Best biscuit & plate joiners according to redditors

No problemo. Joint names are some of the barrier to entry for woodworking.

And to add to how it would be done (without domino joiner); he said he would use a router for the dado and (most likely) a table saw for the spline cut.

However, since he owns a (very expensive and I'm jellous) domino joiner he used that for all of his joints. I would use my biscuit joiner and the L joints would look like this.

There is nothing commercially available that directly replaces or competes with the Domino in creating loose tenon joinery. A few people have made their own jigs using a trim router.

The Triton (and other brand) doweling machines are very similar, though drill 10mm (I think?) holes in a 'biscuit joiner' form factor. Alternatively, cut tenon & mortise the same way or just mortises & create your own loose stock.

The best biscuit joiner would be by Lamello (not actually sure if thats the 'top' model), which is actually more expensive than a Domino.

You should let it be. Anything heroic you attempt now will just make it obvious you're trying to cover something. Embrace the work as it is. Then, next time, don't start with dimensional lumber that has been pre-radiused, [edges are rounded over]. Or, if you do cut off one edge and use that to mate to the edge of the 1x12. Then get yourself some clamps to pull the two pieces together - this will help close the gap. To align the tops of the two pieces, use biscuits [requires plate joiner - look it up] or a dowel jig. Then don't stain so dark; most woodworkers hate when you try to stain light wood a dark color...it looks sketchy, I am one of those woodworkers :-) Most of all have fun. I dig the design you came up with, clean and simple.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L6TMCP2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Again, works well...but certainly has some cheaper aspects to it. We'll see how I feel about it after this weekend :p

> Some of these tools collect dust (I'm looking at you, biscuit joiner).

A few years ago I was drooling over a biscuit joiner. The Dewalt one. It was about $200 back then.

My mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas when I was over for a visit. I said a Dewalt Biscuit Joiner, but then said no, its too expensive as she was buying less expensive Christmas presents, what with my family of four, and my sisters family of four, and the extended family.

A couple months later it's Christmas. We went over for Christmas day and you can figure out what was under the tree for me. To: Luxin, From Santa, a brand new Dewalt Biscuit Joiner! I almost shed a tear I was so happy.

I used that awesome but fucking expensive tool for one project in the last 7 years.

Cool, I'll check that jig out, thanks.

Biscuits showing with a rounderover/miter that large is always a danger, but you could use #0 and adjust it so it's further inside on the edge and you should be fine. Not 100% sure though. No need for a massive biscuit, just something to align it and help hold it together while gluing. There's a little bit of play so you still have to keep an eye on the edges. I find it to be way easier, and I can glue every side in one step (I don't usually biscuit the braces, just sides, but you could). Seems like something you'd appreciate since you hate the slow and tedious gluing stage. I only got one recently and now I use it all the time. It's obviously good for table tops/shelves/all kinds of stuff.

I use a DeWalt. It hooks up to my dust collector which takes care of probably 99% of the dust. http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW682K-6-5-Plate-Joiner/dp/B00002232S

Quick question, did you use a biscuit joiner? Something like this? Or did you chisel out the slots for the biscuits?