is not as fast as the Festool, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper. The carriage doors I build 20 years ago have held up without a problem.
I'm looking at building a custom desk for myself. I've built some things, but never anything like that. I was fortunate enough to come across someone selling their stock of live edge slabs at basically firewood prices (two ash slabs, little over 9 ft long, 2.5 inches deep and about 1.5 ft wide for $20/slab) and was trying to figure out the best way to join them together and this helped so much. I'm definitely going to pay the extra and go with dowels. I want something that will last me for a long time
When joining slabs the glue is more than enough. Biscuets is nice to use for alignment, but it does not affect strength. It’s when joining endwood to something you need special joinery.
I use biscuits when gluing up a workpiece where both sides will show. Tabletops, hinged bench/box lids, etc. They don’t add much strength but keep things aligned during glue-up, which is worth it to me. You’ve gotten me interested in dowels for some applications tho. Thanks.
Good video and worth watching. Perspective is pretty good as well. I do think a bit more highly of the biscuit joiner than do you, but only a bit. It can actually be rather nice for putting splines in miter joints. I also think a bit more highly of the Domino. One of the nice things about the Domino is its ability to do angles. Set-up for putting a Domino into some 45° joints joints is pretty fast and simple whereas trying to do that with a doweling jig is considerably more of a bother (although the DowelMax system helps quite a bit). Multiple demonstrations have suggested the dowel joinery is stronger but, of course, that isn't always the most important thing. Because I largely agree with you regarding the dowels for a lot of joints, I got the Jessem doweling jig and I also use spiral grooved dowels. But the speed and precision with which the Festool Domino can be used is (IMHO) why it is so popular.
I have a JessEm doweling jig and a Festool Domino 500. I find myself reaching for the Domino. It’s much faster than the jig, easier to align, and collects virtually all of the dust whereas the JessEm, as brilliant as it is, collects zero dust. The Domino also allows you to produce a wider mortise while maintaining alignment on a large panel glue up. I use the JessEm when I need a bigger/stronger joint than the D500 can produce.
My introduction to furniture building was in the early 70’s. I didn’t have the knowledge or machinery to assemble joints on my early pieces. I also didn’t have money to buy other options, so I bought a self-centering dowel jig & used it until it wore out. Even though I’m many generations from those early days, I still go back to dowel joinery. I do lots of mortise & tenon joints and biscuit joins when appropriate. I don’t have and never will have the Festool, way overpriced! Thanks for the good review
Engineers gotta validate the money they spent on their degree by reinventing things that our forefathers already perfected. I'll take a vintage tool I can use all my life and pass on to my grandchildren over the latest bells and whistle crap that will be in a landfill in 5 years.
Without glue screws are reversible and with or without glue you don't have to wait for glue to dry, which I think helps with their popularity on TV and RUclips. As people have figured out with particle board furniture from box stores, they're fine.
I like doing mortise and tenon joints or dovetails on just about anything that's either visible or gets any proper use because I both like to make my projects look non-bulky so their thin structures need that extra strength often and just because I'm extra like that. If I really can't be bothered, it's "just" a box joint. This mind set of course takes the most amount of time possible as I haven't yet built jigs for any of these. But sometimes it would be nice to just get things done without a huge time investment. So I went and bought the Domino as it was on quite a considerable sale and I'm in the fortunate position to disregard the cost anyway. It's just a damn well thought out tool. But man is Festool the Apple of woodworking with it's high prices and they even have a practice in place that the tool itself can't be on any sales anywhere, only bundles of the tool can (or so I've heard). If it wasn't priced so high and had competition (still under patent protection), I'd sing it's high praises. But as it is, I'm always happy to see stronger/cheaper proper alternatives.
I'm super lucky to be in a furniture shop where we use a lot of Festool products. One of the things people don't mention about them often, because it doesn't happen often, is their customer support and warranty. My boss runs two 6" Rotex sanders, and when one of them failed for a reason we weren't able to diagnose ourselves, the speed they were able to get it repaired and back to us was very impressive. I have no idea whether it cost him anything, but he was very happy with how they handled it and told me that's one of the reasons he went Festool.
The dowels were closer to the edge than the domino which was closer to the middle of the joint. This gives the dowel a mechanical advantage when causing a rotational failure. When you correct for this, the difference in the strength is minimal. (I have a masters in structural engineering) Like you said in the video, every tool has its purposes. By and large, dowels and dominos are interchangeable, dominos faster, dowels more elegant. Pocket screws super fast and no waiting for the glue to dry. Loved the video, keep it up.
Would have been interesting to see how pocket hole strength would have been affected if you used 4 or even 3 vs the 2 you used. Wonder how this would have compared to the 4 dowels used. Also, there are some pocket hole jigs that have a shallower approach angle than "craig" which would allow a longer screw to be used, which would change the dynamics of the joint. And as others have aluded to in the comments, biscuits were originally developed to provide alignment to a standard edge to edge board glue up. They were later applied to joints to help with alignment. Not sure they were ever intended to reinforce the joint. Would have been interesting to see how the jointnwould have faired if you doubled the biscuits up by stacking them in the joint. Finally from a physics or "statics" perspective in joint strength, the location of the hole for whatever method you plan to use, will have different effects on the joint strength. The hole closest to the inside corner sees its greatest stress in the form of tension. The hole farthest probably sees its greatest stress in the form of a bending moment. Each method of joining the two pieces of wood has an advantage. The domino probably has the greatest ability for strength when a bending moment is involved because of the width of the domino. And the greatest glued surface probably has the greatest strength in tension. So a hybrid joint of dowels and a domino might do well assuming all other things remained equal. However, 4 pocket hole screws might be up there too.
I'm a beg/intermediate and I rebuilt all of my kitchen drawers using pocket hole screws, etc. Amazing, strong, hidden, and fast. My biscuits never line up, same with dowels. But I can make it work.
I made a design for a special wine bottle drawer where the bottom of the drawer was just essentially long domino-shaped strips that fit into coresponding domino-holes in the front & back of the drawer frame. The wine bottles rested in the gaps between the domino strips and they took the weight pretty well. And once sanded & stained everything came out lookin great. So there are definitely some interesting applications for a domino router besides your typical joint. You can also use it to cut out linear grooves of verying depths for verious purposes.
To this series of tests, I would add testing a joint made with no fasteners whatsoever, simply an end grain to long grain joint. This type of joint is surprisingly stronger than most people think. Would be curious to see how it stacks up.
I own two biscuit joiners and I've never experienced a loose fitting biscuit. If anything they're a little tight. Biscuits are much faster than dominos, because there's side to side play you can go pretty fast (if you're using biscuits odds are you're using a a bunch) and it's no big deal if you're not right on the mark. They really shine when putting long butt joints together, especially if you want to put all four sides together at once and/or adding a divider without the joinery showing. Not only are they fast but they create a standoff and your pieces drop right into place without have to slide them around smearing glue lining up the sides like you do with pocket holes. Dominos need accuracy especially if you don't set it up on the looser settings and are more expensive. You better be super accurate with dowels as well. I'd be curious to see how much stronger those other options are when you are making 90 deg butt joints with plywood and depth is limited. In that face frame application you show I use pocket holes (a Kreg Foreman is really fast), biscuits are for casework and dowels and dominos are for narrow pieces or when strength is a concern. They all have their place.
Absolutely great video dude! When I first got started in woodworking (like you said), I used pocket holes a lot. After watching Norm on NYW, I bought a biscuit joiner and (like you) retired that fairly quickly because of uneven glue-ups. As I kept progressing, I moved to dowels, but they just seemed too fussy, so by this time I was ready to do mortise-tenon joinery and that's I've done for years and still do. As a hobbyist, I just can't justify the cost of the Domino. I do wish you had tested traditional mortise-tenon joinery in this video for a comparison, just to see where it stands.
