Rockler Beadlock Joinery Kit...ever use it?

[Michael Furey]

Has anyone ever used this Beadlock joinery kit? http://www.rockler.com/beadlock-pro-joinery-kit (http://www.rockler.com/beadlock-pro-joinery-kit)

It looks pretty legit and on amazon has some pretty good reviews. I'm wondering if this would be a good tool to use to do loose tenons for breadboard ends on table tops? I could glue the center tenon in on both ends and then just glue the outer tenons on the table top side and drill elongated holes in the outer tenons to allow for the table top to move. Does this sound feasible?

[Prashun Patel]

The minor issue is that the beadlock creates a ridged hole. So, it technically wouldn't allow the mortises to float. In practice, this may not be an issue, but if you were truly looking for an economical easy way to do breadboard floating tenons, I'd look into a used Mortisepal or making your own router-mortise jig, and then make your own tenon stock out of whatever stock you want (another downside of Beadlock is that you have to buy their stock).

When you make the mortises oversized relative to the tenon stock, it greatly reduces the required precision of the width. It also means you don't have to roundover the edges of your tenons, just make the mortise a little wider. It's the one place where you can fit a square peg in a round hole.

If you are looking for a good general purpose joinery jig and don't have a strong religion about it, then I would suggest you look into the Jessem Doweling jig. I have one and it's great. Simple and intuitive. Dowels are cheap to find or easy to make, and for the money, it's a great, well-thought out piece.

[Michael Furey]

I noticed that it made the rigid mortises which would prevent the table top from expanding and contracting, however I noticed that this kit provides a chisel guide so you can get rid of those ridges and have a traditional mortise. You can buy the Beadlock tenon stock, but for someone like me who would be chiseling off the ridges I could just make my own stock easily (or buy the router bit to make my own beadlock tenons).

I don't really have trouble making my tenons on the table tops (I just use my router), but my problem is making the mortises (just so time consuming). This seems like it would speed things up considerably.

Really the only purpose I have to doing M&T joints is with making breadboard ends for my table tops.

[Chris Padilla]

http://www.beadlock.com/ is the original one and likely a lot cheaper than the Rocker version although theirs is probably better in some ways.

[Jamie Buxton]

For that price, you're almost up to the cost of a plunge router. A plunger router with an edge guide makes nice smooth-walled mortises. It also does a whole lot more other things than this dedicated jig.

[George Bokros]

http://www.beadlock.com/ is the original one and likely a lot cheaper than the Rocker version although theirs is probably better in some ways.

If you look at the bottom of the page the link above brings up it says


Rockler Companies, Inc.
4365 Willow Drive, Medina, MN 55340 • Phone: 800-233-9359 • Fax: 800-865-1229 • Web: www.rockler.com

This being said I don't know if any of those vendors ware selling it cheaper.

(http://www.rockler.com)

[Ray Newman]

I utilized the original Bead Lock (see Chris Padila's above post) to build some doors on shop cabinets. Easy and quick to use. Was not concerned about the floating panel as the panels are either 1/4" Masonite or 1/4" plywood.

As an aside, posters on other woodworking sites wrote that when they tried to purchase jig parts, they were told Mortise Pal is closed.

[David Delo]

I picked one up at an auction about 5 years ago and have only used it once. Did what it was suppose to do and was fairly easy to use so it was a good experience. Turns out I used it on the very first turning project I ever did. Table only had the top so I turned the post and attached the feet with 2 beadlock tenons each foot. That was 4 years ago and it's done well against 2 kids pounding on it every day. Here's a pic before I stained and finished it.
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[Wes Ramsey]

I got the original Beadlock kit several years ago and used it for mortises on a large craftsman cherry bookcase. Some of my joints were offset and I did some in thicker stock, so I had to make some shims to get it all just right. My only concerns are that drilling deeper holes is tricky because the bit tends to wander as you go deeper and I did have to correct some of the mortises with a chisel to get the tenon to fit right. Also, the tenon stock is also kiln-dried and I had some expand enough to need a touch of sanding for them to fit the mortise, or maybe they were just routed slightly oversize. But the project turned out great and the joints are plenty strong. I know now that all MT joint methods have quirks and a learning curve and this jig is just another way to do it, but it works just fine, especially for larger stock that needs the strength of a solid tenon.

[Mike Monroe]

I own one and have used it to make mortises on bench and table legs. The jig works well, but I wouldn't use it for making breadboard ends. I prefer using haunched tenons on large table tops and a simple exposed tenon/groove on smaller tops. I recall purchasing it on sale some time ago.

[Michelle Rich]

I have it & have used for years..until I could afford a Domino. But for the $$$ the Beadlock is a winner (I have been calling the Beadlock the "Poor woman's Domino") ..quick & strong.