Domino 500 and mortise registry (face cutting)

[Michael Drew]

Still learning how to use my new Domino......

I'm curious what others do to ensure correct registry of mortises when building something that requires a mortise cut without the fence. I just built a small table (using 3/4 Oak) and attempted to center the bit perfectly to the machine. Then used the fence to cut the mortise in 3/4 boards that would register to bottom and top boards running perpendicular. The latter mortises required a face cut. I used the bottom edge of the Domino on a very fine pencil line, just like I would use if cutting by hand. Well..... they were off. This got me thinking that I should have just registered both pieces off the Domino's base. Then I got to thinking there has got to be an easier way to do this. That lead me to the Seneca plates. But is there a better method for cutting these fence/no fence joints?

[Kevin Jenness]

A picture would help show what you are trying to do an what your problem is. If the issue is the relative heights of mortises, it's generally best to index off the same machine surface using shims for offsets. You can use the base for one piece and the fence for another, but it complicates things. If the problem is that the indexing marks on fence and base are not both centered on the mortise that could be either a manufacturing error or a user error.

[Michael Drew]

This is the only picture I can share at the moment. The bottom mortise needs to be cut with the fence up, and the mortise in the connector board between these two can be cut using the fence. When I cut the mortise in the pic below, I cannot register the Domino with the fense, just the bottom of the machine's face plate. I hope that makes more sense.


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[Dick Mahany]

There are many useful user tips on the use of the Domino in short but great videos from Brian Sedgerly of Festool at #festoolsedgedomino on instagram. While I'm not a typical instagram user, I have found several very useful ways to help align mortices by watching his quick videos.

[Terry Therneau]

I cut dominos into the bottom of the arm for an adriondack chair, where it sits atop the leg, that way I don't have a screw, nail, or plug where my forearm/hand sits. I would set the arm on, lightly clamp it and align things, then mark a line along the vertical member, plus marks on the arm and vertical leg where the two dominos will go. Take it off, and clamp it in my wood vise with the line right along the top of the face (the chair arm is now horizontal to the floor). Extend the hatch mark where each domino goes, using a square. Domino tool has the fence flipped up, like stored in the systainer, base sitting on the vise and centering mark on the line, plunge it in. My vise has wooden faces, and I usually very lightly clamp the board with the line a bit above the vise, tap it down to perfect position with few light taps of a mallet, then tighten. The domino for the end of the leg is done in the usual way.

I ended up making 13 of these out of cypress using the plans in one of the Norm Abram books. I took a pair to one son's house, we had a picnic, and everyone said "me too". A pair each for 5 child/spouse pairs, plus three 7/8 size for the granddaughters. (It is amazing how much smaller something looks that is 7/8 in all 3 dimensions -- your eye sees it as about 2/3.) In any case, I got pretty good at whipping them out. No plans for more, but didn't toss my MDF templates.

[Kevin Jenness]

"The bottom mortise needs to be cut with the fence up, and the mortise in the connector board between these two can be cut using the fence."

Although you can cut the second mortise using the fence it does not follow that you should. Use the Domino just as you would use a biscuit jointer for a "T" connection.Clamp the leg of the T down on the other piece with its end facing the mortise location. Plunge into the end of the T leg and the face of the second piece, with the machine base indexed to the mating surfaces.

[Michael Drew]

There are many useful user tips on the use of the Domino in short but great videos from Brian Sedgerly of Festool at #festoolsedgedomino on instagram. While I'm not a typical instagram user, I have found several very useful ways to help align mortices by watching his quick videos.

I never surf instagram, so I would have not ever seen this guy's video tips without you mentioning him. I viewed a few and find them quite helpful. Thanks for the tip!

[Michael Drew]

Thank you for the tips Terry and Kevin!

You are confirming my initial conclusion that I should just use the base to register cuts in both pieces.

[Jason Lester]

I clamp a straight piece of scrap, flip the base up, and register it against the scrap