Excellent video . 2 things I'd like to point out is . 1 - The biscuit and domino is great for doing angled joints which you didn't mention . I use the domino for handrail connections and it's great for that cause like you mentioned biscuits are too wide . 2 - There is nothing wrong with have all 4 systems in your shop eventually other then storage space and money . Each system has it's strengths and weaknesses
My grandpa and my dad were professionnal woodworkers and as a kid i saw them using a TONS of dowels. When i decided to built my own furniture 10 years ago, i didn't want to use it because " yerk ...dowels are too old fashion, you're not at Ikea here, tenons and mortises are so much fancy...bla bla bla" Now i realise how i was wrong and how verstatile, easy and strong the dowels are! I think this the best compromise as wood joining. Here in France i don't know if somebody uses pocket screws, it seems to be more a north american method
Pocket screws are a horrible method to joint timber, dowels are rapidly becoming something of a trade secret. 30 years experience has shown me that dowels are cheap, accurate, strong and above all flexibility of use is unparalleled.
Why don’t we see the breaks for the domino and dowel? Also could this be redone with just wood glue? I’m curious how much of the strength is the joiner system vs the wood breaking
My grandpa had a desk which should be more than 60 years old. According to my dad, it's something he used when he was little. After I got totally sick of IKEA, I stole it from my grandpa and it's the best desk I've ever used. Gives out old WWII era vintage vibe to the room and it's the most shining piece of the room, and it will probably last more than any other furniture I have now
Great video! The only suggestion I have is maybe a re-visit. It'd be nice to see these modern joints battle a mortise and tenon and/or dovetail. Thanks!
the biscuit test you showed on video the wood failed not the joint - did the other tests do the same? it is becuase the biscuit does not go as far into the work you are joining ?
Thanks for asking! That was the only example where the wood *_partially_* failed. What I mean by that is that if the camera was pointing at the other side of the piece, it would've appeared that the biscuit failed. In the four other tests of the biscuits, the joint completely failed. Unfortunately for me and my comment section, I had a momentary lapse when editing and chose to use the clip where it appeared that the wood failed. It was the best looking angle of the five biscuit joints I tested and I neglected to realize that choosing that angle would cause so much confusion. All that being said, the numbers don't lie, and the *_average_* strength was the lowest. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how the joint failed, it's still the weakest.
To my knowledge biscuits are not really used for furniture joints though more so for jointing panels together in cabinet making they make centering the panels easy when joining to give you a level surface and a neat flush finish. Definitely not designed for strength applications.
@@jimpap13 True + if you need to adjust in one way but be stable in 1 other way thats a killer applicaion in some cases like honestly no one is talking abound but im useing all the time next thing is a "flachdübelfräse" (biscuit jointer) (; is acually avalabe with a battery so you dont have the wire laying arround whot is also pretty neat
@jimpap13 He mentioned in the video that the biscuits were ill-fitting and they were a headache to use while he was trying to do the exact type of panel alignment you brought up. Overall, it seems biscuits are more like a predecessor of the domino. Sort of a "biscuits crawled so dominoes can run" kind of situation. They've earned some respect but the results aren't going to stand the test of time.
Blade thickness is important for good biscuit joints. You mentioned the biscuits being loose but the biscuit jointer at my shop has a blade that is the same thickness of the biscuits to the point where I can dry test fit and the biscuits stay firmly in place. Try a thinner blade or biscuits specifically for your jointer instead of the cheapo generic ones.
I use my biscuit jointer for alignment because I bought it and I’m damn well going to use it where I can. I will also use it on the few occasions when I make a picture frame, but the main thing I use the biscuit jointer for is to cut quick grooves to install Z clips on table tops. I love the dowel max. It’s not cheap, but it’s the best and works well for different applications. I’m one who thinks Festool tools are way overpriced for what they are, and think people mostly buy them as a status symbol. Yeah, yeah, I can hear the Festool lovers out there cussing me out. However, I will admit that the domino is a great tool, and for the time being, nobody else can manufacture them. Off subject a bit, but their sander and dust collector are also great tools, and can’t really complain about their price so much, as the Mirka and 3M sander’s are also way overpriced. I agree with your thoughts on pocket screws, but they have got to be one of the best products ever developed for woodworking, as long as they’re used in appropriate applications. I use them to build cabinets, face frames, and even use them on some projects where I probably shouldn’t, but I’ve never had a problem as long as I use glue, and don’t use them on support structures. Thanks for your overview of the various products out there. It was actually quite informative.
Pocket screws, dowels or joints for me. I've made a lot of cheap dowel jigs from scrap padauk and ipe and they work great. No expensive adjustable jig needed; just pick from the selection of cheap homemade jigs for the job.
I will agree with everything you stayed except speed. 2:30 per joint for dowels isn't really that slow to me. Most people want to enjoy the build and to ensure quality. So too me, 2:30 is still pretty damn fast. That said I am still leaning towards making my own loose tenons and then adding dowels or pins to them. Yes, it takes longer but seems to be even stronger than just tenon or just dowels. Great video. I have a similar Kreg K2 pocket hole jig.
Have you tried using two biscuits in a joint? On a 3/4" board adjust your biscuit jointer 1/4" down from the face of the board. Then you can flip the board and do it to the other side. You'll get 2 biscuits in the joint. I think it's worth trying.
I generally buy hardwood dowels and leave them exposed or use them to fill pocket holes on items I make for the garage or exterior projects such as my fence. They look great and are super cheap. My doweling jig was $15, is fast to adjust, and has done very well for almost every application.
I’ve installed locally made, high end cabinets that utilize full 3/4” maple plywood boxes, and they are joined with dowels for European style cabinets. Face frames are joined with pocket screws. The solid maple drawer boxes are joined with dovetails. The L-shaped cabinet fillers/scribes are joined with pocket screws and floating biscuits-which is nice to disassemble for scribing. Large cabinets are designed for final site assembly utilizing the Lamello tenso and clamex biscuit connectors. Not a single domino is used. For site installation, I do use the Domino for its speed and strength-I.e. stair handrails, for example. Pocket screws are excellent for joining casing and some moldings.
Scott, great video with surprising results. I also have had very disappointing results with biscuits. Biscuits don't hold all that well in some applications. Based on your test results, pocket screws and dowells are the way to go. TY
If you are willing to make a new jig for every job, a piece of clear acrylic with a line mark and a piece of wood drilled at the depth you want and aligned with the mark on the acrylic makes a cheap and consistent dowel jig. just secure the 2 together at the proper orientation. It only makes flush joints but I have never had a problem with this method otherwise.
I bought a Dowelmax some years ago for a specific project. I must say that it was worth every penny. I absolutely love it. It is easy to use. It produces accurate joints with almost no marking or measuring required. The jig is precision machined. I loaned it to a friend a while back and he liked it so much he bought one also. You won't be disappointed. Check out the Dowelmax videos for a comprehensive review.
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One thing not mentioned in the video is the resistance to cyclical loading (fatigue) and to the seasonal expansion/contraction of wood. Pocket screws gradually loosen with both of these loadings. I use pocket screws for shop cabinets, never plugging them on the expectation they will have to be tightened up every once in a while to get rid of the rickety. I also have a biscuit joiner, inherited from my dad. I've used the stink out of it in both appropriate and inappropriate scenarios. "Appropriate" would be relying on the glue joint for strength and the biscuit for alignment. "Inappropriate" would be considering the biscuit as a structural member, as you would a dowel or a domino. I used to have that loose biscuit problem until I discovered what I was doing wrong. You have to hold the fence tight against the workpiece and focus on straight insertion and withdrawal, otherwise the rocking of the tool will open up the width of your slot. In most cases I need a mallet to lightly tap the biscuit in.
Good comment. Thanks for pointing this out.
