Should I Use Dowels or Loose Tenons for My Dining Table Build?
Asked by CraftyNinja42
I'm gearing up to build a dining table and chairs soon. In the past, I've just done glue-ups without any extra joinery like dowels or biscuits. However, this table is thicker than my previous projects, and it's too wide for my planer, so I'm thinking of something to keep the boards stable during the glue-up process. I know there are lots of opinions on this, but I'm not getting a Domino because I don't do enough large glue-ups to justify it. Should I go with a doweling jig, a Kreg Mortise Mate, or a dual-spindle dowel jointer?
Answers
Essentially, all the options you discussed fall under loose tenon joinery. If you're just focusing on alignment, any of them will suffice. But if you're looking for added strength, you'll want to size your tenons according to traditional mortise and tenon construction principles. However, for panel glue-ups, structural strength isn't usually a concern.
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Dowels are actually a type of loose tenon—just round instead of flat. If you're looking for simplicity and alignment, dowels are a cost-effective choice that gets the job done.
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I've been making a dining table out of white oak, and using dowels helped me align the boards perfectly. They’re straightforward and fairly inexpensive. If you’re set on alignment, any option you mentioned will work, so pick what you have handy!
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GlueUpExpert: That's a good point! Aligning can be tricky without something extra, but I totally agree that if everything’s jointed well, you may not need extra support.