Joinery, the practice of connecting two or more pieces of wood, plays an important role in creating functional furniture. Whether constructing tables, cabinets, or frames, woodworkers make use of solid joints to create reliable and stable pieces of furniture. The tools that create these joints are known as Joiners and the two popular tools, Biscuit Joiners and Domino Joiners are quite popular in the woodworking circles. If you are new to woodworking and are confused between these two tools, this guide is for you. In this Biscuit Joiner vs. Domino Joiner comparison guide, we will take a look at the differences between biscuit joiners and domino joiners and understand their strengths and limitations.
What is a Biscuit Joiner?
A biscuit joiner is a power tool specifically designed to create tight, precise joints between two pieces of wood. This tool cuts crescent-shaped slots, where compressed wood biscuits (small, oval-shaped pieces of wood), fit snugly. When you add glue, these biscuits expand within the slots and create a strong connection.
This joint type works well in furniture making with accurate alignment and a smooth finish. Biscuit joinery can be great for sheet wood. Although the biscuit joiner doesn’t provide the highest strength for structural joints, it is a reliable tool for securing panels and aligning wooden surfaces.
The main component of a biscuit joiner is a circular blade that has a spring-loaded system. It is usually around 4 inches in diameter and cuts into the wood to create uniform slots. With a rotating motor, the blade plunges forward when the user activates it and creates a precise cut. Using the fence, the user can set the height of the slot.
Many biscuit joiners also have a depth adjustment where users can set the cut’s depth based on the biscuit size (#0, #10, and #20).
How to Use a Biscuit Joiner?
Using a biscuit joiner is a straightforward, four-step process.
First, the user marks the points where they want to place the biscuits on each piece of wood. They then align the biscuit joiner along these marks and activate the tool to cut slots at the selected depth.
After cutting, the user applies a layer of wood glue both to the biscuit and inside the slot. Then, they insert the biscuit and press the two pieces of wood together.
As the glue dries, the biscuit absorbs some moisture, expands slightly and forms a tighter connection.
Finally, clamping the wood pieces helps to secure the joint until the glue fully cures.
Key Features of a Biscuit Joiner
These are the main features of a biscuit joiner.
- A biscuit joiner is made by different manufacturers and can have a variety of features.
- It allows cutting biscuits at different angles as the fence tilts up to 90 degrees.
- Higher-end models feature aluminum fences for clamping them while using.
- Easy left to right alignment with rack and pinion fences.
- The tool can cut 20 mm adjustable depth.
- It can cut biscuits of 0, 10, and 20 sizes.
- One can easily choose from corded or cordless power options.
- Some models come with foot-activated or handheld designs.
- Comes in four sizes for accommodating wide and narrow materials.
Biscuit Joiner Pros and Cons
Pros
- Does not require metric measurements.
- Optional dust collection.
- Requires less setup accuracy.
- Works faster than a domino.
- It is much cheaper compared to domino.
Cons
- Suitable only for wood surfaces with a contact space of 1-1/2-inch.
- Unable to make curved biscuit joints.
- Has a shallow joint depth.
- Comes with just a single thickness.
- Weaker than a domino joint.
What is a Domino Joiner?
A domino joiner is a specialized power tool designed to create strong and precise wood joints that support heavy loads and withstand significant stress. Unlike traditional joinery methods, which often require chiseling or other labor-intensive processes, the domino joiner uses a unique mortising technique. Domino joiners are made by a German-based company called Festool.
This tool cuts elongated, uniform slots known as mortises into the wood to hold solid, pre-made wooden tenons called dominoes. These tenons are stronger, thicker, and provide exceptional stability, as their shape and size lock securely into the slots and create joints that resemble traditional mortise and tenon connections.
The cutter in a Domino joiner resembles a rotating drill bit. It makes the elongated mortises in the wood (that fit the domino tenons) by moving in both a circular and oscillating motion.
Key Features of a Festool Domino Joiner
- The main features of a Festool Domino joiner are as follows.
- Easy to use with portable handheld mortising.
- Comes with dust collection.
- Quick and accurate adjustments.
- Optional jig for indexed mortises.
- Allows mortising in semi-circular or round stock.
- Suitable for different projects due to varying tenon thickness and width.
Domino Joiner Pros and Cons
Pros
- Perfect for corner joints.
- Allows cross-stop setup for indexed and repeated cuts.
- Option for support bracket to deal with vertical cuts.
- Simple dial for controlling the width.
- Handrail fence for curved or round materials.
- Perfect alignment with trim stop setup.
- Varying tenon thickness due to interchangeable bits.
Cons
- It has a higher learning curve compared to a biscuit joiner.
- It has only one manufacturer.
- Comes only with metric measurements.
- The cost is much higher than a biscuit joiner.