Biscuits have their place. Sometimes you have to join the narrow face of boards. They are meant so much for high load. I used them in places where concealment is needed. I might combo with finish nails for extra hold where they will bight across the join but still be hidden. There are times when pocket screws are not exactly concealed. You can greatly increase the strength of a biscuit join with finish nails along with the wood glue. Each adds its own level of bond.
everyone always says that the "correct": way to use biscuits is to use them for alignment and rely on the glue for the actual strength. but considering how loose and inconsistent they are in thickness, i really dont see how theyre useful for even that.
use biscuits often, but I have to rely on the biscuit as glue doesn't bond reliably to melamine x)
otherwise agreed
@@Hephera I guess there are different quality standards among brands, as long as I've punched the holes properly I haven't had any inconsistencies with my lamello branded biscuits. they're a bit expensive for biscuits, but really they're cheap in the big picture when bought in bulk for a business.
I use biscuits all the time when I make custom dimension kitchen cabinets. (instead of the premade ones that have cnc drilled dowel holes.) The material is always the same 16mm melamine chipboard so I never need to adjust the fence whether I do 90° or flat plane joints. Just grab the tool, punch holes and glue together. And it is a non visible joint which is a must.
It is my understanding that that's what biscuits were invented for.
Biscuits are trash get rekt
Mathias had similar results with dowels a while back. Great to see the results reproduced independently.
I love the reality check about ppl wanting to make "heirloom quality" pieces. You remind me of my good friend talking me down from overcomplicating projects using rational, practical, grounding advice.
About 10 years ago, I built my 20' workbench in my garage. The frame and drawers were all pocked screwed together. The top was made from joined 2x4's using biscuits and a good glue.
That bench hasn't budged. Still looks great and zero issues.
We still have the desk my grandfather made as his journeyman piece. It will get passed on the next generation too. Make it well and beautifully and it is worth it. Consider styles that are still used 100 or more years later instead of the latest trend though.
I still have the rock my ancestors used to sit on while making cave paintings, it'll never go out of style.
@@Skinflaps_Meatslapper It's a good rock.
Round rocks provided inspiration for future generations.
Problem is most people do not give a damn about things like this. Not to say build crappy things but it would stress me out like mad to try to build things with the idea of in a 100 years people talking about me......will never happen. And if it magically does, itd be 1 or 2 people and what will that do for my dead me? Bring me back to life? lol
@@lastdaysofhumanity4114 I dunno, if it survived the attrition of time and ended up in a museum or antique store with a hefty price tag, that'd be kinda cool. It's more for your kids and grandkids to enjoy rather than you, like planting a tree when you're too old to see it mature. Odds are none of us are going to be making anything that anyone will want a century from now, other than for the sake of family memories. Sometimes that can lead to a white elephant situation though, your great grandkids might not want the coffee table or rocking chair you made but would feel really bad if they sold it.
I have been using dowels and pocket holes for years. Dowels are by far my favorite. As you stated, pocket screws have their place. I sold my biscuit cutter, just never liked it and didn't feel like it fit my what I needed in my shop. I use dowels for joining table tops for glue ups. Makes the alignment process so much easier. I have tried my neighbors Domino cutter. I liked it, but have been using the Dowelmax and JessEm systems for so long, I have gotten really fast at making the joints. I use 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" dowels and buy them in bulk so the cost is very minimal per joint. The strength of the joints are amazing. Every system has their place in woodworking. Every one has a preference and mine are dowels.
Bought the jessem and have not been sorry.
Bought the Dowelmax for 10mm and 6mm dowels years ago.
Beats my biscuit jointer hands down for accuracy and is a fraction of the price of a Domino jointer.
Also love dowels! I use them everywhere beacuse they are EASY and strong as hell
Thanks for the info and advice.
Bud. Your humor, delivery, and follow through on the topic is impeccable.
Instant sub.
Thank you.
I would sub too but he never answers and does not really care about his audience it seems. Shame.
I'm not a Festool fanboy, but a neat thing about the domino is the ability to cut wider mortises, providing some slop to the joint along the joint but not across the joint, allowing it to be moved a small amount when assembling, which dowels can't do but is intrinsic to the biscuit.
It can be a lifesaver during assembly, and can have advantages for controlling expansion across the grain direction without causing splits.
Edit: mortises, not tenons derp
I spent a lot of money NOT buying a domino, dowels, pocket holes, etc. Then I bought a domino, which I should have done first.
@@robertpearce8394 heh, that's kind of where I'm at. Fortunately I have access to a domino I can use occasionally without imposing on it's owner too much, but am finding it difficult to justify dropping that much for one I'd maybe monthly at best in a non professional context. But I'd probably (maybe) practice more and varied joinery if I had one in my garage.
All of those tools have an application where they excel, though, so I don't consider them wasted money, necessarily.
Dowel can do, just remove the jig and tilt your drill in the hole in the right direction few times, you won't get much more than couple millimeters but that usually enough.
No. Still not worth it relative to the price
Re Festool. I worked in a yacht builders, wooden hulls and furniture, mostly oak and teak. There was quite a variety of tools, lots of Makita and Bosch, just a couple of Festools. Guess which tools were always grabbed by the first guys in the workshop each morning ? Clue: not Bosch or Makita . The dust extraction on the Festools was in a different league.
Pocket screws are hands-down the ONLY choice if you only have one choice, they completely revolutionized woodworking when they came on the scene. Biscuits are great for panel joinery and joints that have to be invisible from both sides. Dowels are strong, but novices have a lot of trouble lining them up, and I have to admit in my 40-someodd career in woodworking I have had some misaligned dowels too. The Domino is great for some limited applications that involve larger scale, for example they are wonderful for making doors. The really small dominos on the other hand don't do much for you, except maybe amortize the cost of the too-expensive machine. In terms of what you will use most in practical application, they go in thew order I listed them. If you have nothing and want to know which to buy first, it's pocket screws and jigs hands-down. Low cost and will make face frames an absolute breeze.
Domino provides the flexibility of biscuit joints with near the strength of a dowel. I use all of the methods in the video as they all have their place.
Agree with everything you have said. Domino's seem like the guess jeans of woodworking - you aren't one of the cool kids if you don't have a domino.
they've been on the scene for centuries fwiw
My cabinet company (I’m a dealer) has been in business since 1965. Until a few years ago, the face frames were assembled using mortise and tenon joinery. They made the switch to pocket screws. Made no difference on the strength of the assembled cabinet. In fact, I am impressed by how strong the joint is.
@myownspiritlevel "made no difference in strength" yeah ok 🤦♂️
Well, I'm glad someone openly said it. There are a lot of worse than bad dowel jigs out there. Early on I recall buying two dowel jigs. The first a budget jig. Then a mid-range jig. I kept wondering why I was so bad at dowel joinery until it dawned on me how really sloppy and bad these jigs were. In frustration, I essentially gave up on dowel joinery, unwilling to invest any more time and effort. I bought a Domino while I also use biscuits (sparingly) and pocket screws where appropriate. But yeah, a lot of really bad dowel jigs out there. I wonder how many people unnecessarily wrestle with dowel joinery not really knowing they're just using a crummy dowel jig.
I did the same after wasting so much time with crappy dowel jigs.
Have seen many give up dovetails also when it was a bad jig at fault.
I have used all of these methods. The biscuits the most. Now I use a Domino most often. I can tell you in 25 years of woodworking I have never had a properly done joint fail. It doesn’t matter which method as long as it is tight fitting and not glue starved. All that said I have observed lots of factory furniture with failed dowel joints.
I would argue that it's the proper application of the glue that makes all your joints work. Biscuits, dowels, and dominos are more for alignment, or for folks who don't use enough glue.
Scott, the vid you showed of the biscuit joint test showed the failure of the wood, not of the joint itself. The joint actually stayed intact. Biscuits certainly aren't good for every joint, but in situations where you don't want to see the fastener they obviously superior to pocket screws. For instance, I've used them many times to secure face frames to cabinets...and they work great for that. Makes alignment onto the carcass a snap, and provides a rock solid connection of the face frames to the carcass.
