Beam Alignment Question

[DominoDan]

Just started playing with this thing but I was stumped for a bit....

Found a way to get it done but it does not seem fast or intelligent.

I wanted to join two beams...I set the depth manually to do the smaller beam first...then I needed to drill the offset on the larger beam...only way I could do it was...

1. Transfer line on larger beam by top of smaller beam.
2. mark on domino offset depth line
3. line  up step 2 with step 1...drill

Is there a better way to do this without marking the side of my domino?

 

[nclemmons]

The Domino has a center alignment notch on the side.  That with the centerline on the acrylic index gives you two points to center a mortise in each direction.  Mark your cross lines, do the alignment and plunge.

Works like a charm.

 

[wow]

Yes, you should always be referencing off the center of the Domino, not the sides.

Place a small mark on both pieces where you want the domino to be. line up the center line of the Domino with your mark,  and plunge the bit in there - carefully, of course.

[big grin]

I saw your reference mark on the top surface of the 'end' piece, but I didn't see it on the top surface of the other piece where you plunged into the side. That's what you'd use to properly align the Domino. It may well be there and I just missed it?

 

[mouppe]

I would mortise the larger beam first, then mark a cross-hair through it and use the notch on the side of the domino and centerline on the acrylic to line up the second mortise. You could lower the fence to the small beam to help steady the  machine once you have lined it up.

To get it just right, why not use a scrap for the second mortise so you can adjust the fence exactly?

 

[tjbnwi]

It appears as if you wanted to center the smaller beam onto the larger beam???

If this is the case getting the beam to center can be done mathematically. If the domino center is set 15 mm (just a number for reference, you would locate this by choosing a fence height) off the edge of the small beam, the mortice center in the large beam would need to be located offset of small beam edge to large beam edge plus 15 mm towards the center of the reference face. If the edge of the small beam is 10 mm from the reference face of the large beam the Domino fence would be set at 25 mm.

Tom

 

[waho6o9]

Can't you reference from the top?

Domiplate springs to mind. 

 

[Stoli]

Here's how I'd approach this.

First, decide on the left/right setting.  You could simply use the dogs, which would end up with a possibly uncentered domino, or compute the distance from the edge needed to get a centered domino and mark that on both pieces.

For the up/down, measure the offset between the top of the thicker beam and the top of the thinner beam.  Create a spacer that is this thickness.  Put this spacer on top of the thinner beam, and adjust the fence height to get the domino in a good spot on the thinner piece.  Align the domino to the left/right mark, and plunge.  Now do the same thing for the thicker beam, but do not use the spacer.  Without the spacer, the domino holes should line up to place the top of the thinner beam at the right location below the thicker beam.

 

[DominoDan]

Thank you for the replies...I need a bit to digest the suggestions..and draw out what is being described.