Any UK Domino Owners Willing To Lend Their Machine Out?

[jonny round boy]

Hi, this is a bit of a long shot, but here goes:

I need a Domino to build some birch ply drawerboxes, but I'm not in a financial position to buy one at the moment. Are there any Domino owners in the Yorkshire/Manchester/Lancashire areas who would be willing to lend me their Domino for up to a week?

I'm prepared to buy a 4mm cutter & a pack of 4mm dominoes, and I'm happy for the owner of the machine to keep these afterwards as compensation (approx. GBP40 value). I'll also collect from you & return it, rather than risk any form of postage.

I need a 240V machine, for 5-7 days, and I'd be wanting to collect it in a week or so from now.

If anyone can help, please reply to this thread or send me a PM.

Thanks in advance,

JRB

 

[woodguy7]

Jonny

If we were closer you could have a loan of mine, but i am at the very top of Scotland & would presume that is to far to travel.

Woodguy.

 

[jonny round boy]

Cheers for the offer Woodguy, but as you say it may be a bit far!

Hopefully someone nearer is as generous...  [big grin]

 

[Mac]

I'd willingly do it, Johnny, but haven't managed to afford one yet.  Sorry.

Rick

 

[richard.selwyn]

Well, I'm no use to you as mine's in Normandy - but wonder whether you can't get round the problem some other way?

If the drawers are only thick enough to use 4mm domino's the stock must be thin, hence a smaller surface area for gluing, hence your wish for dominos.  I'm not knowledgable enough to say, but I have built lots of drawers just using glue and brad nails fired with a compressed air nail gun and so far have never, to my knowledge had one fail.  (I have, like today when a client needed a quick and cheap shelf unit making before lunchtime  - his shop's only closed today - had my nails pop out because I have been sloppy with the gun, but I'm only using the nails to hold the thing together while the glue dries - no time for clamping.  In a couple of months time when he asks me to replace it with something "proper" I know I'll have an amusing time trying to break the thing up)

If I'm worried I use Titebond 111 glue, but I have no way of knowing if it realy makes a difference over the regular PVA which I normally use.

I have a pal who makes his drawers plywood using a stepped joint (again I'm not qualified to find the correct term) which he makes with a dado blade on his table saw and they have a bigger gluing area than mine and seem to hold up pretty well too - your stock may be too thin for that as well though. 

Smallest size dowels leaving the dowel exposed in the front as a design feature?  I actually made some plywood drawers using my Festool dovetail jig for amusement but it's been gathering dust for a long time since then.  No one i work for want's to pay for that kind of thing as I mainly do shop fitting

Could you build a test model to check strength using just glue and pins?

Hope you find a solution.

Regards,

Richard

 

[CharlesWilson]

Maybe you could offer put on a product demonstration at your local Festool dealer (you do have them on the other side of the pond, don't you?).

 

[jonny round boy]

Well, I'm no use to you as mine's in Normandy - but wonder whether you can't get round the problem some other way?

If the drawers are only thick enough to use 4mm domino's the stock must be thin, hence a smaller surface area for gluing, hence your wish for dominos.  I'm not knowledgable enough to say, but I have built lots of drawers just using glue and brad nails fired with a compressed air nail gun and so far have never, to my knowledge had one fail.  (I have, like today when a client needed a quick and cheap shelf unit making before lunchtime  - his shop's only closed today - had my nails pop out because I have been sloppy with the gun, but I'm only using the nails to hold the thing together while the glue dries - no time for clamping.  In a couple of months time when he asks me to replace it with something "proper" I know I'll have an amusing time trying to break the thing up)

If I'm worried I use Titebond 111 glue, but I have no way of knowing if it realy makes a difference over the regular PVA which I normally use.

I have a pal who makes his drawers plywood using a stepped joint (again I'm not qualified to find the correct term) which he makes with a dado blade on his table saw and they have a bigger gluing area than mine and seem to hold up pretty well too - your stock may be too thin for that as well though. 

Smallest size dowels leaving the dowel exposed in the front as a design feature?  I actually made some plywood drawers using my Festool dovetail jig for amusement but it's been gathering dust for a long time since then.  No one i work for want's to pay for that kind of thing as I mainly do shop fitting

Could you build a test model to check strength using just glue and pins?

Hope you find a solution.

Regards,

Richard

Richard,

I have considered just glueing & pinning them, but these drawers are over 1200mm wide by 450 deep, and up to 250 high, so I want something fairly substantial. Plus, although I have a compressor & gun, in the past I seem to have problems getting them to fire straight (they usually end up bending & coming out the side of the stock).

FWIW, I'm using 12mm birch ply.

 

[jonny round boy]

Maybe you could offer put on a product demonstration at your local Festool dealer (you do have them on the other side of the pond, don't you?).

