Domino tenons as shelf pins?

[Darl Bundren]

Hey. Got a project I'm working on that inludes a bookcase; I am thinking I might use Domino tenons as shelf pins, orient them so the flats are horizontal and rest the shelves on those. Any drawbacks I'm missing?

[Matt Meiser]

You'll want to sand the Dominos you use for pins because the fit is so tight. Plan ahead for expansion if they pick up any moisture or you may never get them out. I think it will be a slower process than using a shelf pin drilling jig unless you can come up with a jig to index the machine--perhaps off the previous pins? Other than that, I can't think of anything.

[Steve Jenkins]

I assume you are doing adjustable shelves. You will have some really big ugly holes between the shelves.

[Craig Michael]

As steve said, you'll have quite a few big ugly holes. Also, dominos are themselves ugly. The question to me is why? I cannot think of a good answer for but have plenty against.

[joseph f merz]

i think it is a great idea .cannot look any different then a bunch of round shelf pin holes .might even be an improvement in that it is unique and different

[Matt Meiser]

4mm are pretty small. You could route a recess in the shelves to hide the domino itself.

[Sam Murdoch]

I'd run the dominos vertically - really :).

[Rick Lizek]

Big ugly waste of time in my opinion.
http://www.leevalley.com/US/hardware/page.aspx?p=40191&cat=3,43648,43649
Simple, elegant, fast are the Magic or hidden wires used on most Danish furniture.

[Darl Bundren]

Good points on both sides of the dilemma. I had not thought of the big holes, and that may be the thing that settles it. I was trying to save some money as I already have all of the Domino stuff on hand, but I may spring for a shelf pin jig. I'm thinking the Kreg one looks pretty good, and I'm off to research it now. Any opinions on that jig?

Also, thanks for all the input.

[Craig Michael]

Good points on both sides of the dilemma. I had not thought of the big holes, and that may be the thing that settles it. I was trying to save some money as I already have all of the Domino stuff on hand, but I may spring for a shelf pin jig. I'm thinking the Kreg one looks pretty good, and I'm off to research it now. Any opinions on that jig?

Also, thanks for all the input.

Look ok. But why buy when you can make your own for cheap money or from scraps. Made my own, make clean holes all the same depth and quickly. Search here, many others here have made this jig or something very similar.

http://megproducts.com/shelfpinholes.html

http://megproducts.com/basicboringguide.html

[Rick Lizek]

Big ugly waste of time in my opinion.
http://www.leevalley.com/US/hardware/page.aspx?p=40191&cat=3,43648,43649
Simple, elegant, fast are the Magic or hidden wires used on most Danish furniture.

You could use a piece of 1/4" hole perforated hardboard and a vix bit for the Magic wires! Cheap and reusable. The Magic wires and small holes pretty much disappear and allow the flexibility of adjustable shelf heights...
You would cut a couple of strips of the hardboard and make an appropraite spacer to account for the different width of the shelf wires.

[Matt Meiser]

I made Norm's version of the MEG jig and its served me very well since one of my first woodworking projects. The jig outlasted that project in fact (an entertainment center for a CRT TV.) Knock on plywood, I've never had tearout using a spiral upcut bit. The Dewalt compact router was a nice enhancement--lighter weight when doing a lot of holes.