Domino Joiner vs. Biscuit Joiner – Key Differences
Here are the main differences between a domino joiner and a biscuit joiner.
Biscuits are composite wood that comes in an oblong shape. They are suitable only for interior purposes. A biscuit joint is for fixed biscuit spline thickness. It is then inserted and glued by the biscuit joiner.
A domino utilizes mortise and tenon of different widths and thicknesses. The holes left by the tool are mortise. The wood pieces are called tenons. Tenons can be either mahogany or beech and are suitable for both interior and exterior projects.
The different aspects of the two tools are as follows:
- Even though DOMINO is a powerful tool, both the tools come with their own strengths.
- For cabinet face frames, a domino can be great. However, there will be no sideways torque. For this reason, a biscuit serves as the perfect choice.
- The price of a DOMINO is an important consideration. Most prefer a biscuit joiner as they are affordable.
1. Tool Specs
Now let’s compare the tool specs between the Festool DOMINO DF 500 and Makita PJ7000 Plate Joiner. The DF 500 weighs 7 pounds and its size is 15.5 x 11.5 x 6.4 inches. PJ7000 has a weight of 12 pounds and the size is 7.87 x 19.49 x 10.24 inches. Both can be easier to handle due to their lightweight structure.
When it comes to spindle speed, the DF500 has a speed of 23,400 RPM. The PJ7000 rotates at 11,000 RPM. Even though that’s a major difference, they both feature adjustable fences. Both tools enable easy slots and angles.
If we discuss the power consumption, the PJ7000 has a 5.6 AMP motor and requires 7000 watts. On the contrary, the DF 500 needs 420 watts. So when it comes to efficiency, the DF 500 can be a better choice.
2. Strength and Alignment
Both domino joiners and biscuit (plate) joiners are similar to dowel joints. One lets you use it for making floating tenon joints, the other for biscuit joints. However, the difference is in the dimensions and shape of the tenon/biscuit and slot.
As a floating tenon is very strong, it has better strength compared to biscuit joints. A floating tenon also has good torsion.
Biscuit joints rely primarily on glue and the swelling of the biscuit to create a bond. This structure provides adequate strength for joining flat panels or aligning surfaces that do not require heavy load-bearing capacity.
For example, biscuit joints perform well in furniture tops or cabinetry panels where alignment matters more than structural integrity. However, they may not withstand high stress or weight over time.
Domino joiners create mortises that fit solid tenons. This provides a physical locking mechanism in addition to glue. Hence, a domino joint is much stronger that is capable of withstanding significant load-bearing applications.
We often use domino joiners for building chairs, tables, and frames that need high durability and resistance to movement.
As far as alignment is concerned, biscuits are for putting boards in place for joining them. However, they are not that accurate, and there will always be some room left. Dominos are precise and have better accuracy than biscuit joints. As the tenons can fit perfectly, dominos are suitable for alignment purposes. The dimensions and tenons price make it rare to use domino joints for alignment.
3. Tenons vs Biscuits
The shape of domino tenons is very much similar to dowels. However, the cross-section is different. Biscuits are placed horizontally as they are oval-shaped. When it comes to dimensions, both tenons and biscuits come in varying dimensions. The DF500 has 6 tenon sizes ranging from 4 to 10 mm thickness. Even biscuit sizes are FF, 0, 10, and 20. The biggest biscuit size is 20 which is 56 x 23 x 4 mm.
Tenons are very solid as they are made of beech hardwood. Biscuits on the other hand are composed of compressed wood. If we talk about the price, dominos tend to be more expensive than biscuits as they are made from natural wood. They are directly produced by Festool.
4. Noise and Dust
When using both tools for cutting, they can make a lot of noise. For this reason, ear protection is recommended. Also, both tools produce a lot of dust. One of the greatest things about the tools is that they can have a kind of dust extraction system. Biscuit joiners feature a simple bag for collecting dust. Domino joiners have to go deep with fast rotation. There will be chances of overheating. Thankfully, the dust extraction system can easily be connected by using an adapter.
5. Cost
Biscuit joiners typically range from $100 to $300. Their simplicity in terms of design and components keeps costs low. The primary ongoing expense is wood biscuits, which are relatively inexpensive. For small- to medium-sized projects, the costs associated with biscuit joiners is very manageable especially to budget-conscious users or those who work on occasional DIY projects.
Domino joiners, however, have a much larger investment, with prices starting around $1,000 for entry-level models and reaching $1,500 or more for advanced versions. These tools require specific domino tenons, which also add to the overall costs.
Conclusion
We had a look at the features and functionalities of biscuit joiner and domino joiner. Festool domino joiner is for strong and durable joints. With the domino joiner, there will be a higher risk of misalignment. However, a biscuit joiner is cheaper and features a simple angle grinder. They have their own pros and cons. Getting the right one is a user preference and one needs to see if the tool serves the purpose.
