What We Hear Most & Agree With Is This …. Biscuits joints serve best as a quick and easy way to keep glue-up parts in alignment, and that they add appreciable pull-apart to strength joints that would be otherwise too weak to stand on their own – like butt joints and miter joints. We’re guessing that most woodworkers will find more use for a biscuit joiner, with its ability to invisibly align and secure joints so quickly. Doweling also makes for a stronger joint, and if you own a drill, it’s less of an initial investment: You just need a doweling jig and a few drill bits.
The joint made using the biscuit is called a biscuit joint consisting of a biscuit or a plate. People who have been into woodworking for a long time trust dowel joints more than the biscuit joints because the jointer is drilled and glued. If you are looking for a seamless alignment with reasonable strength, you can use biscuit joints or opt for dowel joints.
For exposed joinery on the bottom or back side of projects, a pocket screw system is on my list. For hidden joinery I am considering doweling, splines, biscuits, and dominos. My project list includes a wide variety, cabinets, counter tops, furniture, tables, book cases, and smaller things like picture frames and jewelry boxes.
Years ago, back in the 1990s and early 2000s, a biscuit joiner became a very popular woodworking tool. Well, as much as I admire Norm Abram, a biscuit joiner may be one of the most useless power tools you can own. If you’re new to woodworking, or if you’re a maker, you may not even know what a biscuit joiner is.
biscuit joiner or dowel Related Question:
Are biscuit joints better than dowels?
When done correctly, a biscuit joint is at least as strong as a similar size mortise and tenon joint, and decidedly stronger than a dowel joint.”
Are biscuit joiners worth it?
They will definitely provide more strength than glue alone, but not a lot. If your boards are too narrow, you can reinforce the joint by adding the biscuit on the back side of the face. But again, I would prefer to just use pocket screws, dados, or rabbets.
What are the disadvantages of a biscuit joint?
Biscuit joints do not stand up well against other joinery methods. We won’t spend any time comparing with mortise and tenon joints because all other joinery methods pale in comparison when measuring strength. But, as an example, the use of dowels as opposed to biscuits is a step up in strength.