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My mentor in Grand Rapids swore by biscuits, I switched to dowels 2 winters back and honestly I still flip flop
About 3 winters back I was building face frames out in a shop in Grand Rapids and my old mentor Ray would not let a single biscuit joint leave his bench. He said dowels shift and pocket screws are for hacks, and for a long time I just nodded along. Then 2 winters back I got a dowel jig for $40 and started using it on a run of 14 cabinet boxes, and the joints came out dead square every time with zero swell. Now I keep both setups on the bench and pick based on the wood, which feels like a cop out if I'm honest. Ray says I'm overthinking it and I should just commit to one method for speed. So where do you all land, do you run one joinery system in your shop or switch it up depending on the job?
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kelly63821d ago
Ray sounds like my old lead, same energy. I keep both on the bench too and I stopped feeling bad about it. Biscuits are faster for plywood boxes and panels where the joint barely shows, dowels win on hard maple and anything that needs to stay put without swell. Picking by wood is not a cop out, it is just knowing your stock. The speed thing only matters if you are doing the same job over and over, and cabinet runs are never the same twice.
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