I think that clip was the only biscuit joint where the wood failed, for the rest, the joint failed, but didn't capture as good of a camera angle with them.
A joint failure is a failure. The biscuit failed because the biscuit itself added no strength to the joint. Whereas every other method did add strength to the joint. So point lost. You can plug off pocket screws. That may not make them invisible but they can certainly look acceptable.
This is definitely the most useful place for a biscuit jointer. I know a couple long time professionals who use biscuits for face frames. As for the comment on pocket holes, there are times when the face frame is installed on site and there would be no access to screw from the back. And certainly any customer will be unhappy if you drilled a pocket hole on the inside of the cabinet.
@@1pcfred Through dowels are not invisible, but stronger. And cheaper.
@@Tensquaremetreworkshop people do seem to have a penchant for invisible fastening anymore. Just another symptom of the unrealistic expectations so prevalent these days. Things have to hold together with no visible means of doing so. My world must be more magical than Harry Potter's!
Using exposed dowels also will allow you to do it without any jigs or fit concerns. I'll be doing that on the next structural project I do. I think they look cool too.
Bought a dowelmax years ago and have been blown away by the quality. The machining is top notch, it couldn't be more precise.
How long did it take you to learn how to use it comfortably, any problems getting them to line up? I’ve tried a cheap one and it was pitiful 😂
@@baddog4347 they have a series of videos that cover how to use it. Important to note that you use the dowelmax and the domino the exact same way, by matching registration faces between your workpieces.
The cheap "self-centering" jigs usually don't, which is why they don't align well.
If I were in a production shop I may opt for the domino but for most DIY’ers and occasional users the Dowelmax is a better cost/performance option.
I liked the concept of dowel joints and went through a series of jigs that only left me frustrated. Then I bought a DowelMax and after the first couple of uses I wonder why the other products are even on the market any more. The DowelMax is very precise and very configurable. You do have to learn to be consistent with the orientation of the jig to the boards on both surfaces, but the documentation that comes with the jig explains this to a degree.
I really found it hard to convince myself to pay a $200+ for a dowel jig. I made one from steel spacers and some scrap wood and it's just as good. Lol. Sometimes the psychology of paying a high price makes people think what they paid for was worth it. I admit it looks pretty though.
Great Video! For quick projects that I dont need a lot of strength from, I use pocket screws. When I need strength, I use a combination of dowels and pocket screws on the same joint.
Great video and I enjoyed it. Thanks Scott.
I do want to add a point in the favour of biscuits. I started out using biscuits, not using a biscuit jointer costing £200, but using a router I needed anyway and then a £10 biscuit router bit. For a real novice it was a cheap and easy way to make great joints at minimal cost. In addition it uses very little storage space. Often a real plus for a beginner.
That is only for somebody that wants to experiment and already has a router. A person with no router and not looking to experiment is not going down that route.
@@bighands69 Well, except that routers are super common and even if just starting out is hardly more expensive and far more versatile. I'd suggest if one does not own a router that would be a much better buy than a biscuit joiner.
@@marcelomelamed3196 I’m not really looking for fastest. Strong is higher on my priority list. Biscuits are often strong enough, but I’m more likely to just take the time to make a mortise and tenon joint if there is any doubt. More pride in that too, if that is something that interests someone.
@@marcelomelamed3196 just glue is even quicker 🤷🏼♀️
Biscuits are for alignment on larger glue ups not for “joinery”
Dude. I've watched a bunch of these woodworking experiment videos and as a scientist, I really appreciate you making replications and taking an average! Nobody ever does this! All that's missing is standard deviation but I'll let you off on that one. Well played!
i don't like stats that much 😂
To get decent estimates of higher order stats, like standard deviation would take more samples than most of us are willing to make! 😀
@@ScottWalshWoodworking Stats > Customers IMO
@@ScottWalshWoodworking Real world experience from time served, independent sources will get you to the truth.
Project Farm does the same thing as well, but that is for reviewing products and tools, not building projects. 😉
I’m a mechanical engineering professor, you did well for an initial testing system, main issues are small sample size and you didn’t load the joint in it’s weakest orientation. I’d love to see how orientation effects strength between joints.
The biscuit joiner tool is great for z-clip slots for underside joining replaceable table tops. That's pretty much all I use it for. Bought it for joinery but pocket holes are great for quick and unstressed joints (drawers) and the other two are better for higher stress, more alignment perfect scenarios. Great video!
This comment fully sums up my thoughts. I’m staying with dowels just for cost. I’ve taken to careful layout and free hand drilling dowels as my jig just isn’t very good
You have to align pocket hole joints and that requires jigs.
Hey man... Glad to see I made a cameo on the video! Great job on your testing and explanations. Keep up the good content!
Hey Jared, thanks for your support! Will you be at WBC this year?
@Scott Walsh Yes I'll be there. I'd love to meet you in person!
@@EveningWoodworker awesome, I look forward to it 👍
Yup! "No one will want your furniture 30 years from now" 😢. I use pocket holes without glue so I can take the item apart and reuse the materials. Great video.
I used to be a big festfool fan and that faded about six years ago but the domino is definitely king when it comes to joinery in my shop. The dust collection, versatility and precision is unmatched. It is expensive though so there are definitely other ways to do it but they don’t compare.
I agree in every single thing you have said, even down to the 6 years. Still the best industrial design by a million miles but the build quality and issues with there products has become ridiculously bad. Cords shorting out, sanding pads disintegrating, arbor not aligned on power saw, rotex sander melting down ten minutes from new. I could go on…..
Exactly. The tools I bought 10-15 years ago were indeed the best you could buy. They started making parts in China, tried to bank on their quality name and wound up throwing their reputation in the trash. My ridiculously expensive CT36ac vac just had the electronic module replaced again for the 2nd time after frying with very little use. I used to get things repaired all the time for free when they are out of warrantee. That ship has sailed with the new corporate suits that have taken over.
One of the raps on dowels, typically related to cheap dowel jigs, is alignment. I've bought a few cheap dowelling jigs but I found the best, in my experience, is the Milescraft. It's only draw back is trying to use it on smaller workpieces. However, if you really want to eliminate alignment issues and you don't want to spend $200+ on a better dowel jig, get some dowel pins. With dowel pins, all you need is a drill, which you probably already have because hey, you're a woodworker. Yeah, you need to work on your drilling skills but a couple of small scraps of wood and you've got yourself a drilling guide for making straight holes. If nothing else, you can blame your lingering alignment issues on yourself instead of a cheap jig.
That wood gave way before the joint did @5:40. Think I'll be sticking to dowels.
Great vid. While I think the general conclusion on strength of biscuits is correct, I do think your biscuit joiner and brand of biscuits may be much like the crappy dowel jigs. I use a Lamello joiner with their biscuits for table tops and they are a very tight fit. I have to be careful to get them in immediately after any moisture contacts the biscuits or they have to be pounded in. They absolutely do their job for aligning boards flush. For reference, I have used all the systems shown and have no bias. Each has their place.
That is a good point on the Lamello. I had one of those when they first came out and really loved it. I sold it when I moved and have regretted it ever since... Bought a new b jointer recently and was underwhelmed. It too is collecting dust.. Never would have thought the dowels would be so strong...may try out the system...Great video... very informative and raises the level of thinking, which I appreciate greatly!
We use Lamellos for most joinery purposes at the cabinet shop I work at. Definitely no comparison to the biscuit joiners you can buy from the big box store brands.
The big plus of biscuits is alignment in glueups, like big MDF pieces of furniture, where you are in a hurry to get things together before the glue dries. I basically never used the biscuit machine with that flap down. Push the pieces against a flat surface (your working table) and make sure you machine each part from the right side. It's very effective when you get used to it. The sideways slack might be a downside, but also a upside. If you are precise enough when using the biscuit machine you can get perfectly alligned when glueing up. I really can't see pocket holes being even close to as effective as biscuits.
