A biscuit joiner once set up correctly is a much quicker way to join two panels for example. A Domino gives you all of the strength of a dowel type join and also gives you the added bonus of being usable in much smaller joins unlike a biscuit. Biscuit joins are generally quite limited in the number of applications that they can have. A Domino joiner is somewhat of a hybrid between two different types of joins; a biscuit join and a more tradition dowel joint. Although a Domino will cut mortises in a similar way to a biscuit joiner the actual shape of the mortise is specifically designed to only accept the Domino tenon. The most obvious disadvantage of a Domino joiner versus the biscuit joiner is the cost. A Festool Domino joiner is extremely expensive and a high quality biscuit joiner can be up to 1/5 the rice of the introductory Festool model.
With the Domino, I have done loose tenon joints in the last piece I made that replaced all standard mortise and tenon joints, plunged slots into the face of the bottom shelf which permitted the shelf to appear as if “Floating”, edge glued boards for the top and shelf with Dominos. In short, all joints in the piece were Domino loose tenon joints. I could not have gotten the same level of quality from any other methods of joinery with the ease with which I did the work. Nor, do I believe, the results would have been as precise and accurate with other methods. Can’t prove that but, for me, the satisfaction I got from being able to this work better than I had in the past is what counts. To speak to the original question, for me the Domino is clearly the superior tool for this job. I realize that, for others, the process, methods, and tools they use may not be the same and their results might be the same or better than mine.
You are not sure whether a domino joiner or a biscuit joiner suits your needs best. Starting with the type of joint they make: loose tenon the domino joiner, biscuit joint the plate joiner. In short, the Domino joiner beats the biscuit joiner in every matter. Domino joiners are way more expensive than biscuit joiners. As opposed to the classic mortise and tenon joint, the tenon is detached from both joining pieces, “Floating” around and inserted into two mortises, which are cut with the domino joiner. After this short introduction, let’s start comparing the domino joiner and the biscuit joiner. This is what I found out when searching if I whether get a domino joiner or a biscuit joiner.
biscuit joiner vs festool Related Question:
What is the difference between a biscuit jointer and the Festool Domino joiner?
While a biscuit joiner will AT MOST go 1/2″ into each side of the wood, a domino joiner will go almost 3″ into each side (remember, 1/2″ the tenon length goes into each piece). Which means a domino joiner will assist with both alignment AND structural rigidity of the joints.
Are biscuit joiners worth it?
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.
Is a domino stronger than a biscuit?
The biscuit joiner cutter is shallower than the domino limiting the lateral strength compared to Festool Domino. Biscuits are made from beech wood and have a short grain which is not as strong as a timber with a straight grain which I make my Festool dominos from. The Festool Domino has a greater glue area.