Thread: Re slot size in Domino.

Cicero,
Only the length of the slot can be adjusted, not the width.
The cheeks of the domino are still a firm fit in the slot.

Ian

My Domino has 3 width adjustments.

Strangely enough, so does mine

Domino Manual.jpgGetting the most from your Domino.JPG

Your links explain exactly the point I was making, so why you say there is no adjustment in the width is beyond me. But thanks for the info. Anyway, to overcome the possibility of not aligning at a critical glue , I make my own biscuits about 2 mil narrower.

Length/width ..who the hell cares.
What I said is exactly what is mentioned in the manual.

If you make your biscuits/dominoes 2mm narrower/less wide then you have a 2mmm gap at the edges/sides of the domino/biscuit as opposed to the 6mm gap the middle setting that the tool provides for.
OK, so it's a little sloppier than your method in the logitudinal direction but the main surfaces of the domino/biscuit are still in contact with both sides of the joint on both pieces, so I don't see that it will have a significant impact on the strength of the joint,

Anyway you could always alternate a tight fit opposite a loose fit to minimise this

If you want to domino the length of a frame, say for a wall, you start with the first mortise as the register and cut this using the first width cut on the Domino. Because you use the pins to space the dominoes from then on and these are set against the edge of the mortise, you need to start cutting using the second cut mark as you progress along the frame. If you have a long board, you will need to move to the third width cut in order for all the dominoes to line up correctly.
As Ian says, the dominoes are tight across their narrow faces, that is the 6mm domino is still in a 6mm slot, regardless of whether the length of the mortise is 10mm or higher. This is the method suggested by the manufacturer and is used by people all over the world. It can't be that dangerous to the construction of panels or indeed of furniture. If you are concerned about having too much wriggle room, which personally I am not ( and have been using the Domino in a semi commercial setting since it's release in Australia in 2004),
then try moving the domino slightly to the right and plunge, then repeat to the left. This will give you about 1.2-1.5 domino lengths. Plenty of room for you to adjust the position of your boards, but tight enough on length to keep you happy.
I don't understand why you want to be able to move the dominoes vertically. If you want the tenon higher or lower in the timber, change the height setting. If you are not getting good line up between boards in the height plane, then I suggest you look at how well the boards have been planed and thicknessed or use more dominoes in the joins.

Regards,

Rob

I would never use domino biscuits to join boards length wise, I use normal biscuit joiner for alignment work. A good example of where I can find a problem if no movement is allowed in joining a skirt to a leg. I find it useful to be able to adjust up and down , just that fraction.

Originally Posted by cicero1520

I would never use domino biscuits to join boards length wise

Why??

Originally Posted by LGS

Try moving the domino slightly to the right and plunge, then repeat to the left. This will give you about 1.2-1.5 domino lengths. Plenty of room for you to adjust the position of your boards, but tight enough on length to keep you happy.

This will give you what you want. Slightly wider mortise so you can adjust the tenon "up or down" in respect to the leg.

Like Ian, I am perplexed as to why you don't use dominoes instead of biscuits. Better fit, the boards will sit together at the same height and increased joint strength.
If it's cost you're worried about, make your own. They're quick and easy to do.

Regards,

Rob

Originally Posted by Ian Smith

Why??

Why does a table top require dominoes in the joins. Most factories don't use anything with there special clamps, nothing to do with strength. How would a domino be better than an ordinary biscuit, I get good enough joins to sand them out with my belt sander. I only use Dominoes when I need strength.

Cicero,
That's fine - you just seemed so adamant about NOT using them.

Strength issues aside, you will get far better alignment with dominoes when joint long boards than you ever could with biscuits

Ian

The longest I do is 2 mts so no problem there.

The wider mortise sizes are not necessarily to permit movement, although some woodworker have used them for breadboard ends. The main reason is to allow easier fitting of mating mortises when each mortice location is registered from a previous mortise using the cross stops. The reason is that any difference in distance between left and right cross stop will be compounded with each new location. So any error will be small on the first mortise pair, but by the time you work down the length to the last one, the error may be large.

Even though I wrote the passage that Ian showed, I don't actually practice the method myself. My preference is to keep all of the mortise widths narrow and use mating pencil lines for registering each mortise location. Even if you have one mortise location that is off, the error will not cascade down through all the other locations.

Like you, I would not use tenons for joining long boards (timber), but I will use them for making long joints with plywood materials. Even though I have the cross stops, I don't think I have ever used them for this purpose.

By the way, the image Ian showed came from the Supplemental Owner's Manual for the U.S. There are several of these manuals for select tools, and you can download them here: Festool Manuals and Document Resources

Originally Posted by cicero1520

I would never use domino biscuits to join boards length wise, I use normal biscuit joiner for alignment work. A good example of where I can find a problem if no movement is allowed in joining a skirt to a leg. I find it useful to be able to adjust up and down , just that fraction.

Originally Posted by Powertoolman

The wider mortise sizes are not necessarily to permit movement, although some woodworker have used them for breadboard ends. The main reason is to allow easier fitting of mating mortises when each mortice location is registered from a previous mortise using the cross stops. The reason is that any difference in distance between left and right cross stop will be compounded with each new location. So any error will be small on the first mortise pair, but by the time you work down the length to the last one, the error may be large.

Even though I wrote the passage that Ian showed, I don't actually practice the method myself. My preference is to keep all of the mortise widths narrow and use mating pencil lines for registering each mortise location. Even if you have one mortise location that is off, the error will not cascade down through all the other locations.

Like you, I would not use tenons for joining long boards (timber), but I will use them for making long joints with plywood materials. Even though I have the cross stops, I don't think I have ever used them for this purpose.

By the way, the image Ian showed came from the Supplemental Owner's Manual for the U.S. There are several of these manuals for select tools, and you can download them here: Festool Manuals and Document Resources

Thanks for that. I hope other have learned something too.