Making your own domino tenons

[Dave Macy]

Haven't been on much lately, but am considering buying the domino 500. You guys that have it, do you buy your tenons or make your own? Seems like it would be cheaper to make your own so was just curious. Thanks

[Victor Robinson]

For the 500, I usually buy. For the 700, I often make. The 6mm and 8mm tenons do come in bulk packs costing $94 (for around ~1,000 tenons...don't remember quantity off hand), which can save a little money if you need a lot of tenons.

Yes, it's cheaper to make your own and often a good use of scraps, but it can also be more time-consuming than it's worth, especially if you decide to roundover/bullnose for a better fit. Some folks even try to groove or rough up the surface of homemade tenons to better emulate the glue space on the commercial tenons. But if you're just using square stock of the correct width, then all you're doing is thicknessing and ripping to width and it's pretty fast.

Making your own especially makes sense in the larger sizes or when you need tenons for outdoor projects.

[jack duren]

Buy.......

[Dave Macy]

Ok, thanks. Any last min reason why I shouldn't do this? Figure since I'm getting more and more into woodworking, that I may as well make the investment sooner rather than later.

[Andrew Hughes]

Dave the Domino is a great tool.If I'm feeling stingy or only need a few tenons I make them.I even glue them in square with the corners barely chamfered.The pre made one are great esp if you need a lot.My only complaint is sometime they are too tight.
Good luck with your project.

[Ralph Okonieski]

I buy. I prefer to spend my time working on a project rather than making loose tenons. Just my preference.

[johnny means]

Penny wise, pound foolish. My time is to precious to spend making hardware. Not to mention how much I fear making multiple small parts, high risk low reward.

[Sam Murdoch]

I buy. I prefer to spend my time working on a project rather than making loose tenons. Just my preference.


My preference too. I really am happy to have a Domino. It is an essential tool for the way and the kind of work I do - FOR ME! The ready made Festool tenons do fit tightly - sometimes a good thing - often not so necessary. I simply sand the sharp edges off. Takes a fraction of time even on a big glue up and allows for some trial and error fitting and a little bit of side to side adjustment. The most important aspect of the Domino for me is its alignment of two surfaces. I am very fussy to set my table accurately so that I can achieve perfect flush with two mating surfaces for glue up. An excellent tool.

[Andrew Hughes]

So if you guys needed 6 or 7 Dominos in a size that you ran out of you would buy a bag of 300 for 20.00. Or spend 20 mins and make about 20+ out of scraps .
Maybe I'm more frugal then I realize.

[Cary Falk]

I was in the same boat. In another thread it was mentioned that you can buy the Systainer of assorted Dominos from Amazon Germany for about $180. I sold the systainer and cutters. Kept the dominos for <$10.

[Sam Murdoch]

So if you guys needed 6 or 7 Dominos in a size that you ran out of you would buy a bag of 300 for 20.00. Or spend 20 mins and make about 20+ out of scraps .
Maybe I'm more frugal then I realize.

Well for this very specific scenario I would most likely make them unless I could wait the 4 business days to get them sent to me. If I'm out I need to order more in any case. i don't let myself run out - of Dominos or gas for my truck.:)

EDIT - I mostly use the 5, 6, and 8 size and very occasionally the 10s. Gets a little dicey producing the 5 & 6s safely. The bigger ones would be easy enough but as I rarely use them my current stock will last me for years, or at the least, one big project.

[Prashun Patel]

I am in the minority. I make my own dominos. I enjoy the process and it saves money. I can alter the length and width as necessary. I have a small bench hook that makes it a breeze to plane them for a perfect fit.

I Am a hobbyist though. If I were a pro like some of these guys, making the tenons would negate the reason I would have bought the domino in the first place: time savings.

For small Dominos I just chamfer the edges with a block plane or at the table saw. For larger ones, I use a roundover bit. A bullnose would be easier, as anyone trying to make a bullnose with a roundover can attest to. However, if you are making thick dominos, the roundover is the only way to achieve a square edge.

I'm not always using the Domino to bang out projects. Sometimes I simply want an accurate way to drill mortises. You can use the Domino to drill offset holes that will result in custom length and width mortises. In this case, the corners will be rounded over. For an integral tenon, I'd square off the mortise corners. For a loose tenon, I just roundover the corners.

