Domino 1 MM Virtical Error
- Thread starter headhog70
- Start date
I bought this up in my post just below as well, as Chris mentioned you should always cut mortises registered from the good face, and I agree but for a machine of this value to have this sort registration error seems wrong, mine is also out by this sort of amount. I am building kitchen carcases and the boards thickness never varies thus it would be much easier to be able to reverse some of the panels knowing they would fit with flush joints.
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- Jan 22, 2007
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I'd be calling Festool Tech support to see what they say. They are a very helpful bunch of guys.
If the can't help you then how about epoxying a 1 mm shim to the Domino fence. I know nobody wants to attach anything to an $800 tool to make it work right but the Domino is a great tool when it comes to joinery
Dan Clermont
If the can't help you then how about epoxying a 1 mm shim to the Domino fence. I know nobody wants to attach anything to an $800 tool to make it work right but the Domino is a great tool when it comes to joinery
Dan Clermont
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- Jan 22, 2007
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- 1,134
rwdawson said:
I apologize, you are right.
Dave Ronyak
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- Jan 23, 2007
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I have not used those preset mortice height stop scales on my Domino, but frequently use the manual adjustment scale on the fence. I find I can get very close to center of the thickness of the stock using either of the following two approaches:
1) Measure the actual thickness of the workpieces with a metric caliper, then adjust fence of the Domino to one-half of the measuring thickness. For example, for 18 mm plywood, set the fence at 9 mm and of course, register the Domino fence off the top surface of the workpiece when cutting the mortices.
2) Mark the center of the thickness of the workpiece and then eyeball the center of the registration pins of the Domino with your mark. When using plywood it is pretty easy to see from the pin registration where the centerline (in the thickness direction) of the mortice will be located. I use this approach as a secondary check against any measurement/manual height setting on the Domino fence scale.
I recently had a need to join several pieces of 3/4 oak plywood to edging strips, some of which were 1 inch in width and others of which were 1 1/4 inches wide. For some of the plywood panels, the edging had to be flush with one surface of the plywood and for others, I needed 1/4 overhang of the 1 1/4 inch edging relative to both faces of the plywood. I used the above techniques to achieve the result I wanted.
Dave R.
1) Measure the actual thickness of the workpieces with a metric caliper, then adjust fence of the Domino to one-half of the measuring thickness. For example, for 18 mm plywood, set the fence at 9 mm and of course, register the Domino fence off the top surface of the workpiece when cutting the mortices.
2) Mark the center of the thickness of the workpiece and then eyeball the center of the registration pins of the Domino with your mark. When using plywood it is pretty easy to see from the pin registration where the centerline (in the thickness direction) of the mortice will be located. I use this approach as a secondary check against any measurement/manual height setting on the Domino fence scale.
I recently had a need to join several pieces of 3/4 oak plywood to edging strips, some of which were 1 inch in width and others of which were 1 1/4 inches wide. For some of the plywood panels, the edging had to be flush with one surface of the plywood and for others, I needed 1/4 overhang of the 1 1/4 inch edging relative to both faces of the plywood. I used the above techniques to achieve the result I wanted.
Dave R.
I find the Domino's stepped gauge to be of minimal usefulness. It doesn't set the blade anywhere near center in 3/4" solid stock or nominal 3/4' ply. A gauge and dial-in rack and pinion system like the one on the Porter Cable biscuit joiner would much more useful. I like to come as near to truly center as possible for a number of reasons. For instance if you register the domino (or biscuit joiner) from the wrong face you can sometimes get away with it if it is centered. To get around the shortcomings of the Domino's stepped gauge I have started milling centering gauges for different thicknesses. These are simply pieces of wood of that are milled to a precise thickness and used to set the fence at a consistent height. I set the the blocks and the Domino on a true flat surface such as a table saw top set the the fence height to the top of the block. I have one for true 3/4" and one for plywood nominal 3/4" etc. This is not fool proof as the actual thicknesses of wood and ply vary, but it gets you into the ball park quickly and can sometimes really save the day.
