How about a "Euro" style hinge, the type that now uses a 35mm cup on the door.  Except instead of a circular cup, use one shaped to fit the recess made by a 10mm Domino cutter at the widest setting.  Who says the hinge cup has to be round?  A special plate that would snap onto the face of the Domino could make alignment with the system holes in the carcase precise and fast.

Also, I'd like a domino cutter that would bore a mortise for a Soss hinge (and a Soss hinge designed to fit in the mortise).  For example, the cutter diameter could be 8mm for the first 10mm of depth and step up to 10mm for the final 5mm, with the Domino would be set at the "widest" sweep to cut the mortise.  If Festool won't make the cutter, perhaps CMT or Whiteside would?  I believe Soss has a patent on its hinges, so it may not be financially practical for a competitor to produce a compatible hinge.  Joint venture with Soss, anyone?

I'd like a leaf-hinge that would be sized so that its mortise could be cut by the Domino, sorta like a Lamello biscuit joiner can do.  Maybe the 2nd generation domino would feature special settings for depth and an accessory "face plate" for the fence (with a recess so the fence could be set so the cutter would cut the mortise only 2-3mm deep) so the Domino could bore such mortises in various sizes.

I hope somebody who reads this has the access to capital and willingness to take risk to turn these wishes into reality.  Wouldn't Soss or Blum or their competitors be interested in selling products like that, perhaps as part of a joint venture?

Regards,

John

We had a similar discussion on the FOG a couple of months ago.  You are correct, the Domino lends itself well to these type of products.  Look at what Lamello has been able to do with the "plain old" biscuit (hinges, magnetic connectors, and knock-down connectors).  The Domino is a lot more versatile platform, and is ripe for these types of inventions.  The problem is that Lamello and SOSS have much of the applicable technology patented already. 

Although I have not checked the patents registered to Soss, I recall the basic design hinges having been around for a long time.  No patent lasts longer than 20 years from its date of filing for patent.  So, any product in the market for more than 20 years is not going to covered by the basic patent.  The product may be redesigned to have additional or modified features that are protected by later issued patents, but the original patent cannot be extended or renewed.

If you want to check for patents on any subject matter, a good place to start for the lay person is Google's Advanced Patent Search

Here's an example of what you can find by entering Soss Hidden Hinge into the topmost search box.  Note the owner company is not officially named Soss but rather Koblenz S.p.A.

But here is a much older, Expired Soss Patent which names Soss as the owner.

Note also that when you have identified one patent document of interest, you can often jump to others of interest by using the hyperlinks contained in the list of reference patents cited in the main patent document.  You can keep jumping back multiple levels indefinitely.

Dave R.

there are to my knowlege 5-6 different size soss hinges (there may be more)

all of them require a double recess

AND then there are variants on the (5-6) sizes above


but i like the way the questioners mind works

Hi, Tom.  That's my understanding as well.  I've installed a dozen of them, and I find it's a cumbersome process with one router.  Two routers and the Soss jig would certainly speed up the process, but I'd like to see a "stepped bit" that could be set to one depth and width setting to cut a "stepped" or "double recess" mortise.  Perhaps not possible, given the constraints on the relative sizes of the moving and non-moving parts of the Soss hinges and the constraints on the size and shapes that will actually work for a Domino cutter.  But I'll have to hear from Soss or Festool that it can't be done before I'll give up hope.

Regards,

John