Domino Advice

[wcndave]

I have had a domino for around a year now, and did a couple of quick bits that i found it great for. however i have now started to make proper use of it, cos let's face it, it's a bit dear to buy one for one small DIY job ;-)

one question I have is how to join end to middle at right angles.

in the past i would do a dado by hand router, or a sliding dovetail by woodrat. however with the plastic guide off, it seems that the distance from middle of mortice to any baton I use to measure against is 10.5mm.

this means if i am working with 12mm stock for example, then middle of stock to edge is 6mm, take that from 10.5, I need so measure away 4.5 from my line, and work to there...

Is a little bit fiddly and I wondered if there was a better way to do it?

Thanks

Dave

 

[Chems]

Its 10mm I think.

So what your trying to do is like put a mortice in for something like a landing railing, or crib sides? With smaller vertical rails on a thicker style?

I'm afraid it is fiddly like you say for that one, its a bit of a long winded set up compared to most things you do with the domino.

 

[wcndave]

i think for different thicknesses it's ok, you simply adjust the height to get the middle each time.

To clarify what I was baldy trying to describe, have a look at this picture.

doing the vertical piece is ok, I can just put the mortises in the middle.

The Horizontal piece, there doesn't seem to be an easy way to do. I end up putting a track clamp across (or baton) and marking on the cut points, then make sure baton is 10.5mm from the center of the mortise I will to make.

Looks like I need to make some kind of jig which i can align with centre point easily to cut without faffing.

Perhaps Steve the jig-master already has one? If so, perhaps an article in magazine about how to make / use would be nice

(Apologies for crudeness of pics)

 

[woodbloke]

...I have now started to make proper use of it, cos let's face it, it's a bit dear to buy one for one small DIY job ;-)

Thanks

Dave

As you've found out, the Dom is an expensive bit of kit for the odd job and really needs to be used continually to make it pay for itslelf. The 'batten' way is the right way to locate the machine on a board, I use something similar for my biscuit jointer (LH & RH) with a fence screwed on underneath so that it can be cramped to the job...mine are made from wide pieces of birch ply - Rob

 

[wcndave]

I think if i do some odd jobs for 40 years, then that will pay for itself ;-)

with the batten, think i will do something like this.

perhaps i can use some t-track and make a sliding version so i can have a centre marker on both sides.
anyone made anything like this before?

 

[petermillard]

Looks like I need to make some kind of jig which i can align with centre point easily to cut without faffing.
Perhaps Steve the jig-master already has one? If so, perhaps an article in magazine about how to make / use would be nice

No need for a jig - though an MFT helps

The baseplate of the Domino looks like this - see the parts that are arrowed...?

These mark the centre of the mortice, so as long as you align these marks on your centre-line, you'll be fine:-

You can use the marks on the base of the Domino to accurately mortice to a pencil-line in the centre of a board...

And use the pins/paddles to register mortices at either edge of the board - a bit too narrow for this board, but you get the idea...

If you haven't already read it (and, no offense, but it sounds like you haven't ) then Rick Christopherson's "Festool Domino Supplemental Guide - here http://www.festoolusa.com/media/pdf/domino_df_500.pdf - is well worth a read.

Cheers, Pete.

Edit: Sorry, posted this without realising you'd added a jig pic. That'd work, but a sliding one that could adapt to different width boards would be good; I think my only issue would be that you wouldn't be able to register off the edges of the board <shrug>

 

[wcndave]

Ah, the fact that those lines mark the centre of the mortice, very helpful.

2 comments on your pics.

It looks like you have to put your dom down on the centre line, then hold that and move the track (looks like a FS track) up to the domino, then clamp the track, and try to get it square.
Still a little fiddly as it's easier to clamp a track to a line, than to hold a tool on a line and clamp a track to it. Not saying it's no good, I think knowing that line matches up is a great help.

Using the marks on the base to line up is what i kind of do, however in your picture, won't the track obscure the line, and therefore you can't line it up?
Or do you remove the track and do it by hand?

I will read the PDF before I ask any more stupid questions...

 

[petermillard]

Ah, the fact that those lines mark the centre of the mortice, very helpful.

No worries - I didn't know it until I read the supplemental manual! And there are no stupid questions, btw. None.

It looks like you have to put your dom down on the centre line, then hold that and move the track (looks like a FS track) up to the domino, then clamp the track, and try to get it square.

Other way round - I put the domino on the line using the notches either side of the base, then slide the workpiece to the track (it's the back of a guide rail) and any fine adjustments made to the workpiece in the usual way (lump hammer).

Using the marks on the base to line up is what i kind of do, however in your picture, won't the track obscure the line, and therefore you can't line it up? Or do you remove the track and do it by hand?

In my case it's an MFT - the track lifts up out of the way as required but always comes back down square - no clamping needed. You can always put a pencil-mark on the track/jig to mark the centre of the board btw.

Hope that helps clarify. Pete.

 

[wcndave]

aha! so centre line marking your way, with the MFT makes it much easier, as you can slide the piece, however for me might be a bit tricky..

Read the supplemental manual (they should make it more obvious there is one...) and see how it's suggested there. The trick is to not think you always have to have the mortices in the middle of the board... then it's obvious that it will be the same from both sides regardless or measuring / lines. much easier. Cheers!

Edit: ambiguous second paragraph, should read "i have read" as it's a statement, not an instruction ;-)

 

[wcndave]

with regards to registering off the side (just saw your edit ;-) ), i rarely use this as these joints are always hidden, so where it is doesn't really matter, as long as it's the same, so i tend to draw a line and then do by eye making one hole looser than the other. For this, i just made 3 marks on my baton, which i referred to. I guess thinking about it, if i use the technique you describe, or in the manual, then you only need a middle line, then using the edge registration you don't need any more marking at all, so I might try that next time. I could always cut a notch for that... however i think now i have two solutions that are better, i might use them, and in the absence of MFT, go for the one in the manual for now.

On a sort of related note, why did they change from pin to edge stop? the pin could be used for edge AND for equi-distant mortices, and the edge stop has less refined adjustment...

 

[petermillard]

with regards to registering off the side (just saw your edit ;-) ), i rarely use this as these joints are always hidden, so where it is doesn't really matter, as long as it's the same, so i tend to draw a line and then do by eye making one hole looser than the other. For this, i just made 3 marks on my baton, which i referred to...

I always used to do this, then realised one day that I was spending as long marking out as I was cutting mortices; switched to using the 'pins against the edge' method and never looked back.

I could always cut a notch for that... however i think now i have two solutions that are better, i might use them, and in the absence of MFT, go for the one in the manual for now.

Sure - and there's nothing to stop you making a jig with a batten that hinges up out of the way, of course...

On a sort of related note, why did they change from pin to edge stop? the pin could be used for edge AND for equi-distant mortices, and the edge stop has less refined adjustment...

I've been told that there were some legal rumblings from Mafell - I think their 'Duo Doweller' uses sprung registration pins - but the Festool 'Company' line seems to be that whilst the pins were intended to be used as a way to register a line of mortices, they were rarely used like that because in practice, mortices cut this way were just too close together. Whatever, they switched from pins to paddles in August '09 and that was that <shrug>

HTH Pete