Hey Guys,

I really wanted to look at a problem we have all probably had, which joint is right for my project and budget? What I really wanted to do is compare popular joinery techniques and test speed, consistency, and strength. I looked at the Festool Domino, the Kreg K5 system, Biscuit joints, hand cut and machine cut mortise and tenon joints. I looked at them from the perspective of a professional batching out pieces and a hobbyist throwing together one piece of furniture to see how it would scale.

I timed making each joint at the speed I would use to ensure reliable and consistent results. I tested strength with a force gauge on identical joints with identical placement of the load, and I tested consistency by the eye test really. All of the results and methods can be seen in the video below, but here is a table summarizing my findings.

The results

Joint	Tools	Price	Time Per	Time 8 Pieces	Time 100 Pieces	Hobbyist Labor	Production Labor	LBS to Break	Hobbyist Cost	Production Cost
Hand Cut M&T	Hand Saw	$28	28	224	2800	$56	$700	118lbs	$102	$746
	Square	$8
	Chisel	$10
Machine Cut M&T	Router	$98	6.92	55.36	692	$14	$173	170lbs	$805	$964
	Table Saw	$600
	Dado Stack	$93
Biscuit Joints	Biscuit Cutter	$70	1	8	100	$2	$25	38lbs	$78	$101
	Biscuits	$6
Pocket Holes	Kreg Kit	$150	1.23	9.84	123	$2	$31	120lbs	$152	$181
Floating Tenon	Domino 500	$990	1.5	12	150	$3	$38	238lbs	$1,373	$1,408
	Bits and Tenons	$315
	Dust Extractor	$65

Affiliate Links for Tools Referenced

Floating Tenons (Domino Joinery)

Domino 500

https://www.festoolusa.com/products/domino-joining-systemhttp://amzn.to/2DnoRWU

Festool All the Tenons all the bits

https://www.festoolusa.com/accessory?mainchapter=DOMINO+joining+systemhttp://amzn.to/2Dl1LQJ

Fancy Festool Dust Extractor (its amazing!)

https://www.festoolusa.com/products/dust-extractionhttp://amzn.to/2FWH3Zn

Cheapy Shop Vac (the Domino requires dust extraction)

http://amzn.to/2DtS4Ua

Hand Cut Mortise & Tenon

Dozuki Z Saw

http://amzn.to/2rlBO1Y

Chisels

http://amzn.to/2DT9MNR

Square

http://amzn.to/2DotiAO

Machine Cut Mortise & Tenon

Bosch Jobsite Saw (Takes a 15/16” Dado stack)

http://amzn.to/2F1juwX

Bosch Colt Router Palm Router

http://amzn.to/2Dm0SaM

Dado Stack

Freud 8’ Dado Stack

http://amzn.to/2G2cEsv

Biscuit Joint

Biscuit Joiner VonHaus (Brand Doesn’t matter)

http://amzn.to/2DutTVV

Biscuits Porter Cable

http://amzn.to/2EWVoUj

Pocket Holes

Kreg K5 and everything you’ll need

http://amzn.to/2DXiYRH

 

Overall I can TOTALLY see why you see so many pieces of pro furniture made with the Festool Domino and Kreg Joinery. The strength of each of these joints would only be stronger in a better wood species or plywood, but I think this is representative although not scientific proof of the results. The one clear observation about the Domino vs. the Kreg jig is the way that a domino joint fails is much more graceful and repairable than a Pockethole joint, but the cost is significantly higher.

If you enjoyed this test and this video be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my channel,

I will be following up this video looking at some viewers choice options including the beadlock system, dowels, half laps and a few others.

Thanks for watching and remember,

Keep your tools sharp, and keep your mind sharper

T-SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE!

By Rick
WoodWorkLIFE