Domino breadboard question

[David Huston]

Going to bulding a table top for my back porch and have a few questions. I am going to put bread board ends on it and was planning to use the smaller domino machine as I can borrow it from a friend. But I started wondering if 10*50mm dominos will be big enough for the breadboards. I plan on gluing the center then trying to drawbore the outside ones. Would the 50mm length be enough to put in a 1/2 inch dowel or should I go with 3/8. I might be able to borrow a XL from a local cabinet shop if they 50mm won't work. Thickness should be around 1.75 inches. Thinking of finishing with sikkens cetol natural teak. Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Jim Becker]

IMHO, you'll want to borrow the larger 700 XL and user stouter dominos for this application. You'll get more supportive strength in the vertical from the thicker tenons and you'll have more width and length to work with while pinning the outer ones for wood movement. Be sure to use the exterior rated Sipo dominos for this, too.

[Simon MacGowen]

Going to bulding a table top for my back porch and have a few questions. I am going to put bread board ends on it and was planning to use the smaller domino machine as I can borrow it from a friend. But I started wondering if 10*50mm dominos will be big enough for the breadboards. I plan on gluing the center then trying to drawbore the outside ones. Would the 50mm length be enough to put in a 1/2 inch dowel or should I go with 3/8. I might be able to borrow a XL from a local cabinet shop if they 50mm won't work. Thickness should be around 1.75 inches. Thinking of finishing with sikkens cetol natural teak. Any thoughts are appreciated.

An XLwould def work but the 500 may also work depending on the width of your breadboard which you didn't give.

Simon

[Jamie Buxton]

I'm with Jim on this one: the tenons in the breadboard in a full-sized table should be bigger than the one the small Domino uses. If you can't borrow a bigger Domino, make the tenons in the more traditional way -- the way breadboard ends were built until the Domino arrived just a few years ago.

[Jerry Miner]

Or.... use the 500, cut overlapping slots, and make custom, wider tenons that can better accommodate the movement you expect from your outdoor table.

[David Huston]

Ok. I will borrow the xl. I ordered some sipo stock today. What length would you recommend? I ordered 12mm stock. I was going to use the domino for the top glue up to help with alignment. What size would be best there? First time using domino so sorry for all the questions. Also the table will be 36ibches wide.

[Jerry Miner]

For alignment purposes, any size Domino will work fine.

(I'd still use something wider than a Domino for the tenons. My .02)

[John TenEyck]

David, the Sikkens Cetol is good stuff. I used the Door and Window product on an exterior door that faces due West with no porch so it gets a lot of direct sun and rain. It's been almost a year now and all is well with both the finish and door (fingers crossed). If your table is going to sit out in direct weather this product could be a good choice. But if your porch is covered I would consider TC's EM-9300 instead as it's much harder, or an exterior 2K poly.

John

[Corey Pelton]

I was about to use my 700XL to attach my breadboards, but I decided to go with a dowel and tenon setup instead. It worked out really well. I like the look of the dowels in the final finished piece.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Going to bulding a table top for my back porch and have a few questions. I am going to put bread board ends on it and was planning to use the smaller domino machine as I can borrow it from a friend. But I started wondering if 10*50mm dominos will be big enough for the breadboards. I plan on gluing the center then trying to drawbore the outside ones. Would the 50mm length be enough to put in a 1/2 inch dowel or should I go with 3/8. I might be able to borrow a XL from a local cabinet shop if they 50mm won't work. Thickness should be around 1.75 inches. Thinking of finishing with sikkens cetol natural teak. Any thoughts are appreciated.

https://youtu.be/8YU7L_79NSc?t=3m25s

By chance it happens I had seem that video recently. I liked his solution.

All the best.

[Gary Radice]

Two comments:
1) Since this table will be outside on porch, will it get wet? If so, those horizontal breadboard tenons could be water traps that encourage rot. If the table will stay dry: then never mind!
2) breadboard ends on a solid top usually have the outboard tenons pegged in slotted holes or some other solution to allow for seasonal wood movement across the top, which would be greatest at the sides away from the center. Draw boring the outside tenons would seem to me not the best solution since it would try to counter that movement. Maybe you aren't making a solid top, though, but more like a picnic table with spaces between the boards? If so, then I don't see any reason not to fix all the individual boards the same way.