Anyone have or tried the Beadlock system

[Matthew Curtis]

I recently saw this and thought it may be a good alternative for loose tenons. Much cheaper than the Domino. Does anyone have any experience with it?

[Prashun Patel]

I considered this years ago and then decided on a Dowelmax. A good alternative to the Dowelmax is the Jessem.

I like Beadlock and DM and Jessem because they all three use a drill, which is just more convenient and cleaner than whipping out the router. I prefered the dowel jigs because dowel stock is cheaper to buy and easy to make. The proprietary beadlock tenons would have been annoying to buy for me. It also requires some setting and resetting to make each side of the joint. The DowelMax and Jessem don't require that, and are going to be just fine in normal applications.

[Brian Tymchak]

I bought a beadlock system many years ago but never used it. Not so much because of the system, but I just haven't (yet?) Embraced loose tenon joinery. Still in my fixed tenon phase.. ;)

To follow Prashun's point about buying the tenon stock, there is a router bit to cut your own tenon stock, but would only be cost efficient if you were using a lot of it.

[Mike Monroe]

I purchased the Beadlock on sale years ago and have used it several times. I make my own loose tenons, not the beadlock type, but a flat tenon with rounded ends. I make the tenon stock using a round over bit on a router table. I made a lifetime supply of loose tenons in a few minutes using scrap wood. I chisel out the cheeks of the mortise but leave the corners rounded. It's an fairly easy way to use loose tenons cheaply.

[Michelle Rich]

yes, I bought one many years ago. I used it on probably 75 or more pieces of furniture. I liked it and the tenon stock cost did not bother me at all. I bought a domino a few yrs back and love it, and it is faster than the beadlock. but if you aren't a professional woodworker, your speed won't be a big issue. It isn't that slow once you get the hang of it. I bought the whole kit and kaboodle and I liked I could make mortise and tenons with it when I judged I needed a bigger joint.