We do indeed. My local dealer had one guy who dealt with Festool, and we got on quite well. He was really good, and I'm sure he would have let me borrow his demo machine to do it. The problem there is that I rang them a couple of weeks ago & asked to speak to him about something else, but they told me he was no longer working there! I don't have the same relationship with the other guys there, so no chance of borrowing it now...

 

[JPatrickWinstead]

I don't know if this helps, but I've used this router bit for drawers.  It makes a good joint.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=30107&cat=1,46168,46174&ap=1

 

[peter halle]

I'd send you mine along with the cutter and you would have to supply the dominos, but it wouldn't work for you with the current.  Sorry.

Peter

 

[richard.selwyn]

Dear Jonny,
I too regularly have a problem with the nails "turning", but if you always align the gun square to the stock and in the same vertical plane as the piece you are fixing into, there is rarely a problem.  With 12mm ply I have sometimes got away with Kreg screws for 1/2 inch at a pinch, but you may not like the aesthetic of that.
You could try to call Dave at Toolsave and tell him you need a special deal on a Domino  [wink]  He's always been very good in the past with me.
Hope to see some pictures of the drawers soon.

Richard.

 

[jonny round boy]

Richard,

When you say:

if you always align the gun square to the stock and in the same vertical plane as the piece you are fixing into, there is rarely a problem.

do you mean like this:

[attachthumb=#]

or like this:

[attachthumb=#]

Or in your opinion does it not make a difference?

 

[butzla]

Jonny,  forget the nails.  If you have a router table,  use a small lock miter bit.  I just made 15 drawers or more like trayers for some systainer ports I built using 1/2" (12mm) BB ply.  Works like a charm.  I can post some pictures tonite.

 

[stoneham]

Jonny you would be welcome to borrow mine..... but I am in oxford... is there any way to get it up there and back - what about a courier company?
I already have 4mm cutter and dominos...
Let me know
gasman

 

[jonny round boy]

Gasman,

Thanks for the offer, it's very generous of you. I'll look into the possibility of arranging a courier to collect it.

Even if it doesn't work out, I'll be happy in the knowledge that I've encouraged you to make your first post on here!

Regards,

JRB

 

[gasman]

actually not my first - but today was weird as I was on a computer at work and somehow a username /password combination logged me into FOG as 'Stoneham' my surname, rather than 'Gasman' - which was why that reply to you was posted as 'Stoneham' - I have no idea how that happened. Anyway happy to help if I can

 

[richard.selwyn]

Jonny,
I mean as in the first picture.  In my experience it does make a small difference as the nails are not square.  Usually in ply or mdf I don't have too many problems if I pay attention, but in "real" wood if you hit a kno....t!!

On the subject of nails going astray,  I was not paying attention the other day, trying to change the nails in a 23 gauge pin nailer from Axminster with no seurity and managed to shoot a 20mm pin into my hand.  Do it yourself acupuncture!

I wish I could master sketchup like you - I could show designs to clients and impress them more than with my pencil scribbles!

I wonder whether the router lock bit works well in ply - although I think you said birch ply which is probably better than the stuff I find here in France.  Birch ply here seems to be very expensive and my local panel place has to order it in.

 

[daves1996]

Jonny,
I mean as in the first picture.  In my experience it does make a small difference as the nails are not square.  Usually in ply or mdf I don't have too many problems if I pay attention, but in "real" wood if you hit a kno....t!!

On the subject of nails going astray,  I was not paying attention the other day, trying to change the nails in a 23 gauge pin nailer from Axminster with no seurity and managed to shoot a 20mm pin into my hand.  Do it yourself acupuncture!

I wish I could master sketchup like you - I could show designs to clients and impress them more than with my pencil scribbles!

I wonder whether the router lock bit works well in ply - although I think you said birch ply which is probably better than the stuff I find here in France.  Birch ply here seems to be very expensive and my local panel place has to order it in.

In my opinion, the second picture is the better way because of the way the tips of the nails are cut. The chisel points of the nail tell the nail which way to go if they hit something harder in the wood. In the second picture they would go side to side, staying in the wood. In the first picture they would deflect out of the front or back of the wood. Think about it in relation to the chisel points of the nails. I hope this helps.

Dave

 

[richard.selwyn]

In my opinion, the second picture is the better way because of the way the tips of the nails are cut. The chisel points of the nail tell the nail which way to go if they hit something harder in the wood. In the second picture they would go side to side, staying in the wood. In the first picture they would deflect out of the front or back of the wood. Think about it in relation to the chisel points of the nails. I hope this helps.

Dave

You may well be right, I just seem to have had more luck the other way.  I just bought a new 18 gauge nailer (I seem to have worn out the olde one) so I might try some testing.  The problem seems to be when you're hurring and not holding the gun carefully.  Also, the tip on the new gun(Bostich) is not as good as on the old one (Senco) but at half the price I didn't feel I could justify the extra.  I'd like a Grex, but still haven't found a source here in France.