Thanks Jimbouk,

That sounds better than biscuits, than with the machine I have at least, have to be set out each biscuit individually.

Hi Terry,

I’ve used pocket screws, biscuits, dominos and dowels, and found that they all have their advantages and disadvantages.

I’ve found that pocket screws are great if the pockets are hidden, but don’t like them when I have to plug the pockets. They are great for fixing front frames onto a cabinet from the outside, building a fixed frame that has one side hidden. 

Biscuits are good for quick assembly of boards but are no good for narrow parts like frames etc. as they are 60mm long and difficult to position laterally with precision. they are great for assembling edge to edge and at right angles. But not so good when joining divisions, frames, miters.

Dominos are like biscuits but being narrower can be used on frames etc. I haven’t tried the domino XL that looks very good for heavy frames. But not doing a lot of heavy framing I doubt if the hefty investment of over 1000€ will ever tempt me, especially as I have the machinery for traditional mortise and tenons and once set up this is very fast to process a lot of wood.

The thing I don’t like about biscuits and dominos is that you have to mark the position of each joint. I find this tedious and time consuming.

For most small cabinet jobs I use dowels and make a quick throw away jig.

For jobs that need on site assembly I use dowel and cams.

I  make a quick throw away cam jig that goes with the dowel jig.

I was going to make a video about this so if it interests you I’ll up it on my priority list.

My main job is stair building so I don’t make loads of cabinets but we do a lot of cabinets and paneling around stairs so my opinion may not be valid for everyone, so please feel free to criticise and disagree with me.

All the best,

Ness

Hello Terry,

The domino is a very neat tool but very expensive.

I see that you have tried the Joint genie and didn’t like it, can you tell me why?

I have only seen it demoed on youtube and thought it looked a good idea, it works a lot like the dowel jigs I make on the fly.

I only make cabinets and furniture occasionally so don’t want to invest heavily in a machine like the domino.

I have a biscuit jointer but often find dowels with a simple jig, faster and more versatile. I can use them now for everything panels, frames, stairs etc just like a domino.

I’m posting a few videos to show how I make a jig. Click here for the first in the series.

And here’s the video on how to make it.

Tell me what you think.

All the best,

Ness