Useing the Festool Domino to make wider planks

[Michael Parr]

I purchased the Domino today (But went home with the shop one tell mine arrives on Tuesday). And was trying to make a 12 X 18 top out of Poplar. After a little trial and error I got really precise tenons cut. When dry fit my first set the Domino was so tight I could not remove it from the hole. I then cut the tenons in the 3 Poplar planks and started gluing them up. I had a really hard time squeezing the boards together cause of the tight fit. I ended up having to use 2 pipe clamps and 3 Bessie clamps and had to work hard to get the gaps closed up. On the first attempt I had one of the pieces curved a lot. After that attempt I cut the Dominos out and started again. I took much more care in getting the pieces flat the second time but still needed to torque the clamps pretty hard to close the gaps. I ended up getting the piece flat but in the process I ended up twisting the board. If someone could lend me some assistance in making wider pieces with the Domino I would appreciate it.

[Tom Cross]

In one board, cut the mortises on the tight setting. On the second board, cut the mortises in the mid or wide setting. That will sove the problem. For edge gluing boards, the dominoes are providing edge alignment so there is not need to struggle and have both boards on the tight setting.

Good luck with the Domino. It is a marvelous machine though it does take some getting used to.

[Chris Padilla]

Make sure you are choosing the correct DEPTH setting, Michael.

I pretty much leave the Domino's mortise width setting on position two. You don't need tight fitting tenons. Most of the strength comes from the wider face...not the edges.

[Michael Parr]

Yea I had them on the tight setting twice. As for problem 2. How much pressure do I need to put once the dominoes are set in holding for the glue to set? Also over 18 inches how many Dominoes should I use (I used 4).

[Michael Parr]

If you change to the loose setting how do you get the tennon's centered. Should I mark the board instead of using the ping guides? Should I drill with the tight setting to get alignment and then go back and use the wider setting?

[Bill Wyko]

It's also possible you hydraulic the domino with glue. I recommend brushing just enough foe glue on the surface. Don't squirt glue in the mortise. Once you get used to the Domino you'll love it.

[Mats Bengtsson]

If you change to the loose setting how do you get the tennon's centered. Should I mark the board instead of using the ping guides? Should I drill with the tight setting to get alignment and then go back and use the wider setting?

It is all a matter of taste and what you are wanting to achieve. I almost always use only tight settings in one of the pieces, and the wide settings only in the other piece. Doing that, it is easy to always start the first Dominoe in the second piece with one tight setting, and being sure it will align on both directions. But then, I also need to have started the first cut for dominos on both sides using a pin for distance, else there is no profit from alignment with domino.

When aligning boards in height only, I place the boards side by side and mark with a pencil line on both. To make that process speedy, it is better to use wide settings in both pieces, but then you have to do your length alignment by hand (on the other hand I do not care if they are off a little bit, they are to be cut later.

What you really need to do to use the tight setting at both sides is first to fine adjust the Domino until both the distance pins are exactly the same (one of them can be adjusted by turning it). Doing that assures that you get perfect alignment even if one material is Dominoed from left and one from right. I did it by doing two boards where I created 5 tight Dominoes from left and Right, and then after that adjusting the pin until a board with 5 tight Dominoes will assemble easily.

--- Mats ---

[Jay Jolliffe]

I bought the Domino 6 or 7 months ago & was planing to use it making doors. I was told at the Festool forum it would work great. After getting it and trying it I personally think you need more than a 1" tenon to hold the stile to the rail. This is using it for interior & exterior doors. I know on the wider rails there would be maybe 6 to 8 in pairs. I still think it need to be more than 1". It's great for cabinet doors & face frames. So back to what I was getting at. If your gluing the stile to the rail which is end grain to long grain wouldn't you use the setting for a tight fit so the tenon is actually holding it together. End to long grain doesn't hold to good without help.

[Sue Wise]

There are a few discussions about tight dominos at the Festool Owners Group forums. Some folks. zap them in the microwave first. Others will give a few swipes with sandpaper. Some say the new dominos are smaller and are not as problematic. I live in the Denver area where we have low humidity, so I have not had problems with fit. However, I don't do a dry fit as once I tap the domino in the tight setting it will not come out. (I do cut one side tight and the other loose.)

Some folks have sanded down a set of them just for dry fitting. I like that idea and plan to do that.

As far as glueing panels, I don't find using dominoes helpful. I like to rub the glued boards together before I clamp and can't do that with dominos in place. I use bowclamps and shop made cauls for clamping and alignment.

-Sue

[Brent Leonard]

Sounds like a wonderful tool.

I may have to try one.

[Jerry White]

Michael,

Early on, I experienced the excessively tight fitting dominos. At first I attributed the problem to my humid Gulf Coast environment and pondered the daunting task of lightly sanding down my stock of dominos.

However, I picked up a tip from Festool Owners Group that revealed the real problem. It is technique. The rate of plunge with the domino has a small effect on the mortise size. A fast plunge makes for more clearance, and a slow controlled plunge gives a tighter fit. Try plunging the domino a bit faster (not to extreme). I think with more experience you will find a rate that works for you.

[Chris Padilla]

Jerry,

Can you explain why a fast vs. slow plunge would change the mortise size? In my head, that makes absolutely no sense unless one could plunge a speed equivalent to the cutter head swinging back and forth.

I swipe my dominos along a length of sandpaper about 3-5 times back n forth to get a snug but not overly tight fit.

[Chris Padilla]

I bought the Domino 6 or 7 months ago & was planing to use it making doors. I was told at the Festool forum it would work great. After getting it and trying it I personally think you need more than a 1" tenon to hold the stile to the rail. This is using it for interior & exterior doors. I know on the wider rails there would be maybe 6 to 8 in pairs. I still think it need to be more than 1". It's great for cabinet doors & face frames. So back to what I was getting at. If your gluing the stile to the rail which is end grain to long grain wouldn't you use the setting for a tight fit so the tenon is actually holding it together. End to long grain doesn't hold to good without help.

I saw David Marks build a large redwood gate (outdoor project, obviously) and he used floating tenons. I was VERY surprised how small the tenons he used were.

I, too, would like to see a larger cutter for the Domino come out. I dunno how much larger they can get, however. For most projects, so far, the sizes available have worked fine.

[Chris Padilla]

As far as glueing panels, I don't find using dominoes helpful. I like to rub the glued boards together before I clamp and can't do that with dominos in place. I use bowclamps and shop made cauls for clamping and alignment.

-Sue

I guess it all depends on your goals and where in the project they will be used. In my Tansu, I'm seriously thinking to finish the whole project and then glue it together. Thus, I would only glue in the dominos and not the "shoulders" around the tenons.

In a stile to rail connection, I think this is fine since the shoulder to stile is end-grain to long-grain.

I don't thinking I would use dominos in a long-grain to long-grain connection but I might use biscuits but then again I don't rub my glue joints (I use a foam roller).

[David DeCristoforo]

I'm with those who suggest that the Domino might not be the best tool for edge joining. Biscuits would be a more logical choice although, I usually don't use anything other than glue when edge gluing stock. A few grains of sand in the glue keeps everything from slipping around under pressure.

As to the size issue, I agree that these smallish "floating tenons" have their place but they are not a "panacea" that will work in every situation. I would be very uncomfortable using a 1" deep tenon on a large passage door (regardless of what David Marks might have done).