Does anyone use domino tenons without a domino?

[sofa_king_rad]

Basically trying to I prove some plans I'm working on as a first time project that call for pocket screws. I'm looking at using mortise and tenon style joints for the main joints on the cross boards of the head and foot board.

I don't have a domino, but do have an OF1010 and was thinking about making or buying loose tenons. Or am I better off trying to make mortise and tenon joints the old fashioned way......accept I'll have to watch some videos on how to do that too

I don't have a band saw and the table saw I have is old, small, cheap and a little worthless.

 

[Bohdan]

Loose tenons fitted into router slots are a common way of doing joints but unless you have a jig set up to put the slots into the edge of timber it is far easier to use dowels.

 

[Birdhunter]

Mortise and tenon joints can be done with a drill, chisel, hammer, and a really good  hand saw. It is a tedious job. There are probably YouTube videos on the process. Practice on scrap wood as your first few joints will be sloppy unless you are abnormally gifted.

 

[Holmz]

... Or am I better off trying to make mortise and tenon joints the old fashioned way......accept I'll have to watch some videos on how to do that too

I don't have a band saw and the table saw I have is old, small, cheap and a little worthless.

Probably worth trying the old fashioned way. Assuming that parts are long means that you can always cut the tenons off if it goes pear shaped. You either use the table saw or a Japanese saw and some chisels.

There are dowel pin transfer jobs:https://www.jabetc.com/products/sel...um=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=297891351 if you are NOT using a DD40. People have used those for ages and some small Forstner bits allow one to make about anything.

 

[ear3]

Making them in the posts with a router is one thing, but you will have a difficult time positioning the router on the rails connecting the posts to make the corresponding mortise.  I think you're better off with traditional M&T joinery on this.  But you can use the router for it to make it faster.  And you don't necessarily have to do a full on, fully enclosed mortise and tenon for all of the joints (at least not for the top rail).  Before I got the domino, I made a couple of tables this way.  You start the mortise at the very end of the post (so it's not fully enclosed, but has material on only three sides), and then on the tenon, you're only removing material from two or three sides of the board.  So on assembly, you end up sliding the rail down into the open mortise through the top of the post (for extra strength, I usually doweled/pinned the tenon once it was in place).  All of this can be done with a router and an edge guide.  And you end up only having to square (or round over, if you choose to conform the tenon to the rounded opening made by the router bit) one end of the mortise.

I know there's a name for this type of modified mortise and tenon joint, but it escapes me at the moment.

EDIT: It's called a bridle joint.  Except mine did not go through the entire post, so I guess it would be a half-blind bridle joint.

Basically trying to I prove some plans I'm working on as a first time project that call for pocket screws. I'm looking at using mortise and tenon style joints for the main joints on the cross boards of the head and foot board.

I don't have a domino, but do have an OF1010 and was thinking about making or buying loose tenons. Or am I better off trying to make mortise and tenon joints the old fashioned way......accept I'll have to watch some videos on how to do that too

I don't have a band saw and the table saw I have is old, small, cheap and a little worthless.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Its easy to make a jig for routing mortises that will fit a domino.  You do need to buy a buy things, though:

Festool 469626 "industry standard guide bushing adapter"
a set of industry standard guide bushings, for example Porter Cable from amazon or Home Depot
a router bit the size of your domino (Lee Valley has a good variety of metric bits)
a router bit the size of the outside diameter of the guide bushing that fits the bit above

Altogether should be well under $100.

Now here's how:

The guide bushings fit on the bottom of your OF1010 (via the 'guide bushing adapter') and form a circle around the bit that is the size of the domino. 
You use the last router bit to cut a groove in a piece of 1/4 mdf or ply that fits the guide bushing.  This will 'capture' the bushing and the bit so you can easily and precisely run the bit through the slot and cut a mortise the size of the domino.  Take several passes for a good clean cut.
You attach the jig thusly:  Mark where the mortise should be on a workpiece.  Clamp a piece of wood, maybe 1/2 or 3/4 thick on each slide of the workpiece, parallel to the mortise.  Lay the mdf with the slot over your drawing, carefully centering the drawing in the slot.  Then shoot a couple of brads (or screws or whatever) through the mdf into the wood clamped to the workpiece and the jig is made.  To use, mark a centerline across the slot on the jig and a locating line on the workpiece where you want the center of the mortise.  Match up the lines and clamp.  Route the mortise.  Move on to the next piece.  Easy and precise.