Problem don't ever be in a hurry that in itself is the major problem be procise
@@patrickarchuleta9594 The occational slightly stressful 10 minutes might be unavoidable in big glue ups. I worked with furniture making a few years, and big custom glue ups were quite common. Being two persons, planning well, and being a little creative worked well. We're typically talking MDF that was sent to painting afterwards. We could conseal minor faults as long as the glue up was tight and proper, and all alignments/angles were correct. Making those big pieces of furniture in more sections could mean visible seams, more work when installing the furniture or even possibly mismatches. If your customer wants a big shiny block without seams a big glue up is the natural choice, and biscuits is a nice tool during the process.
@@patrickarchuleta9594 i know this channel/video is for hobbyists, but in a professional environement, being in a hurrry means making money. The workshop I work in currently uses mostly dominos for glueups (and clamex for quick on site instalation), and the artisan therre will biscuit a whole piece of furniture in less than 10 minutes with around 20 biscuits. And yeah they're great for glueups, you just eyeball the allignmennt and then allign it after the glue makes contact.
You have to be in hurry in large glue ups, due to glue drying@@patrickarchuleta9594
I built my router table that way; it worked great.
Buying a domino just to prove dowels are stronger is a true influencer flex.
😂😂 Truth! but totally appropriate for the high quality content he's been putting out!
So true. 🤣
+1, but ouch, what a burn
😂😂😂😂😂
In the real world you would put two dowels in this case, not 4. I’m not convinced :) (no, I don’t own a domino)
Also you can add tolerance play with the domino, which seems great for long joints
Nice comparison video, a lot of good information for the newer to intermediate woodworker. Over the last 45 or so years I've used each of those joinery methods (and a few more) and the issues you pointed out for each was spot on. The only thing I would have added is alignment. With pocket screws, to get good alignment you need to clamp the joint heavily or the force of the screws seating will pull the wood out of alignment. Biscuit joints tend to wander top to bottom because of the loose fit of the biscuit. Dowels, as you pointed out, all depend on the jig you have. Dominos are my favorite for sure, despite the cost of the machine. Alignment never seems a problem with them due to the accuracy of the mortise placement (for that much $ they better be more accurate) and the snug fit of the domino. I used them recently to join the mitered corners of my kitchen butcher block counter tops. They slid right in smooth as silk, and the surface alignment was perfect, better than any other joinery method I've used. Thanks again for the video, these are always great to watch
You mitred the end of butcher block? Big no-no! Now the butcher block will crack, since it will move with humidity and the ends will try (unsuccessfully) to prevent it.
@@jeremygibbens7392 mitered but not glued at the ends. Should be able to move just fine. In place over two years with no issues
Understanding that it is probably overkill compared to these other joining methods, I prefer the traditional mortise and tenon joint. Yeah it is less efficient timewise and easier to mess up but I just like them and the satisfaction they give me. I also like the look of dovetails and box joints and use these a lot too. Yeah I know I am a joinerysaurus but I like puttering around my shop and am rarely under any deadline so I just do what I like.
Right there with you! If I want to put something together fast I'll use the pocket holes. I will use dowels for gluing panels up, but I love the old-school work for nicer pieces. Not a pro making deadlines, just enjoying myself on weekends.
Good video. In the last 45 years I built a slot morticer then bought a combination machine with another slot morticer. Sold it then bought a hollow chisel morticer. Had 2 biscuit joiners then got a Domino. Sold one biscuit joiner but now never use the other. After 45 years in the trade I'd recommend the Dowelmax to anyone starting out and a Domino 700 for a genuine full-time small production shop.
I like the biscuit joiner for assembling the corners of door and window casing. It's not fast, but those joints are not likely to ever open.
I have a dowelmax and I love it. I cannot recommend enough. Easy to use, precise, incredibly strong joints.
The furniture passed down from my grandparents to my parents is from my grand-grandparents or older. So we talk about 1850-1900. Those are gorgeous.
I hope that they one day are passed down to me and I would be really sad if they don't last.
That said, I don't think that anyone wants the furniture I build in a hundred years.
This was great! First because it was informative. Second, because being critical of someone's wood joining methods, to some people, is like telling them that their kids are funny looking and can't sing. So thumbs up for the courage!
Good comparisons, Scott. The pocket hole system is certainly an easy start for most intrepid woodworkers. The dowels really do shine and I have been using them for years, as opposed to my biscuit joiner, which is collecting dust in the cabinet. As for the Domino, well, it's cool and all, but it's a Festool and OMG, that cost! I was pricing out a couple of Festool tools and realized I can get a pretty nice cabinet saw for the price of one of their dust collectors and one hand tool! You're "right on the money" here.
Festool are commercial grade systems that a shop can use. A hobbyist that wants high output could use one as well.
Thanks so much. Just what I needed. I like your rating system and honesty. My bicuit joiner has failed and I was considering replacing it. After reviewing my options I am now leaning toward a DowelMax.
The Domino is amazing IMHO. That said, Castle USA makes a pocket joinery tool and torx screws that change the game in pocket hole joinery. Before I got the Castle 110, I loathed pocket joinery, but now I love it! These are both my go to choices. I do occasionally use dowles with the Jessem jig when I feel the Domino is too bulky or awkward.
The castle 110 pocket cutting tool definitely looks solid and unique!!
63yo retired mechanical engineer/novice woodworker here. Bravo Scott, excellent balance of depth and breadth of subject. I especially appreciate your disclaimers on the limits of your approach including your treatment of the data.
I used dowels before getting a Domino. For large panel layups it works like a charm and each domino, especially if you are using the larger ones, each one will be stronger.
If you use headless 23 gauge pin nails on your biscuit joints you don’t have to wait for the glue to dry. If your biscuit is wobbling in the cut you’re using the wrong blade. I use the porter cable biscuit hole cutter and have to tap the biscuits in with a hammer because the cut is tight.
The dowels had higher strength because the bending force generated by your testing rig translates to tension on the bottom of the joint and the dowels are closer to the edge which makes a larger lever arm and a lower tension force for the same bending moment. In other words it creates a stronger joint in bending because the dowel is closer to the edge than the domino.
Also you should check out Jessem's new domino tool, it is a fraction of the Festool and uses your cordless drill to make the holes.
Nice catch! dowels still suprisingly great tho
Solid point, also because the load is carried "sequentially" by each dowel rather than spread across them equally, so to they fail in "zipper mode" rather than all at once. Which might actually be an argument for why testing 4 dowels instead of 2 may not be a big deal, since you're (kinda) only testing them one at a time.
Scott did acknowledge that it would be impractical to test a full variety of joint types and configurations -- it's always hard to give a simple answer to a complex question -- breaking that joint in the direction perpendicular to the one chosen might have been more illustrative.
I agree and disagree but I am not in a position yet to make a verifiable test but my scenario for testing would involve robots which places the test setup outside of what most people would consider a reasonable investment vs. return but is where I will be headed in my pursuits of a fully robotic factory so such tests could provide a little bit of income via internet presentations along my way .
Yes a long shot I have considered via business math and my multidisciplinary skill-sets .
I agree that the dowel and domino comparison is not entirely fair. To me, it would seem more reasonable to use dowels nearly the same diameter as the domino thickness (not 50% greater) and to place them (still two dowels per domino) with at least the end dowels of the row matching the ends of the dominoes.
@@Zambonick I don't think that wood is flexible enough for the row of dowels to peel apart like a zipper.
Love the comparison, I'm not a woodworker, but I do a lot of DIY projects and work around the house. I use biscuit joints for putting together door/window casings and ensure that they're aligned at the ends. None of the other options would work as they require thicker material.
There are very thin dominos.
Under dunn put his biscuit cutter on some stones and thinned it out so the biscuits fit tight and had great success.
