Workshop Essentials Festool Domino Jig

[Steve Maskery]

No, no and no.

 

[lurker]

Another hint: Most people will have no use for it whatsoever and will not be the slightest bit interested in it at all.

It's the entire output of BBC and ITV on a Saturday evening?

=D> =D> =D>

 

[lurker]

Its a bench extension clamping thingy

 

[Steve Maskery]

With the cleat glued in place I can check that the jig will sit right on the bench. It overhangs by just a couple of mm, which is what I want. It can be flush, but definitely not shy. OTOH I don't want it to overhang any more than is necessary.

Then it was time to make a stop-block.

The slot in the bed of the jig is 9.1mm and I want this to be a tad less than that, for clearance

I cut a key to fit. This helps it to slide smoothly. Unfortunately, when I first did it the key was full length and it slid beautifully, but the stop would not go far enough to each end, so I pulled it out and shortened it. It doesn't slide quite so freely now, but it is OK.

 

[Monkey Mark]

Another hint: Most people will have no use for it whatsoever ......

Must be something to do with my (lack of) social life then. :mrgreen:

 

[Steve Maskery]

The stop-block is held in place with a Bristol lever

Then I drilled an array of 12 blind holes. I don't really know if I've got this bit right, I'm guessing, so we'll see how well they work.

They are for some brass screw cups

I then drilled right through

Nearly finished now.

 

[Steve Maskery]

I need a secondary support piece for some jobs, and I want to store it on the jig so that it doesn't get lost. A couple of dominoes do the trick.

And job done, it's ready to use.

Ah yes, but does it actually work? We'll see.

 

[doctor Bob]

Nice haircut........... very military.

 

[Chrispy]

Steve sorry to say I've had one of those for years, tucked under the bench still no idea what it does though!

 

[monkeybiter]

Is that the haircut or the jig?

 

[Steve Maskery]

This is the Workshop Essentials Festool Domino Dual-Purpose Workpiece Support Jig.

Here's the thing. The Domino has transformed small-scale M&T joinery, but like every tool it has its limitations. Problems start to arise when the workpiece gets very narrow or very short. If it is narrow then there is not much surface area on which to register the machine. You can have it tilted over

or tilted back

and the narrower the workpiece gets, the greater the problem.

Also if the workpiece is very short, the clamp gets in the way.

What to do?

Well the first thing is to plan ahead. When I thickness my stock ready for dominoing, I need to make sure that I have another couple of bits machined on the same setting, and I screw them to the jig.

The distance apart is the width of the workpiece plus a bit of clearance, in this case the thickness of my steel rule.

So the workpiece sits in the jig, supported entirely on the bench and restrained by the blocks and the stop-block.

There is no clamping required, just drop them all in one after the other and domino away. The extra blocks give me a nice big area on which to register the machine. It's virtually impossible to tilt over, even with the narrowest of workpieces.

When it comes to cutting the mortice in the stile, the blocks are reset to keep the front edge flush with the front of the jig. The other end is supported by that auxilliary piece. Again, there is lots of support now.

I've yet to use it in anger, of course, but from this little test it appears to do everything I hoped it would.

For workpieces that are longer than the jig, I will have to remove the stop-block and clamp in the more trad way, but I might try experimenting with a pair of featherboards which will allow me to insert the workpiece from behind, but grip it when I push. We'll see.

Sincere apologies if you have been following this with interest only to to find that you need a Domino...

 

[Eric The Viking]

I still don't get where the cement panels come into it though. :-k

 

[blackrodd]

I still don't get where the cement panels come into it though. :-k

That was me Eric, after SM mentioned he thought about it the previous week,
I mistakenly guessed it was when he was cutting the cement sheet for the rear fire resistant wall cladding.
Regards Rodders

 

[Eric The Viking]

Yes, but you can't domino the things... or can you???

 

[Wizard9999]

Very clever Steve.

A quick of question. With the clearance you allowed using the steel rule, on the test pieces did you find any movement in the workpiece which may cause inaccuracy? I was wondering whether a snugger fit would be better, though I presume the reason for the clearance was to make things move faster when doing a batch of pieces.

Terry.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Well the clearance could be less than a ruler I suppose, but I don't see how it leads to inaccuracies, the mortice is produced by where I put the machine.
Just as long as the workpieces go in and come out easily, that's all that matters.

 

[Doug B]

I know it's missing out on all the fun of making a jig, but you could have bought one of these Steve :-k

http://www.toolequip.ie/?product=1317897559302

 

[Steve Maskery]

I know it's missing out on all the fun of making a jig,

Quite!

 

[Doug B]

I know it's missing out on all the fun of making a jig,

Quite!

:lol: :lol:

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Is it for holding a piece of rail or stile in the right place while you domino the end? The moveable stop accommodating different lengths and the bench overhang to avoid accidentally registering the base of the domino instead of the fence?

No idea what the brass bits might be to do unless they're to hold adjustable side stops to accommodate a reference for how far in from the edge the domino gets placed.