Now, the fine print.  The slot needs to be a little longer than the mortise.  The router will stop when the outside edge of the bushing guide touches the end of the slot, leaving the edge of the bit a little short of that.  Measure the distance between the edge of the bit and the outside edge of the bushing guide and add that to the slot on each end.  So if that distance is X, your slot should be "width of domino" +2x.

Also, Edward Reno is right about the awkwardness of routing the mortise on the end of the long rail.  What I do is to clamp the rail with its jig to the side of a ladder.  Climb the ladder with the router and route from up there.  Sounds scary, but it works.

I know this sounds like a lot, but it is easier to do than to explain.  Google 'router guide bushings' to find some videos.

I did this and made my own tenons for years.  Then when I discovered the Dominos, at first I just bought the tenons.  Eventually bought the domino so I wouldn't have to make the simple jigs, but I if I were short on $$, I would probably still be doing this.

 

[sofa_king_rad]

it sounds more and more like the domino can be one of the biggest time savers in building furniture..

I'm a hobbyist and doing some things for home. While I certainly don't have piles of money stop spend....my time is often very limited and a tool that can save exponential time may be easy for me to justify... If it means that i get to put all my other tools to use more often and complete more projects in the time that I do have...then it may even add value to everything.

 

[SoonerFan]

Domino is a time saver for sure.  Like you I am a hobbyist and as such don't buy everything Festool has to offer.  I did buy a DF500.  For my joining needs it is simple terrific.  Covers everything I need simply and accurately.  I used it just this morning to make a frame for a peg board which it handled with ease.  It is certainly a big time saver and like you my time is often limited. 

it sounds more and more like the domino can be one of the biggest time savers in building furniture..

I'm a hobbyist and doing some things for home. While I certainly don't have piles of money stop spend....my time is often very limited and a tool that can save exponential time may be easy for me to justify... If it means that i get to put all my other tools to use more often and complete more projects in the time that I do have...then it may even add value to everything.

 

[JCDeLaney]

A ¼" router bit works well for 6mm dominoes, and a 5/16" bit makes a good 8mm mortise.

I must admit that I use these in a Multi Router setup - a very versatile tool that costs about three times what a domino machine does.  I do also have the Domino machine, though, and use it a lot, too.

 

[ear3]

Also, Edward Reno is right about the awkwardness of routing the mortise on the end of the long rail.  What I do is to clamp the rail with its jig to the side of a ladder.  Climb the ladder with the router and route from up there.  Sounds scary, but it works.

Now THIS I want to see pictures of.

 

[slalom]

Last fall I attended a chair making course at Lee Valley. We each started with floating tenons using a plunge router and jig. It was quick, about 30 seconds per mortise. Then we used the Domino 500. Amazing!

While both methods provided tight and accurate results, the ease of use and speed of the Domino made me want one. Unfortunately, my wife and CFO has yet to approve the purchase.

 

[pingvinlakrits]

Also, Edward Reno is right about the awkwardness of routing the mortise on the end of the long rail.  What I do is to clamp the rail with its jig to the side of a ladder.  Climb the ladder with the router and route from up there.  Sounds scary, but it works.

Now THIS I want to see pictures of.

Now THIS I want to see a video of.  [big grin]

 

[GarryMartin]

I can't find the source for this, even with a reverse image search, so apologies to them in advance, but I have this photo saved as  a "domino router jig". You can see in one glance hopefully how it works.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Grasshopper]

I say the simplest solution is:

Step #1 - Buy a Domino kit

Step #2 - Use the heck out of your Domino

Step #3 - If money is the issue, sell the Domino once your project(s) are completed

With Festool's awesome resale, and the popularity of the Domino, this would likely be a pretty cheap "rental".  Save the time from having to invest money and time into jigs/etc.