Looking to make some furniture, but I don't have a biscuit

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>>1195485
I recommend you don't use biscuits. That is one step above pocket screws. It is the kind of joint you find on shit furniture that uses cheap wood and veneers.

Use real joints to join your wood. Or at the very least learn how to make dowel joints. They can be done with a standard drill and, if you are clumsy and need it, a simple jig you can make yourself.

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>>1195494
Spline joints are also acceptable.

>>1195485
>What does /diy/ recommend?
I, for one, recommend not using biscuit joints

>>1195494

Is a dowel joint really that much stronger than a biscuit? Seems like the would be comparable to me.

>>1195518
Dowel joints are insanely strong, but they really need a precise jig or else the holes won't match up right and fuck your shit up. Biscuits are made with some slop in mind so they are more forgiving.

>>1195494

Eh pocket holes have their place. i built a few things here and there with them before i had the tools to do other kinds of joints. its easy and they are strong enough for most things people will be doing.

However after i got a few router bits and some other tools and jigs for joints i use them mostly because it make the project look better. but they are also stronger.

>>1195485
good deal, not really, but there's not a really cheap option except for one from HF for $49 with coupon

there's nothing wrong with using biscuits

Biscuits have their place. But you dont need a biscuit jointer.


Dowling, splines and floating tenon all work just as well if not better.

But if your dead set on biscuits the dewalt is a nice tool. So is the PC

>>1195512
This.

>>1195485
Festool domino

>>1195485
We have the same one at work only gripe really is the exhaust for the sawdust occasionally gets clogged and you'll have to stick a pencil in to dislodge it.

>>1195494
>That is one step above pocket screws.

One step below on strength tests. Biscuits are really only useful for alignment.

>>1195520

You can use centering pins instead of a jig. Drill press recommended though. Or just hand drill directly through both pieces and knock in your dowels from the outside. I really like that method and i think the dowel ends look neat on finished wood.

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>>1195520
Pic related and a steady hand makes dowels dead easy.

>>1195681
>Biscuits are really only useful for alignment.
Biscuits only help alignment on a single plane.

whats the strongest join i cant make? i imagine all the japanese ones dont actually do anything foe the strength

>>1195702
Properly welded steel can hold up several thousand tons.

>>1195712
i mean wood, though that's obvious considering the thread is about wood joins and that i mention japanese joins

>>1195694
why would you want a centre punch that obscures the centre?
why not just a normal punch and just close your eyes?

>>1195702
>>1195713

mortise and tenon, box joint, dovetail and dowel joints are all solid.

If you want it even stronger and will not see it and or do not care then you can reinforce with angle brackets. If you care and will see it then you can use decorative angle brackets.

I built a small bookshelf and use ugly painted brackets in the back of the shelf because they will not be seen. but i use a fancy decorative bracket in front. In all honesty i dident need to do it. i wanted to use the fancy ones up front for looks and my OCD kicked in and would not allow me to have a bracket up front without one in the rear of the shelf.

>>1195716
Those are transfer pin punches, not center punches. After you drill the dowel holes in one half of the joint, you insert these pins to transfer the center mark to the other half of the joint.

If you want strong well aligned joints, place dowels on either end(and mid-way between for long joints) with a spline joint in between. Spline joints can be made with a router and slotting bit.

>>1195702
>whats the strongest join i cant make?

There is a point where joint strength exceeds the strength of the actual wood. Mortise & tenon, finger box joint, dovetail, several 3/8" dowels, full lap joint (not the half lap) etc. all meet or potentially exceed that.

>>1195720
for the most part i dont care since im going to be making stuff like bed bases, but for some stuff like a shoe rack I've planned its gonna be visible. even if its not visible i dont want to use stuff like pocket holes or screws since they always seem to come loose (especially bed screws). got a pic of the bookshelf? curious to see the fancy brackets

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>>1195734

Its a few hundred miles away at my brothers house.

But if you look at the supports on either side of the books in this pic you get the idea. I just used some smaller 3 inch x 3 inch triangle metal brackets that had some neat design on them. In the back of the shelf i used a standard metal angle bracket. the shelf itself was stained with a dark wood stain and a gloss finish. so the brackets up front got a glossy black paint job while the ugly ones in the back got flat black so they would be hidden.

>>1195485
>Is pic related a good deal at $150?

Considering they're all the same, no. Get the cheapest one going. They're literally, all the same. A made in chinkshit 4 12" angle grinder with a wood cutting TCT blade and plunge guide.

>>1195512
Biscuit joints have a use and come in more often than you would imagine.

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>>1195675
>Festool jointer

I'll see your Festool and raise you a

>>1196220
This is what I was thinking... My friend has an old ryobi (back when their color scheme was blue) that he paid $40 for maybe 10-15 years ago and it still works perfectly.

Unfortunately even the ryobi is not $100. I don't think I can bring myself to buy a harbor freight one though. I've seen too many cases where people buy shit from HF and the thing breaks in like 20 minutes.

>>1196231
*not $100 -> now $100

>>1195720

At least your OCD is flexible enough to allow for an asymmetric design....

>>1196231
>and the thing breaks in like 20 minutes
you have 90 days to return or exchange it