Beadlock on sale at rockler

[Michelle Rich]

For those of you who are trying to find a faster way to make mortise & tenons, and can't afford the domino and have no room for a big mortiser, this may be useful. I have used this unit for years. Faster than a mortiser & making tenons on the tablesaw, and waaayyy faster than doing it by hand. it will do most everything a domino will do, but costs 1/10th the $$$. Joints are tight and strong. I call this the poor wo/man's domino. For 99.00 you can use this while you save up for the domino :D

[Allan Speers]

I have to admit, this is tempting.

I actually cut my mortices by hand, and it sure is a lot of work. This is one of those things that no one ever appreciates once the piece is finished, except the builder, so I'm thinking hard bout this beadlock idea.

It seems like it would be plenty strong, yes? You couldn't do pinned tenons, or through M&T's (which I usually prefer) but for blind joints, what the heck, why not?

[Michelle Rich]

yes it is probably as strong as a domino, as a guess & folks love the 900.00 unit, but give this beadlock short shrift. I've been using this thing for eons and have no complaints. I checked my records and have made over 75 pieces of furniture with it and numerous picture frames , etc, and have never had a failure to my knowledge. I suppose you could do a thru tenon, and see the beadlock tenon, but you could put a false usual type in to hide the beadlock tenon end. Why couldn't you pin it? I bet folks pin dominoes, or any other loose tenon method,

[Allan Speers]

I suppose you could do a thru tenon, and see the beadlock tenon, but you could put a false usual type in to hide the beadlock tenon end. Why couldn't you pin it? I bet folks pin dominoes, or any other loose tenon method,

Well, it's an aesthetic thing, no?

I suppose you could "cap" it, though, as you say: Make a little rectangular cover for the extruding bead-tenon, then drill it out so the cap fits snugly over the tenon, and glue it in place. That's not a bad idea! You'd even have the choice of having end grain or face grain on the end.

[Allan Speers]

Related question:

Do you use, or ever wish you had, either the 1/4" or 1/2" accessory kits?

I'm thinking the 1/4" might be a handy way to construct drawers, when a blind joint is acceptable.

[Ray Newman]

Several years ago, I bought the Beadlock Basic from Rockler to fabricate some shop cabinet doors. At first I was skeptic. But the doors have held up without any problem(s) with the joint. For the price, I think it is hard-to-beat. Does not take much time to set up and become proficient in its use.

One of these days, I will buy the router bit to fabricate the loose tenon stock.

The length of the mortise and tenon can be varied with a longer bit. Often thought that a longer loose tenon could be dowel pinned to the mortises for greater strength or with a different species dowel for a different visual effect.

Additional information: http://www.beadlock.com/index.html

[Michelle Rich]

Related question:

Do you use, or ever wish you had, either the 1/4" or 1/2" accessory kits?

I'm thinking the 1/4" might be a handy way to construct drawers, when a blind joint is acceptable.

I have all 3 sizes and use them all

[Allan Speers]

^ Thanks.

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Does anyone have any thoughts on this Beadlock system vs DowelMax? It seems they are fairly similar, though much more expensive, and I never read anything buy crazy praise for the Dowelmax.

I want to get one or the other ....

[Michael Cole]

A couple of questions - Eventually I will be building an outfeed/assembly table using the Rockler T track table top as part of the top and probably maple as the rest. I was thinking that I need to make it sturdy by using 2x6 or 4x4 legs with cross members. Can this tool be used on material that large? I think that type of construction would be best, but I have no idea how to make mortise and tenons, so this would make it possible. Also, can the regular one be used rather than the pro? What are the major differences as there is a large difference in price. I read the info but am still confused. Do they make a regular one in 1/2"?

[Michelle Rich]

yes, the 1/2 inch would work fine. The pro can make 1/4 , 3/8 and 1/2 . It comes standard with the 3/8. You must purchase the 1/4 and 1/2 as extras if you want to make smaller or larger items. In your proposed table remember you can use 2 or more mortises in your legs . Your confusion may lie in the fact there are different units displayed in the write-up. The pro is separate from the single units.To get other sizes in the pro, one buys say the 1/2 inch block and inserts it in the unit to do different sized drill holes.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for the alert on a good price Michelle. I'm trying to decide whether I could someday use one of these. (Learning to do it the slow/hard way - by hand- right now.) From your experience, could you explain the advantages of this device over say a $150 biscuit jointer? Looks like a slightly different variant on the same theme, but it looks like it might be a little slower (more steps).

Thanks again,
Fred

[Allan Speers]

I was about to pull the plug on this, but after some research I'm leaning rowards the Jessem system.


