Profile bit to make my own Domino biscuits

[scott vroom]

Can anyone recommend a profiling bit that matches exactly the edge of Festool OEM biscuits? Also, any thoughts on preferred wood species for the biscuits?

[Richard Coers]

I've probably made a mile of my own floating tenon material. I just rout a 45 chamfer on the edges. You don't loose any strength since its mainly short grain, it's located by the small flat on the side, and you have room for glue to escape if you put too much in the mortise.

[scott vroom]

Thanks Richard. Are you particular about species or do you just use whatever you have laying around the shop?

[Jim Dwight]

Scott,

I am making a chest of drawers based upon WoodSmith's nine drawer plan. I changed the dados to dominos, however, and the plywood to solid softwood (which is what the other furniture in that bedroom is). I am using 6mm dominos to locate the horizontal and vertical dividers and also to make them. They are all frames to reduce weight and use up scrap. Because this piece is all softwood, I've made the dominos of softwood too. I have my planner dialed in so I just rip scrap a little over thickness, plane it to exact thickness, then rip to width (6mm dominos are a little under 3/4) and then use a 1/8 round over bit on the edges. 6mm is almost exactly 1/4 inch so this works well. 1/8 roundover works well enough for 5mm too. 12mm is about 1/2 inch so a 1/4 roundover will work well. You could use a chamfer too, especially if you don't have the right roundover.

I've made them in cherry and maple too. I like to use the same wood as the project but I use whatever scraps are handy. I make wide, more normal, tenons this way too. I make up long sticks of the size and then cut them to length when I know what I want. The current project is using 40mm, 30mm, and 48mm long tenons.

[Jim Becker]

I looked a while ago for metric cutters appropriate for the task and didn't find anything. But the OEM Dominos are not fully rounded over anyway, so you can use whatever you have that's reasonably close and leave a little bit of material at the centerine so they can go in snug but still have space for glue. Personally, I abandoned the idea of making my own and am just buying boxes of the 750mm long stock and cutting to the lengths I need. That's a bit less expensive than buying them in pre-configured lengths, too.

As to material...it almost doesn't matter. Making things like this is a good way to employ scrap and off-cuts. I'd choose hardwood for sure.

[johnny means]

I don't even bother with a profile. I size mine so that the square corners bite in a little.

[Richard Coers]

Thanks Richard. Are you particular about species or do you just use whatever you have laying around the shop?
Anything in the scrap rack. The one exception is when I do an entrance door. I use the same as the door then. Just a hedge against the crazy conditions that the wood sees.

[Prashun Patel]

I try to use whatever species I am building the parts with. I try to make them quartersawn. I cut them slightly large, then chamfer the edges with a block plane. This is for the large tenons.

For the little 5mm ones if I am doing a big plywood cabinet and need a million, I just buy them.

[glenn bradley]

I use the closest imperial round over bit. I use the same stock that I making the project out of. I make lots of extra and keep them all in a drawer.

[Clint Baxter]

Depending on how “precise” you want to get, you can get metric sized roundover bits at https://www.fine-tools.com/abrundfraeser.html for all domino sizes other than the 5mm. Keep in mind, however, these bits come with an 8mm shank, which works well with my Festool routers ��

I have a shaper with a euroblock cutter head and knives are available to match the radius of any of the Domino sizes. A bit of care, and jigging required to the small size of the material being fabricated, but once you’re setup, you can create a lot of domino stock in a hurry.

Ive made Dominos out of the same stock as the wood I’m joining, or if I want something more weather/rot resistant, from white oak. I had a bunch of Jatoba scraps that I made into Dominos that look nice. (Reminds me of the Sipo dominos)
Clint

[Bill Dufour]

Is it just a bullnose bit? Should be cheap enough to have a flat one ground into a bullnose. Is it a metric diameter?
How about a square tongue or wedge tongue ground to fit.
Bil lD

[Jim Becker]

Bill, the OEM Dominos are not "round" on the end. They are rounded with ridges and they have a projection at the "belt line" that enables them to be snug in the "tight" position for the Domino mortise while still allowing for glue. That profile isn't required but it's a good design. You can see why some folks use a simple chamfer for making their own. Here's two photos of an OEM 10mm Domino for reference.

428549 428550

[scott vroom]

Jim, where do you source the 750mm strips?

[scott vroom]

I try to use whatever species I am building the parts with. I try to make them quartersawn. I cut them slightly large, then chamfer the edges with a block plane. This is for the large tenons.

For the little 5mm ones if I am doing a big plywood cabinet and need a million, I just buy them.

Where do you purchase them? Amazon EU or domestic?

[scott vroom]

Found this on WW Express. If I did the math right, it works out to $0.88/ft. Seems reasonable?


https://www.woodworkerexpress.com/domino-joiner-tenons-8-x-750mm-cut-to-length-beech-festool-498686.html

[scott vroom]

Anyone know where I can find guidelines for domino sizes for various typical furniture applications?

[Brian Bumpers]

For what it’s worth if you don’t need custom lengths you can buy 720 packs of 8x40 for $99 on amazon. The 36 pack of 750 mm works out to 675 40mm dominos for $78. Not worth the trouble to me.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, where do you source the 750mm strips?
Any Festool dealer. I bought the most recent box from Tool Nut's Festool operation. If you do the math, they are less expensive for the same total length than the precut materials. I don't know if they offer it for the small sizes, however. I've only bought 10mm, 12mm and 14mm in that format.