The problem with biscuits is the biscuit is to loose and glue needs a tight fit. So his solution is really good.
Just don't follow his videos for anything safety related. He is very entertaining though.
@@ssgLunchbox hes pretty clear when he does things unsafe.
We all technically do unsafe things daily.
Its managing risks and being aware of it.
Over 15 years ago I built two side tables and a small dresser 100% with pocket holes and it has stood up great even after moving half a dozen times from deserts to southeast humidity and being stored in pods for over two years. I wouldn’t jump up and down on them but their strength and stability is way more than enough for most “light” duty furniture. I wouldn’t suggest making a bed or chair out of them but are more than satisfied to use them for tables and cabinets when I want to build it fast. I think pocket hole joints are very under rated on the whole by many woodworkers.
Yeah. I agree. I was very surprised at strong they are. In fact most joints are strong if done right.
I really don’t use biscuits often but the joiner is handy for cutting slots for Z-clips to make removable table / desk tops. The Z-clips let the top expand and contract with temperature and humidity changes without destroying the frame or cracking the top
As an elder woodworker, being eighty seven, I have used many joining methods in my lifetime. All have their place. As a youngster, I was taught how to make mortise and tenon and dovetails by hand. This was before the advent of power tools to make life easier. Today, I use power tools to accomplish what I did by hand. It saves time and money, which is important if you are making a living from wood. For me pocket screws work for cabinet carcasses and, at a pinch, face frames. Would I stop making dovetails and mortise and tenons and buy a domino machine?, no. But they have their place as well, just not in my shop.
Two affordable options that weren't covered: the Rockler Beadlock system, which is a fancied-up dowel jig that makes space for a version of the domino, and the Tianli router jig that cuts domino-style mortises. Both about 1/5 the price of the Festool.
@user-wi9ne9pf2n Thanks, but your obvious scam doesn't interest me.
Agree w/ you 100% about dowels (and specifically the Dowelmax -- been using it for years, and the precision/flexibility is remarkable). However, I wouldn't say throw out that biscuit joiner right away. It's a relatively cheap power tool, and works great for Z-clips (my preferred method of attaching table/bench tops), and mobile slotting.
Great video... always informative and entertaining.
I see festool as the apple of the woodworking world. It's more expensive, but it's also very well refined. It's doing what many other tools do for cheaper, but what it does, it's meant to do it very well.
Good analogy!
So we should expect them to keep putting out new versions twice a year with minuscule variations and lots of features that nobody asked for or wants?
Biscuits are for panel materials they not a suitable for wood furniture, but they are excellent when installing feature walls and ceilings made from 16mm mdf panel in commercial applications.
Right off the hop. The very first test on the biscuit joint fail on the grain of the wood NOT the biscuit joint it self like the pocket hole joint. If you tried it again where the grain of wood traveled further down the board I’m sure it would have tested much better. Just a note as well. When doing biscuit joints, they are designed for carpenter glue for swelling,as you mentioned but not for polyurethane glues. So many inconsistencies in wood can really flaw tests. Great video and keep ‘‘em coming. 👍🏻
Hi Scott. Your channel is my favorite woodworking coaching channel. Great job and please keep it up. I'm learning much!
Pocket screws are actually surprisingly strong. Most tests show they fail just before wood around the joints, which in my opinion is the preferred mode of failure. It's much easier to fix a ripped out screw than a broken piece around a domino. I think dowels in gangs are also just as good as dominos. You need a good jig like JesseEm, but they work exceptionally well, and much cheaper. Freud makes great dual doweler for fast joineries, but they are no longer made as far as I know. You can usually buy one online cheap.
Great Video. They all have their place in the shop or on the job site.
I use a triton dowel joiner which allows for 2 holes to be drilled at once and can speed up the process. It’s a great alternative to the festool domino. Though I don’t think it has the range of dowel sizes compared to drill jig you highlighted in the video.
Even though biscuits might be the “weakest”, they still have their place. I use them mostly in casement trim around doors and windows. This is where that “slop” becomes really handy as it allows the piece to come together across uneven surface that you might encounter on a wall.
I like to use Kreg screws to attach my face frames to box cabinets. You can hide the pockets between the cabinets in most cases except for the end caps.
There are applications for all of these tools and methods.
Hi Scott.
Thanks for the video.
Your triangle is a visual representation of what a friend of mine that was a fine guitar maker (he's retired) was telling me: if you want something done, you have to chose 2 out of these 3 requirements, the last one will most likely be neglected: well built - fast built - cheap.
Keep it up!
EDIT: also I have a very good dowel jig, and it really is a great tool. Unless I drastically change my way of woodworking (currently: hobbyist), it's going to be more than enough for the rest of my career.
In "cost Plus" construction jobs, we usually tell the customer there are 3 variables - Quick Delivery, High Quality and Low Cost - PICK ANY 2.
The old "good, fast, cheap -- pick two" maxim@@allenmgrayson
Good video! I think your conclusion definitely holds water, the average weekend warrior with a limited budget shouldn't feel the pressure to get a Domino. They're great, but you can get the exact same results and save a ton of cash with dowels. Production speed for us isn't the issue it is for folks that are selling pieces every day.
After using a Lamello biscuit joiner for years we finally got a domino. Love it. The ability to make our own dominoes to exact dimension is the game changer.
Love the commitment to the hard stop at the end! :) And I would like a domino but can never justify the cost as a DIY'er. So I have the dowelmax jig. LOVE it. And yeah, I've never really used the biscuit joiner much. The only use would be a narrow piece that needed to be jointed. Where a dowel is just too thick. But then again, I've never had to joint a 1/2" stock for strength so..... it's a made up scenario (for me). As usual, great video. Thanks for taking the time to do it five times. Better you than me. LOL
@@nharber9837 Honestly, the dowelmax works so well that I don't find the need to make one. If the price dropped to $240 or so, I would for sure grab it. But I guess I have to wait for the patent to expire.
I have been using the dowel max for several years…..it does take some time to get the adjustment correct
After a few projects I don’t notice set up for the max is any slower than the Craig…how much time to set the screws vs pressing in the dowels….a toss up for me. Very well done 👍 .
Would be interested in a comparison to a conventional mortise and tenon joint. I built a small dresser using hand-drilled dowels (no jig, just lots of planing) in 1995, and it's still going strong. But great video, and great to see T-dot represented on the you tubes.
Would be interested what you think of the Mafell doweler?
Great video! Man you took so much into consideration. I agree with you on the Dowelmax. It is an excellent highly precision tool that is extremely accurate. Don't waste time and money on all those budget doweling jigs. They don't last, and worse the fit is usually off when you join the pieces of wood. If you are no great hurry (like me) to build something of quality, this is the way to go as far as joints go. What is also cool is that you can make your own dowels very simply by drilling a hole in a piece of metal that is the same size of the dowel you need. Plenty of tutorials on how to do that.
This was fun to watch and very informative! I recall first hearing about biscuits years ago when Norm Abram and the New Yankee Workshop started to use them. I do believe he’d odd a few table tops with them. This was before the Domino system from Festool (or even Festool tools!). But he did also use floating tenons on many projects. Of course… The was Norm, simply the best!
Festo (the original name) has been around since 1925.
I have 3 of the 4 systems. I started with the domino, then the pocket screw jig, then the Dowelmax. I find all three systems have quirks and all are finicky to use. I use dominos the most mainly for alignment purposes. But it has taken several hundred uses to get really good and fast with the thing. The most finicky jig for me is the Dowelmax. Alignment is super critical and I find the jig wiggles out of alignment very easily. Once you set up the Domino jig it is rock solid and you just have to line up the marks and go. Also the ability to make tight versus loose fitting mortises is really useful. thanks for the comparison.
LOL. Not to mention the knurled knobs on the dowelmax will make your finger tips raw after a couple dozen uses.