Michelle, any thoughts that would sway me back to the Beadlock (And save me some money? :) )

[Michelle Rich]

I was about to pull the plug on this, but after some research I'm leaning rowards the Jessem system.


Michelle, any thoughts that would sway me back to the Beadlock (And save me some money? :) ) I've never used the Jessem, so i can't tell you anything there or make a comparison

[Michelle Rich]

Thanks for the alert on a good price Michelle. I'm trying to decide whether I could someday use one of these. (Learning to do it the slow/hard way - by hand- right now.) From your experience, could you explain the advantages of this device over say a $150 biscuit jointer? Looks like a slightly different variant on the same theme, but it looks like it might be a little slower (more steps).

Thanks again,
Fred

Yes, BIG difference Fred..the biscuit joiner is not a strong joint..I'd use that for picture frames or as a adj device for edge to edge gluing of 2 boards..the mortise & tenon is strength, like table legs and aprons, or door frames etc

[Frederick Skelly]

Yes, BIG difference Fred..the biscuit joiner is not a strong joint..I'd use that for picture frames or as a adj device for edge to edge gluing of 2 boards..the mortise & tenon is strength, like table legs and aprons, or door frames etc

Thank you!

[ian maybury]

I've only with recent posts seen the unit on the web, but one thing that strikes me is that the beaded tenon must give pretty effective side to side location unlike a flat floating tenon. (?) That if true is potentially an advantage, but it presumably brings the need to accurately position the opposing slot/mortice?

Another advantage is the likelihood that the beaded tenon strip will probably tend to fit snugly in the drilled slot most of the time - as a result of minor pitch differences between the hole centres.

Some questions from those with experience. Is the hardware well made - especially is it reliably accurate and the drill block/chisel guide well enough hardened to be reasonably long lasting? Some of the parts in the pics look a little roughly finished, but it perhaps doesn't matter.

Is it possible to install paired tenons without running into alignment issues?

There seems to be a router cutter sold for making 3/8in tenon stock, but not the 1/4 or 1/2in sizes. Is this the case?

[Allan Speers]

Ian,

Yes, alignment must be fairly dead-on, which is the major issue with all of these "dowel-type" jigs. From what I'm reading, this is also where the Jessem & DowelMax are generally considered superior to even the Beadlock Pro, though many folks say the latter works perfectly as long as you are very careful. I cannot say from personal experience.

Of course, one also has alignment issues with real M&T's, if one is going for a tight fit. Picky builders will often make thier tenons a hair on the large side, then shave them down a hair to get a perfect fit. I don't see why you couldn't also do this with the Beadlock or dowels, and in fact that makes me LIKE the fact that the Beadlock tenons tend to fit tightly in hardwood.


I'm so on the fence, but butt hurts ..... :(

[Ray Newman]

I have the Beadlock Jr. and strike the layout lines with either a marking knife or a very fine mechanical pencil.

[Charles Lent]

With the standard Beadlock, it helps if you blacken the metal around the alignment mark with a marker and then file the alignment edge just enough to make it shiny silver and slightly beveled. This helps a whole lot when working in poorly lit areas. I've had the standard Beadlock for years and used it a lot before I was able to buy tools and set up a real shop. I made many tables using it. I have since loaned it out several times to friends who had good success with it. I have the router bit for making 1/2" tenons, but never bought the 1/4 or 3/8 sizes. To me, the Beadlock is a great way for starting woodworkers or woodworkers on tight tool budgets to get into projects that require mortise and tenons. Doing multiple tenons only requires very accurate position marks for them to be aligned and easy to assemble. Mis-position one of the mortises and you will have trouble at assembly.

Charley

[Michael Cole]

While I couldn't afford it at this time, I went ahead and ordered a pro and some tenon stock. Been on a buying spree. Need to stop reading things on the internet.

[ian maybury]

Ta guys. It's great to find out about these things - so that when the big job does come up you know what options to look more closely at...

[Allan Speers]

I just read this, from a review of the Beadlock Pro, (Oddly, I did not see this information on the actual Rockler website) and it makes this system much more desireable all of a sudden:


"In addition, the Beadlock Pro has a block that is used to create traditional smooth-sided mortises. After using a drilling-guide block to excavate waste, change to the paring block, then use your chisels to pare a smooth side. The guide keeps the chisels in place and positioned correctly. You can then cut your own flat tenon stock."

Nice.
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However, I'm going to wait a while. The Beadlock Pro came out in 2008. I have a feeling that it's on sale because they are about to introduce a new, improved version. (Maybe with no plastic parts.) Since this will likely be a very important "go to" tool for me, and since I'd be buying all the available accessories as well, (which are not on sale) I'd rather wait & see than save a mere $30.