[James Zhu]

I bought my domino with the tenon assortment, since it has all the cutters. After i used all the domino tenons, I make my own tenon, very easy. I use 3/4'' D x 3/8'' H x 1/8'' R x 1/2'' Shank Rockler Roundover/Beading Bit, item #2238.

[peter gagliardi]

I have owned my Domino machines for several years, I have yet to buy any.
The scrap bin sits at the end of the saw, and I can digitally set the fence, so I can produce what I need, from same or different specie cheap and quick.
Simple rectangle is all you need if sized right, the radiused edges are doing almost nothing.

[Larry Edgerton]

I had a set of corrugated back knives made with 14/12/10 sizes on one cutter. Smaller ones I just buy.

[Erik Christensen]

never considered making them - they are a consumable for the tool - like screws I buy in bulk every size so no matter what I want to build all I need to buy is wood as everything else is in a bin on the shop wall

more expensive - yes; but 100% of my shop time is project productive (till I make a mistake I have to re-do)

different strokes is how I see it - some like to make things frugally and others like to get stuff done - I am in the get stuff done camp most times

[lowell holmes]

I have a biscuit joiner and have never had a failure. Some times I use multiple biscuits. The strength of the joint is in the glue line.

I only see biscuits or dominos strength to be in in the glue line. I really don't use it often.

[Joe Calhoon]

We had a bunch of mahogany scraps and ran 1500 lineal on our moulder out of those. The Sipo ones they sell are spendy so it worked out cost wise. We use Domino for angled and curved joinery on windows and doors, the 1500 feet will last a few years. It is hard to beat the quality and fit of the Festo ones.

[Simon MacGowen]

Am I missing something? If you own a DJ, why would you just need half a dozen or dozen Dominoes?

I use my DJ year around and have replenished stock of various sizes (except the two smallest ones) many times and so anyone who is eligible for making their own Dominoes to save a lot of money, I am one of them.

However, as has been pointed out by others, I'd rather spend my time building furniture than making shop supplies. For the same reason, I buy tools rather than make them, though skill wise, making some of the tools (wooden planes, for example) presents no difficulties to me. I have seen a youtube in which someone built a shop-made Domino Joiner; that person would never be me. By the time the less precise "DJ" was born in my shop, I would have finished my dining table with DJ joinery.

Bottomline: Be pound wise when it comes to saving money.

Regarding over-tight Dominoes, the solution is simple: Microwave them before use.

Simon

[Davis Young]

The only reason for me to make Domino tenons is when I set it for the elongated mortises and then I can make matching tenons for added glue surface and strength.

[Simon MacGowen]

I have a biscuit joiner and have never had a failure. Some times I use multiple biscuits. The strength of the joint is in the glue line.

I only see biscuits or dominos strength to be in in the glue line. I really don't use it often.

For jointing, biscuits and dominoes make no difference. In fact, edge joining can be done without biscuits or dominoes.

However, when it comes to endgrain to facegrain joints, biscuits can't compete with dominoes.

Simon

[Jake Hillestad]

Pretty simple to make a couple hundred at a crack and a good use for short ends.

Joint a face and one edge perpendicular to eachother
Resaw a bit over size
Run strips through planer or sander to finish thickness
Rip to width
Round over strips
Pick your poison to cut down to length

Easily knock out 250+ in about a half hour.

[Simon MacGowen]

Pretty simple to make a couple hundred at a crack and a good use for short ends.


Easily knock out 250+ in about a half hour.

Half an hour! Does that include set-up times?

I bet 90% of woodworkers wouldn't be able to complete all the tasks you list out in that time span unless the machines are already set up for the cuts. Set-up times for the planer, tablesaw, router, mitre saw (crosscuts?) etc. which include test cuts would be longer than they might sound.

The shop-made dominoes cannot be too loose or too narrow (if used in a structural joinery).

Before I owned my DJ, I used routers and floating tenons and I wish I could cut floating tenons as efficient as you laid out for the dominoes.

Simon

[Larry Edgerton]

Pretty simple to make a couple hundred at a crack and a good use for short ends.

Joint a face and one edge perpendicular to eachother
Resaw a bit over size
Run strips through planer or sander to finish thickness
Rip to width
Round over strips
Pick your poison to cut down to length

Easily knock out 250+ in about a half hour.