Thank you, from someone with adhd, for making the most interesting and comprehensive content i can find on my favorite hobby. Keep up the awesome work!
I've built 4'X8' carriage doors for the garage using something called 'Beadlock'. Beadlock uses a modified doweling jig and ready-made tenon stock that has more surface area than the 'domino' but is considerably cheaper. The system is not as fast as the Festool, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper. The carriage doors I build 20 years ago have held up without a problem.
I'm looking at building a custom desk for myself. I've built some things, but never anything like that. I was fortunate enough to come across someone selling their stock of live edge slabs at basically firewood prices (two ash slabs, little over 9 ft long, 2.5 inches deep and about 1.5 ft wide for $20/slab) and was trying to figure out the best way to join them together and this helped so much. I'm definitely going to pay the extra and go with dowels. I want something that will last me for a long time
When joining slabs the glue is more than enough. Biscuets is nice to use for alignment, but it does not affect strength. It’s when joining endwood to something you need special joinery.
I use biscuits when gluing up a workpiece where both sides will show. Tabletops, hinged bench/box lids, etc. They don’t add much strength but keep things aligned during glue-up, which is worth it to me. You’ve gotten me interested in dowels for some applications tho. Thanks.
Good video and worth watching. Perspective is pretty good as well.
I do think a bit more highly of the biscuit joiner than do you, but only a bit. It can actually be rather nice for putting splines in miter joints.
I also think a bit more highly of the Domino. One of the nice things about the Domino is its ability to do angles. Set-up for putting a Domino into some 45° joints joints is pretty fast and simple whereas trying to do that with a doweling jig is considerably more of a bother (although the DowelMax system helps quite a bit). Multiple demonstrations have suggested the dowel joinery is stronger but, of course, that isn't always the most important thing.
Because I largely agree with you regarding the dowels for a lot of joints, I got the Jessem doweling jig and I also use spiral grooved dowels. But the speed and precision with which the Festool Domino can be used is (IMHO) why it is so popular.
I have a JessEm doweling jig and a Festool Domino 500. I find myself reaching for the Domino. It’s much faster than the jig, easier to align, and collects virtually all of the dust whereas the JessEm, as brilliant as it is, collects zero dust. The Domino also allows you to produce a wider mortise while maintaining alignment on a large panel glue up. I use the JessEm when I need a bigger/stronger joint than the D500 can produce.
My introduction to furniture building was in the early 70’s. I didn’t have the knowledge or machinery to assemble joints on my early pieces. I also didn’t have money to buy other options, so I bought a self-centering dowel jig & used it until it wore out. Even though I’m many generations from those early days, I still go back to dowel joinery. I do lots of mortise & tenon joints and biscuit joins when appropriate. I don’t have and never will have the Festool, way overpriced! Thanks for the good review
Engineers gotta validate the money they spent on their degree by reinventing things that our forefathers already perfected. I'll take a vintage tool I can use all my life and pass on to my grandchildren over the latest bells and whistle crap that will be in a landfill in 5 years.
Without glue screws are reversible and with or without glue you don't have to wait for glue to dry, which I think helps with their popularity on TV and RUclips. As people have figured out with particle board furniture from box stores, they're fine.
I like doing mortise and tenon joints or dovetails on just about anything that's either visible or gets any proper use because I both like to make my projects look non-bulky so their thin structures need that extra strength often and just because I'm extra like that. If I really can't be bothered, it's "just" a box joint. This mind set of course takes the most amount of time possible as I haven't yet built jigs for any of these. But sometimes it would be nice to just get things done without a huge time investment. So I went and bought the Domino as it was on quite a considerable sale and I'm in the fortunate position to disregard the cost anyway. It's just a damn well thought out tool. But man is Festool the Apple of woodworking with it's high prices and they even have a practice in place that the tool itself can't be on any sales anywhere, only bundles of the tool can (or so I've heard). If it wasn't priced so high and had competition (still under patent protection), I'd sing it's high praises. But as it is, I'm always happy to see stronger/cheaper proper alternatives.
I'm super lucky to be in a furniture shop where we use a lot of Festool products. One of the things people don't mention about them often, because it doesn't happen often, is their customer support and warranty. My boss runs two 6" Rotex sanders, and when one of them failed for a reason we weren't able to diagnose ourselves, the speed they were able to get it repaired and back to us was very impressive. I have no idea whether it cost him anything, but he was very happy with how they handled it and told me that's one of the reasons he went Festool.
The dowels were closer to the edge than the domino which was closer to the middle of the joint. This gives the dowel a mechanical advantage when causing a rotational failure. When you correct for this, the difference in the strength is minimal. (I have a masters in structural engineering)
Like you said in the video, every tool has its purposes. By and large, dowels and dominos are interchangeable, dominos faster, dowels more elegant. Pocket screws super fast and no waiting for the glue to dry.
Loved the video, keep it up.
Would have been interesting to see how pocket hole strength would have been affected if you used 4 or even 3 vs the 2 you used. Wonder how this would have compared to the 4 dowels used. Also, there are some pocket hole jigs that have a shallower approach angle than "craig" which would allow a longer screw to be used, which would change the dynamics of the joint.
And as others have aluded to in the comments, biscuits were originally developed to provide alignment to a standard edge to edge board glue up. They were later applied to joints to help with alignment. Not sure they were ever intended to reinforce the joint. Would have been interesting to see how the jointnwould have faired if you doubled the biscuits up by stacking them in the joint.
Finally from a physics or "statics" perspective in joint strength, the location of the hole for whatever method you plan to use, will have different effects on the joint strength. The hole closest to the inside corner sees its greatest stress in the form of tension. The hole farthest probably sees its greatest stress in the form of a bending moment. Each method of joining the two pieces of wood has an advantage. The domino probably has the greatest ability for strength when a bending moment is involved because of the width of the domino. And the greatest glued surface probably has the greatest strength in tension. So a hybrid joint of dowels and a domino might do well assuming all other things remained equal. However, 4 pocket hole screws might be up there too.
I'm a beg/intermediate and I rebuilt all of my kitchen drawers using pocket hole screws, etc. Amazing, strong, hidden, and fast. My biscuits never line up, same with dowels. But I can make it work.
I made a design for a special wine bottle drawer where the bottom of the drawer was just essentially long domino-shaped strips that fit into coresponding domino-holes in the front & back of the drawer frame. The wine bottles rested in the gaps between the domino strips and they took the weight pretty well. And once sanded & stained everything came out lookin great. So there are definitely some interesting applications for a domino router besides your typical joint. You can also use it to cut out linear grooves of verying depths for verious purposes.
To this series of tests, I would add testing a joint made with no fasteners whatsoever, simply an end grain to long grain joint. This type of joint is surprisingly stronger than most people think. Would be curious to see how it stacks up.
I own two biscuit joiners and I've never experienced a loose fitting biscuit. If anything they're a little tight. Biscuits are much faster than dominos, because there's side to side play you can go pretty fast (if you're using biscuits odds are you're using a a bunch) and it's no big deal if you're not right on the mark. They really shine when putting long butt joints together, especially if you want to put all four sides together at once and/or adding a divider without the joinery showing. Not only are they fast but they create a standoff and your pieces drop right into place without have to slide them around smearing glue lining up the sides like you do with pocket holes. Dominos need accuracy especially if you don't set it up on the looser settings and are more expensive. You better be super accurate with dowels as well.
I'd be curious to see how much stronger those other options are when you are making 90 deg butt joints with plywood and depth is limited.
In that face frame application you show I use pocket holes (a Kreg Foreman is really fast), biscuits are for casework and dowels and dominos are for narrow pieces or when strength is a concern. They all have their place.
I have a Dowelmax and it rocks! Spot on accurate every time when you assemble the parts. You get what you pay for.
