I built two identical vanity bases, one with a dado and one with a biscuit joint

I mean, everyone says biscuits are fine for casework alignment, but after making both for a job last month, the dado was just better. The biscuit joint on the first one had a tiny bit of play during glue up, maybe a millimeter shift. The dado on the second one slid together perfectly straight every time. It took maybe 15 extra minutes to set up the router, but saved me from any fussing. Has anyone else found that biscuits can be a bit sloppy for something that needs to be dead square?

3 comments

3 Comments

caseys522mo ago

Totally feel you on the biscuits. Had the same slop happen on a cabinet face frame once and it drove me nuts. Dados are just way more solid for getting that perfect alignment every single time.

nora5351mo ago

What, wait, you actually built both at the same time to compare? That's wild but I love the dedication. I have had that same little shift with biscuits on a bookcase shelf and it threw my whole alignment off, and here I thought I was just being clumsy. So the dado being that much more predictable makes total sense, even if it takes a bit more time.

the_fiona2mo ago

Read a woodworking blog that called biscuits "alignment aids, not joinery," which makes sense now.