I plane all the scrap to the thickness I want, 14/12/10 is all I make, rip oversize a hair, and run it on shaper with the bit I had made with an outboard fence/powerfeeder. Saves a step that way. I don't cut to length till I need it. When I do I tape a bunch together and cut them on the slider.

I really don't use a domino all that much though, not that crazy about it. Fancy biscuit joiner.

[Andrew Hughes]

It's not a fancy biscuit jointer.Take that back ( Just kidding):)
One way to use the domino that's not often mentioned is to cut mortises and square up the round ends.Then cut a tenon on the tablesaw or bandsaw or handsaw.One doesn't have to have a loose tenon.
Then is far better than a biscuit.

[Joe Calhoon]

I plane all the scrap to the thickness I want, 14/12/10 is all I make, rip oversize a hair, and run it on shaper with the bit I had made with an outboard fence/powerfeeder. Saves a step that way. I don't cut to length till I need it. When I do I tape a bunch together and cut them on the slider.

I really don't use a domino all that much though, not that crazy about it. Fancy biscuit joiner.

Thats about how we did it Larry. Rip with the SLR, one shot through the S4S machine then 2 shaper passes with the outboard fence. We were about 6 hrs to make 1500 lineal of the 12mm. The Sipo ones are about $2 per lineal foot so if you do the math in this case it was cost effective. We got a tight fit but still hard to beat the precision and engineering of the Festool ones.
Normally I would buy but we had one job requiring a lot of the Mahogany Dominos. We don't use the XL that much other than odd corners that are difficult to do with our tenoning and doweling machinery. The XL is good for a small or hobby shop that just wants to make a few house doors with out investing in stationary machines for the corner joinery. I find it gets a little tedious to use for production and easy to get off on accuracy if not paying attention.

[Larry Edgerton]

I am going to try making some storm windows for my house out of Versatex with hidden aluminum stiffeners and will be making some 12's out of Versatex. We will see how that flies.

[Jim Becker]

While I don't (yet...) own the Domino, I'd likely buy the little buggers for the reasons that many folks stated: my time in the shop is limited, so I'd rather put it into projects. And for bulk supply, I don't really think I'd save much money making them since my time also has value. For a quick outage of a required size, for sure, I'd be cobbling what I needed from scraps, but just like I buy screws, I'd buy Dominos. And I use a lot of my small scrap already for honeybee woodenware stuff at this point. :)

[lowell holmes]

I do not recall making end grain butt joints, it's not something I would normally do. I would probably do long lap joints.

[Simon MacGowen]

I do not recall making end grain butt joints, it's not something I would normally do. I would probably do long lap joints.

Dominoes make good and strong joinery for table aprons to legs, chair stretchers, and where Mortise & Tenon joints prevail in end grain to face/long grain situations. Rows of dominoes can make the joints even stronger, in the absence of a XL DJ. I sold my biscuit joiner after it sat idle for a bit, but it has it uses, especially in some frame work.

Simon

[Joe Calhoon]

I do not recall making end grain butt joints, it's not something I would normally do. I would probably do long lap joints.

I think they are fine for end grain joints and believe they may be stronger than dowels in most cases. For sure, true mortise and tenon is the best but sometimes not the most practical or cost effective way to build. Especially if you do this for a living. Here is one example of using a Domino for a window sash corner connection. It is possible to do the joint in the picture slot and tenon but with a time consuming setup.

361245

[joseph f merz]

for the 700 ,the bigger ones i buy them in full lengths and cut them to the sizes i need on bandsaw .generally take the time to round ends a bit with sander to make them easier to align .in the future will only get the exterior materal .i build enough exterior projects that this makes sense . i use them in pretty much all my interior trim .casing or anywhere i can . i will get a perfect joint fast no fooling around that never opens up .build occassional gates and doors .
replaced my beautiful biscuit cutter . i often use pocket screws to pull the joint tight . i did buy that kit for the 500 and it was a good purchase .can understand why you might make them .

[jack duren]

If you are woodworking for a hobby and making the Domino's, there's nothing wrong with that. It's the hobby.

Professionally it would make no sense unless they were back ordered and needed only a few....