Absolutely great video dude! When I first got started in woodworking (like you said), I used pocket holes a lot. After watching Norm on NYW, I bought a biscuit joiner and (like you) retired that fairly quickly because of uneven glue-ups. As I kept progressing, I moved to dowels, but they just seemed too fussy, so by this time I was ready to do mortise-tenon joinery and that's I've done for years and still do. As a hobbyist, I just can't justify the cost of the Domino. I do wish you had tested traditional mortise-tenon joinery in this video for a comparison, just to see where it stands.
Excellent video . 2 things I'd like to point out is .
1 - The biscuit and domino is great for doing angled joints which you didn't mention . I use the domino for handrail connections and it's great for that cause like you mentioned biscuits are too wide .
2 - There is nothing wrong with have all 4 systems in your shop eventually other then storage space and money . Each system has it's strengths and weaknesses
My grandpa and my dad were professionnal woodworkers and as a kid i saw them using a TONS of dowels.
When i decided to built my own furniture 10 years ago, i didn't want to use it because " yerk ...dowels are too old fashion, you're not at Ikea here, tenons and mortises are so much fancy...bla bla bla"
Now i realise how i was wrong and how verstatile, easy and strong the dowels are! I think this the best compromise as wood joining.
Here in France i don't know if somebody uses pocket screws, it seems to be more a north american method
Dowels require alignment and that can be time consuming as just fraction out and nothing will align.
Pocket screws are a horrible method to joint timber, dowels are rapidly becoming something of a trade secret. 30 years experience has shown me that dowels are cheap, accurate, strong and above all flexibility of use is unparalleled.
Why don’t we see the breaks for the domino and dowel?
Also could this be redone with just wood glue?
I’m curious how much of the strength is the joiner system vs the wood breaking
My grandpa had a desk which should be more than 60 years old. According to my dad, it's something he used when he was little.
After I got totally sick of IKEA, I stole it from my grandpa and it's the best desk I've ever used. Gives out old WWII era vintage vibe to the room and it's the most shining piece of the room, and it will probably last more than any other furniture I have now
Great video! The only suggestion I have is maybe a re-visit. It'd be nice to see these modern joints battle a mortise and tenon and/or dovetail. Thanks!
the biscuit test you showed on video the wood failed not the joint - did the other tests do the same? it is becuase the biscuit does not go as far into the work you are joining ?
Thanks for asking! That was the only example where the wood *_partially_* failed. What I mean by that is that if the camera was pointing at the other side of the piece, it would've appeared that the biscuit failed. In the four other tests of the biscuits, the joint completely failed.
Unfortunately for me and my comment section, I had a momentary lapse when editing and chose to use the clip where it appeared that the wood failed. It was the best looking angle of the five biscuit joints I tested and I neglected to realize that choosing that angle would cause so much confusion. All that being said, the numbers don't lie, and the *_average_* strength was the lowest. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how the joint failed, it's still the weakest.
@@viper04af I don't have any experience with the dowel joiners, but I know that the Triton didn't have favourable reviews.
To my knowledge biscuits are not really used for furniture joints though more so for jointing panels together in cabinet making they make centering the panels easy when joining to give you a level surface and a neat flush finish. Definitely not designed for strength applications.
@@jimpap13 True + if you need to adjust in one way but be stable in 1 other way thats a killer applicaion in some cases like honestly no one is talking abound but im useing all the time next thing is a "flachdübelfräse" (biscuit jointer) (; is acually avalabe with a battery so you dont have the wire laying arround whot is also pretty neat
@jimpap13 He mentioned in the video that the biscuits were ill-fitting and they were a headache to use while he was trying to do the exact type of panel alignment you brought up.
Overall, it seems biscuits are more like a predecessor of the domino. Sort of a "biscuits crawled so dominoes can run" kind of situation. They've earned some respect but the results aren't going to stand the test of time.
Blade thickness is important for good biscuit joints. You mentioned the biscuits being loose but the biscuit jointer at my shop has a blade that is the same thickness of the biscuits to the point where I can dry test fit and the biscuits stay firmly in place. Try a thinner blade or biscuits specifically for your jointer instead of the cheapo generic ones.
I use my biscuit jointer for alignment because I bought it and I’m damn well going to use it where I can. I will also use it on the few occasions when I make a picture frame, but the main thing I use the biscuit jointer for is to cut quick grooves to install Z clips on table tops.
I love the dowel max. It’s not cheap, but it’s the best and works well for different applications.
I’m one who thinks Festool tools are way overpriced for what they are, and think people mostly buy them as a status symbol. Yeah, yeah, I can hear the Festool lovers out there cussing me out. However, I will admit that the domino is a great tool, and for the time being, nobody else can manufacture them. Off subject a bit, but their sander and dust collector are also great tools, and can’t really complain about their price so much, as the Mirka and 3M sander’s are also way overpriced.
I agree with your thoughts on pocket screws, but they have got to be one of the best products ever developed for woodworking, as long as they’re used in appropriate applications. I use them to build cabinets, face frames, and even use them on some projects where I probably shouldn’t, but I’ve never had a problem as long as I use glue, and don’t use them on support structures.
Thanks for your overview of the various products out there. It was actually quite informative.
Pocket screws, dowels or joints for me. I've made a lot of cheap dowel jigs from scrap padauk and ipe and they work great. No expensive adjustable jig needed; just pick from the selection of cheap homemade jigs for the job.
To be fair, your biscuit test really only tested the glue. It had no stress on the biscuit itself other than glue
The biscuit joint didn’t really fail, either, the board failed.
I will agree with everything you stayed except speed. 2:30 per joint for dowels isn't really that slow to me. Most people want to enjoy the build and to ensure quality. So too me, 2:30 is still pretty damn fast. That said I am still leaning towards making my own loose tenons and then adding dowels or pins to them. Yes, it takes longer but seems to be even stronger than just tenon or just dowels. Great video. I have a similar Kreg K2 pocket hole jig.
Have you tried using two biscuits in a joint? On a 3/4" board adjust your biscuit jointer 1/4" down from the face of the board. Then you can flip the board and do it to the other side. You'll get 2 biscuits in the joint. I think it's worth trying.
I generally buy hardwood dowels and leave them exposed or use them to fill pocket holes on items I make for the garage or exterior projects such as my fence. They look great and are super cheap. My doweling jig was $15, is fast to adjust, and has done very well for almost every application.
Pocket hole screws move the joint while tightening. Biscuit plus pocket screws is accurate and disassemble-able.
I’ve installed locally made, high end cabinets that utilize full 3/4” maple plywood boxes, and they are joined with dowels for European style cabinets. Face frames are joined with pocket screws. The solid maple drawer boxes are joined with dovetails. The L-shaped cabinet fillers/scribes are joined with pocket screws and floating biscuits-which is nice to disassemble for scribing. Large cabinets are designed for final site assembly utilizing the Lamello tenso and clamex biscuit connectors. Not a single domino is used. For site installation, I do use the Domino for its speed and strength-I.e. stair handrails, for example. Pocket screws are excellent for joining casing and some moldings.
Scott, great video with surprising results. I also have had very disappointing results with biscuits. Biscuits don't hold all that well in some applications. Based on your test results, pocket screws and dowells are the way to go. TY
If you are willing to make a new jig for every job, a piece of clear acrylic with a line mark and a piece of wood drilled at the depth you want and aligned with the mark on the acrylic makes a cheap and consistent dowel jig. just secure the 2 together at the proper orientation. It only makes flush joints but I have never had a problem with this method otherwise.
I bought a Dowelmax some years ago for a specific project. I must say that it was worth every penny. I absolutely love it. It is easy to use. It produces accurate joints with almost no marking or measuring required. The jig is precision machined. I loaned it to a friend a while back and he liked it so much he bought one also. You won't be disappointed. Check out the Dowelmax videos for a comprehensive review.
Oh, by the way, I have a slightly used biscuit joiner for sale. Cheap.