Dock for Domino 500

[fignewton]

Did a search, but didn’t find anything.  Although I suspect some of you know about this.  I’m making a 4-shelf plant stand for my bride.  Each side has 2 posts, joined with wider pieces at the top and bottom, and a center brace.  The shelves will have 5 narrow slats with breadboard pieces on each end.  After seeing a video of this on the tube, I thought it would be very handy for working smaller pieces.  It lets you bring the workpiece to the machine and frees your hands. 
As the side pieces are only about 10 inches wide, the center sections are too short to use the paddle stops.  The top and bottoms have 2 dominoes on each end, and the center one has a center domino. I marked them, and clamped a stop block to the fence, then cut all the left side holes.  Moved the block, then cut the right side mortises.  Put on the trim stop and cut the center ones.  Easy Peasy!
The breadboards will have 4 dominos where they meet the top and bottom of the sides. I went ahead and cut those this afternoon, then will use the dock to cut the 5 slat holes tomorrow for each end of the shelves.
The inventor is Ramon Valdez, and you can look for the video. Link to the website below.  You can buy the plans or a complete unit.  I made mine in about 1.5 hours from pieces I had laying around.  I think this will be very handy.
Dock for Domino 500

 

[MikeGE]

I saw Ramon's dock on YouTube, but the shipped cost is prohibitive for those of us in Europe.

Here is a different version, which I prefer more, that is available in Europe significantly less expensive.

 

[Redromad]

You can just order the plans

RR

 

[ChuckM]

Not that I need a dock for my Domino machine, but if I wanted to make one, what is so complicated about the housing that a woodworker would need to follow a plan to make this kind of fixture?

 

[fignewton]

It was easier to download the plans than to figure out all of the measurements of. the DF500, spacers needed, etc. But you could do it yourself…

 

[ChuckM]

Going by the pictures of the two different versions, the first one is pretty straightforward and doesn't need any spacers. It's just two boards (sides) positioned in a wedge shape. Once the base/frame is built, I'd simply use the actual machine to line up the sides -- no measurements, calculations or angles involved.

 

[fignewton]

There’s a small spacer piece on the inside that the bottom of the handle rides on so it doesn’t wobble back and forth.

 

[ChuckM]

Thanks for sharing that. My approach would probably have been different using wedged sides and a hole (the same size as the round end (red arrow)) in the bottom to keep the machine steady for the plunging action. The other fellow seems to use a knob for that.

 

[gunnyr]

Not that I need a dock for my Domino machine, but if I wanted to make one, what is so complicated about the housing that a woodworker would need to follow a plan to make this kind of fixture?

If I'm going to copy a craftsman's idea and use it for my benefit I will often pay for the plans if they are for sale.  Saves me from having to figure it all out on my own. Most of the plans are in the $5 -$10 range, I figure it's an easy way of thanking them for sharing.

 

[Rick Herrick]

Not that I need a dock for my Domino machine, but if I wanted to make one, what is so complicated about the housing that a woodworker would need to follow a plan to make this kind of fixture?

If I'm going to copy a craftsman's idea and use it for my benefit I will often pay for the plans if they are for sale.  Saves me from having to figure it all out on my own. Most of the plans are in the $5 -$10 range, I figure it's an easy way of thanking them for sharing.

Copy that.  Sometimes its about supporting the little guys.  Lord knows we already give enough money to the big companies.

 

[ChuckM]

Not that I need a dock for my Domino machine, but if I wanted to make one, what is so complicated about the housing that a woodworker would need to follow a plan to make this kind of fixture?

If I'm going to copy a craftsman's idea and use it for my benefit I will often pay for the plans if they are for sale.  Saves me from having to figure it all out on my own. Most of the plans are in the $5 -$10 range, I figure it's an easy way of thanking them for sharing.

It's not about copying ideas when we set out to build our own fixtures or jigs, but about confronting a challenge and developing our shop skills.

As a woodworker, if a fixture or jig like a cross-cut sled or shooting board, let alone a box to hold a machine vertically, is something I can make without hardship, I won't rely on plans. I prefer to have the experience of solving problems and building my skills, big or small.

As for copying ideas, perhaps the second person who makes and sells a similar dock can be labelled as such.

 

[Alanbach]

I bought the dock from Ramon last year for a project with a ton of long narrow slats that needed Dominos in each end. I had a lot to do so in addition to the dock I also bought a “Dock Plate XL” from Seneca. With the Kreg auto-clamp that I already owned and the additional stop that I purchased from Seneca I now have a complete solution that makes putting dominoes in the ends of long thin stock a breeze. With two stops and the clamp as well as the plate and the dock I can repeat this type of cut very quickly and accurately.

 

[fignewton]

Used it again this afternoon.  I have 30mm wide slats going into each breadboard end.  Because I can’t use the paddles for reference, I marked all of the ends.  When I was dry fitting, I found that I was off from flush on each end by a fraction of a mm.  I just took each end to the dock and moved the cursor right or left of the mark just. slightly and plunged.  Result— perfect alignment!