Festool Domino XL and Exterior Doors..

[Zeddedhed]

I know that this issue has arisen before, mostly it would appear in the sense that someone asks if using a Domino is OK for an exterior door and then everyone gives an opinion (which is fair enough).

My question is almost the same, but I don't really want the opinions. What I want to know is has anyone actually used a Domino XL to make an exterior door, and if so, what size Doms, what were the door dimensions, materials etc.

If there is someone who has done this then has the door stood the test of time?

Once that's out of the way we can all wade in with our opinions, backed up with hard science & proof or just based on gut feeling!!

So, has anyone actually ever made an exterior door with a Domino XL machine?

 

[MrYorke]

A quick Google will show that lots of people have used the XL for external doors.

This is an article on door construction. Granted, it's for internal doors but I'm guessing it can be used to make an external version.

 

[adidat]

ok so its gut feeling... but why wouldn't it be. if you used the outdoor doms and correct glue then there is no reason it shouldn't be any weaker than a normal tennon. use the biggest one possible and it will be rock solid for years as long as you have tight joints and design it to stop water ingress.

adidat

 

[Waka]

I haven't made an exterior door using the XL, but I have made one using the 500 and it worked well (still in one piece after 3 years)
I double up on the domino's anodised exterior glue, so on this premise the XL would be fine.

 

[Doug B]

If there is someone who has done this then has the door stood the test of time?

Surely the domino XL hasn't been out long enough to answer this question, how long are you defining the test of time?

Exterior doors have been made using dowels for many years, I know of one I fitted around 30 years ago which is still in good shape & as I don't see that dowels are any different to dominos then they should be fine, obviously that's only my opinion but until the XL is 30 years old I won't know for sure.

 

[Ed Bray]

Here's some: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvhKXLrySSQ

 

[RobinBHM]

If there is someone who has done this then has the door stood the test of time?

Surely the domino XL hasn't been out long enough to answer this question, how long are you defining the test of time?

Exterior doors have been made using dowels for many years, I know of one I fitted around 30 years ago which is still in good shape & as I don't see that dowels are any different to dominos then they should be fine, obviously that's only my opinion but until the XL is 30 years old I won't know for sure.

I'm thinking the same, many off the shelf doors are dowelled, and in fact only premium door ranges have through tenon joints.

Longevity of a door also depends a lot on attention to detail. The bottom rail of a door is wide and nearly always expands in service ending up lower than than the stile ends. What usually happens on the outside face is the paint film fracturing at the joint and moisture ingress. The solution is to V the joint and apply end grain sealer. Either leave the V or fill with ms polymer before painting. Also before glazing or fitting panels, its a good ideal to silicone the intrrnal corners as any water that gets behind the bead will run down to the joint (assumes externally beaded).

I know this isnt answering the question, but if the door joints are protected so they stay dry, then I feel a domino joint will be equal to the task.

If the door in question is huge, say 1100mm wide then dominos may not stop the door dropping over time, standard doors up to 838mm width will be fine.

Fully mortice and tenoned doors can drop. so my feeling is the quality of execution may be more important than the method.

 

[Zeddedhed]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
Much of what has been said kind of reflects my own opinions (gut feelings) so it's nice to hear that others think kind of the same way.
All of the advice given makes good sense. Overall I'd imagine that a well made door using appropriately sized Dominos is every bit as good as a well made using M&T joinery or dowels and would be a better product than a poorly made M&T door.

I'm going to make a gate using Dominos (albeit quite a wide one) and an internal door for the workshop loo.

I'll post some images and a WIP if I get around to it so that all can tell me if they think I'm doing it right - you all probably know better than I do I reckon.

 

[James-1986]

Domino's are inferior to the M&T in exterior doors for the same reasons dowels are.

 

[shed9]

Domino's are inferior to the M&T in exterior doors for the same reasons dowels are.

I'd second this ^.


Domino's are basically there to align things up more than offer significant mechanical strength. M&T will nearly always trump Domino's in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, Domino's are great and certainly efficient (I have a 500 and 700) but not sure they would outperform an M&T. That said, it really doesn't have to compete, it just needs to be sufficient for the job.

 

[kostello]

There are lots of videos on how to use the domino machine to cut wide mortices which can be used with large loose tenons or regular tenons....

 

[heimlaga]

I cannot yet answer the original question. If we are both alive in year 2060 and neither of us too demented then I might be able to give you an answer. Dominos are still a very new invention compared to the lifespan of a well made door.

In my work I have seen many doors of different types and ages falling apart. Most types of doors made between 1790 and 2000. As a consequence I always use through tennons on doors I make. Just because I have noticed that they on average tend to last a bit longer than doors made with loose tennons or short tennons or dowels.
Using a Domino machine to cut those through mortises makes sence to me...... there are many equally good way to arrive at the same result. I use my gigantic hollow chisel mortiser but a mortise chisel or a Domino machine or a vertical slot mortiser all can produce the same result.