Biscuit joiner or pocket hole setup

[Aaron Beaver]

Which should I buy? I was looking at getting a biscuit joiner. I have seen post that a lot of people use pocket hole jigs instead of biscuits. Is this the route I should be looking at?

[Matt Tawes]

While I own and use both I would have to say that the pocket hole jig is used the most. While I use traditional joinery for most furniture pieces I use the pocket hole jig a lot for cabinets and such. Biscuits are great for alignment and areas where structural support or strength is not a big issue but mechanical fasteners come in handy for quick asssembly and holding power.

[Jim Fancher]

What projects will you be using them for?

Biscuits are good for aligning things like the boards in a table top. The glue holds things together. Pocket hole screws can be stronger, but boy are they ugly. They are great for hidden applications like the backs of face frames.

I have both.

[Aaron Beaver]

it was a medicine cabinet that I am working on. I went ahead and used miller dowels instead (because I like those) even though a biscuit would of been a hidden connection. Guess like everything it might depend on what is being built, eventually will get both.

[Anthony Anderson]

I have a P-C 557 biscuit joiner and the Kreg K3. I bought the P-C about 5-6 years ago, and the Kreg about one month ago. They both have their place. If I had to choose which one to buy first, I would go with the K3. I only use the K3 where the holes will be hidden (face frames and such). As far as panel alignment and the biscuit joiner, get some good clamps, such as the Bessey K body, and they will make alignment a breeze without the biscuits. Providing that your edges are square to the face. HTH, Bill

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Andy, they both have their place in our work, but the pocket screw system is in most cases, a lot more useful "right away".

[Bob Yarbrough]

Love the pocket hole system, but plan on buying a biscut joiner.

[tod evans]

aaron, i will use pocket screws in some instances but won`t use biscuits (except with gravy)......02 tod

[Steve Cox]

For me one big thing is materials. I am not a pocket hole expert by any means but I have not been happy with their holding power in particle board. Lately I seem to be using a lot of PB (and melamine) and I find biscuits to be the best for those materials. I like pocket screws for plywood and solid wood but only use them where they will be hidden. If I was buying one or the other I'd go with the biscuit joiner because, while slower, it can be used everywhere that a pocket screw can but the reverse has not been true for me.

[Steve Clardy]

I have both. Have to have in my business.
If I had the choice of one only, it would be a pocket cutter.

[Frank Pellow]

I don't own a biscuit joiner and, now that I have used a the Kreg Pocket hole jig, I don't think that I will ever own one. I have only been using the pocket hole joining method for about three weeks but I find it to be fast, accurate, and strong. I even kind of like the wood inserts that Kreg sells that can be used where the screws would otherwise be exposed. The other thing that I have recently discovered and really like is Miller Dowels.

aside: I also have my eye on the Festool Domino losses tenon joiner. That seems much preferable to biscuits and, when the Domino starts being sold in North America, there is about a 50-50 chance that I will buy one.

[Jeff Singleton]

I use a P-C biscuit cutter and a cast aluminum Kreg jig. They are both useful and both get used a lot. The kreg is great because it is portable and leaves a small hole. The routers for pockets leave a very large and ugly slot and is not portable. Besides I can buy 1000 pocket screws for $10 locally but biscuit are a lot more money. One trick, wet your biscuits before installing them, don't saturate them just get them wet. Be quick, them expand rapidly. With today's quick setting glues the biscuit can not absorb moisture quick enough to expand without wetting them first.

Jeff Singleton

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I used to use biscuits but after reading that they don't strengthen a joint, I quit using them. I have never been happy with the alignment they provide for glue ups. Now I just make good edges and hit them with a hammer till they are lined up

I LOVE my Kreg jig! I don't use it a lot, but when I do, man it is nice!

[Aaron Beaver]

The other thing that I have recently discovered and really like is Miller Dewels.

I have used the Miller Dowels since I started woodworking (only about a year) and I use them in all places where the plans call for pieces to be screwed together even if they would have a button plug to cover them. I read somewhere that using the wood dowels like these hold just as good as screws and have some other benifits that I don't remeber off the top of my head. Biscuits in this case would of hid the connection where the Miller Dowels will show, which is all bad because it looks nice but sometime I may not want to see them.

I have seen those kreg hole plugs you mentioned but of course never used them so wasn't sure what they where like.

[Frank Pellow]

...
I have seen those kreg hole plugs you mentioned but of course never used them so wasn't sure what they where like.

Here a picture of a mirror that uses, and even emphasizes, the plugs. The picture is from the Pocket Hole Jig book by Danny Proulx and plan to build a mirror like it using plans from the book.

project4.jpg