biscuits versus dovetails

looking at making some boxes to store bits in then hopefully a tool box.

storage boxes will be ply.

a 300mm dovetail jig is £40 and a 600mm one £120.

a biscuit jointer is £65.

have couple of options

1- get 300mm jig and biscuit jointer only tool box will be bigger than 300mm.

2- just get 600mm jig.

3- just get biscuit jointer.

with 1 i get 2 tools and more versatility to do other projects.

with 2 only get 1 tool and less versatility

with 3 i get more versatility than option 2.

i know dovetails will look lot nicer and be stronger but will biscuit joints be strong enough on own?

If you have a router consider using a corner lock cutter

**LINK**

Gives you a positive location and a strong glue line. You can get a mitre version to make the corners look nicer too.

regards Martin

Have a look on youtube. Lots of woodworkers there making boxes and other storage units. It all depends on how much time you want to spend on making the things and is it for looking at or simply to do a job. You can spend hours to create something beautiful but if at the end of the day nobody sees it other than you then you only have to satisfy you. I have made lots off things over the years and haven't used a dovetail or own a biscuit jointer. I have done some biscuit joints using a router and that is simple in a fixed router table. You pays your money and takes your choice.

Good luck with your project.

I cheated and sliced up an early 60s Kitchen Unit Top Box which I saved . Good quality wood and machined Dovetails. Too nice to break up-

Glued-n-screwed Old Marine Ply for the bases. The 2 boxes will take 20kgs of Lathe accessories each with no issues-

Making the partitions out of mahogany at the moment.

Perhaps I am a bit thick, but how would a biscuit joint be any better than a butt joint or a stepped butt joint. The biscuit would tend to shear off the end of the wood on the short grain edge wouldn't it ?

I think HowardT makes a valid point. If it's pretty you want with fancy timber then handcut dovetails and a pat on the back. If it's utilitarian then gorilla snot and a butt joint will do. When i built all the storage in my shed and some 20 drawers I made up a square jig on the table with wedges to tighten. The 'timbers' (MDF) was sawn up to size and just buted together with fast set brown glue... assembled a new one every 10-15 mins. The bottoms were just glued and stacked like a pargoda with a weight on top then ran a wheelie routet bit aroiund all edges to tidy up. Utilitarian job done

pgk

Finger joints with a homemade jig will give strength and look reasonable and you can spend your money on something else you don't need.

A lot depends on how big and heavy your "bits" are as to what construction method will be strong enough and to some extent the quality of the ply.

Mick70, have you seen the dovetail cutter advertised in this site ?

**LINK**

Don't know the size of it but its a top brand unit, not an expert when it come to woodwork but some now and then, I have a biscuit jointer - bought on a whim at B & Q for a £10 note -- reduced and reduced and on clearance ! Used it more than anticipated but never for corner joints, personally I don't think it is the right tool for this ? Its meant for joining timber together in lengths or widths IMO.

For the storage boxes from ply I would mitre at 45 deg for the corners with a fillet glued inside each corner plus panel pins if you wish but good adhesive will be fine. For a tool box I would use dovetails or comb joints.

Just my five penne'th !

P S have a look on the sister mag website/forum good woodworking

Well I get through a few thousand biscuits a year and most of those are corner and tee joints in carcases and not had any fail and where I have taken stuff apart it is the board that fails not the biscuit.. Lamello seem happy to show them being used for this type of construction.

And MFI make furniture, but it doesn't mean its heavy enough for use in the workshop ! As you say Jason, its the board that fails and that is my point.
BobH

Unfortunately so do I.

Rod

Well you have got to soak up the tea in those MEM mugs with something

As Martin kyte says, consider using a corner lock router cutter. Best with a router table, but doable with care with a hand held router.

Spend a few quid on a dowelling jig and few bags of dowels.

Just and good as biscuits and you can save your cash for a dovetail jig when you feel the urge.

They are man toys. Buy one and put the other two on your Birthday and Christmas lists.

Make the boxes as John F said with mitre and fillets, maybe a saw cut through the corner and a bit of thin wood stuck in it.

The first thing to conceder is the look of the box as previously stated do you want it to just be functional or look good and be functional.

If the first then go for the biscuit joiner if you want good looking then dovetail jig. As for the size of a dovetail jig depends on the size of the piece and the design of the box. I have both the 12" dovetail jig as well as a biscuit jointer both function very well and you can produce a strong unit with either.

Which of the two will you get the most out of in the future as like many jigs they can end up on a shelf just collecting dust.

If you have a router then a biscuit jointer router bit could also be a cheaper option but it does have its limitations over a dedicated biscuit jointer

H'mm Jason & BobH looks like I should educate myself on the uses of a biscuit jointer !! As I said i bought it on a whim, it was in the clearance pile and extremely cheap at a tenner, actually walked out of the store at the time then thought its bound to come in handy so bought it then never used it for maybe 2 years.