Domino Adjustments

[BoulderBay]

All,

This is my first post, having lurked here for the past week or so. I would like to thank everyone for all the posts as they are very informative and have already helped me a lot. I own quite a few Festools and, like all of you, love the quality and precision of these tools.

I purchased the Domino some months ago and just had a chance to use it. I have a few question for those with more experience:

1) The height adjustment is set for Metric and not Imperial thickness. For example the 20mm is close to 3/4", but does not center the Domino.  When it is not dead center one has to keep track of which side of the wood you registered against. I have even played around with putting masking tape on the base to bring it closer to centering the mortise.  The little "stair" device that sets the height appears to be quite simple and it would be nice if an Imperial one could be made available and a means to micro adjust this. Am I missing something here that will make it easier to center?

2) The height adjustment is  secured via a lever, which has losened up on me during a small production run which caused the mortise to be off. When I was at the AWFS, where I was introduced to this fine machine, they cautioned against over tightening this, saying "snug" was good enough. I do not want to break it, so is there any advise on this? (One of the posts on this forum saved my work by suggesting filling the incorrect mortise by gluing in a domino. Great idea, and THANKS!)

3) I purchased the centering guide (not sure of the exact name of the accessory) and it helped with centering the domino in a 3/4 x 1 1/2 stock that I using to assemble a face frame. It would have been much easier if the device had the capability of automatically centering by moving both guides in with an adjustment screw. Again, am I missing something?

4) I love these tools...

Thanks for your time,

Russ

 

[Hastings]

Russ:

For 3/4" stock, I use the 20mm setting. Yes, I know it's not perfectly centered, but it is close enough. And, it does require you to note the reference surface before plunging away. I usually lay out my frames, picking the grain I want and making sure any unwanted blemishes are not on the front and then put an "R" in pencil so I know it's the reference surface. It seems to me that you would want to do this anyway and relying on the domino to be perfectly adjusted such that you wouldn't have to worry about the reference side seems a bit of a stretch.

Hastings

 

[Tinker]

As John Lucas has said, he almost never relies on measuring.  i have looked over many of his demos and adopted many of his techniques along the way.  eliminating measuring is one of them.  I do somewhat as Russ has said above.  I do not have the domino, but when i make my own mortice & tennons, i just eyeball center and then make all registrations off of the faces.  the M&T's may not be perfectly centered, but as an old carpenter friend used to say, "close enuf fer folk music."  The main trick is to make sure you register off of the proper side of each piece.  Lay them out and mark.  you have to do that with DT's no matter how you center or not center,; whether you do by hand, use a jig, or in my case, use a Rat.  If you don't register properly, you end up with a lot of pieces to be used for future projects >smaller projects.
Tinker

 

[Hergy]

I have to agree with the other posters in regard to registering off the same surface. Without some sort of a micrometer type of measurement on setting the height, simply registering from a common surface on all parts is a whole lot easier than trying to find the exact center and really has no effect on the joint. 3/4" by my math comes out to be 19.23mm, the machine stop is 20mm, which is close enough for me. Also from some other posts I have read, don't hold your breath for any kind of an imperial add-on. I don't think this is on Festool's radar screen.

I do agree with you on the centering device. It would be nice if both sides moved, but again, not a show stopper. I find the center of the board, mark and line it up with the center line on the machine and move the sides in snug. This has proved to be close enough for me.

 

[BoulderBay]

Everyone,

Thanks for the replies. I am a rather novice cabinet maker (wannabe) and get confused by all the pieces needed for a larger project. Thus, my attempts to standardize the assembly pieces. But, as Hastings has said, putting the better parts outward facing makes a lot of sense. I believe that I need to take more time in the layout phase to eliminate the reference issue. I'll also do a search on John Lucas to find out more about his recommendations

In using the centerline as a reference I have had to use the wider domino mortise on one mating surface to allow for accurate placement. However, when using the built in pins for reference things mate perfectly without need for adjustment room. Does utilizing the wide domino settings for one side make for a weaker joint? Again, I am quite new to cabinet/furniture joinery and have no personal experience with traditional mortise and tenon to fall back on.

One thing I do have a lot of experience with is, as Tinker noted here: "If you don't register properly, you end up with a lot of pieces to be used for future projects >smaller projects."

Thanks to everyone,

Russ

 

[Eli]

You'll find some differences of opinion on the domino widths. I almost never use the narrow setting, I like medium. I find the narrow makes assembly more difficult than it has to be, and I haven't noticed any strength issues in the stuff I've been using it for, which is mostly carcass work. If/when I'm sticking table bed or chair frames together, I'd probably go for tighter tolerancing.

 

[eweber]

When I first got the domino I tried to use the height adjustment to center the mortise perfectly. I tried to use the pins as much as possible and to use the narrow settings.

After a lot of frustration and misaligned joints due to user error or sliping fence I settled on using the 20mm setting for 3/4" stock, marking the stock and using the medium width. Since then, things have been much easier and faster and I got to the point where I usually don't even dry fit unless I am doing a complex assembly.

Emmanuel

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Russ, I always mark the surfaces of the components, and have adopted the triangle marking method that many skilled woodworkers have recommended.  Marking became habit for me because most of my projects are made from panels glued up from boards rather than plywood, and purchased lumber is not consistent in thickness.  Marking as reference what will become the face side and placing this side down against the (pipe) clamp bars assures very close alignment of the finish side surface without use of any dominos, biscuits or splines.  You will also have to keep track of the reference surfaces and ends of the pieces of a drawer that you are making using a dovetail jig. 

Dave R.

 

[Lou Miller]

I just use the closest mm setting to whatever I'm working with and mark the faces. For the few times that wasn't good enough, I set the fence with my calipers. However, for those of you that want to get more precise with the depth settings, why not use some type of spacer? I'm too lazy to do the math required to convert to imperial... But, let's say you wanted the tool centered on 18mm instead of 16 or 20mm? In theory, couldn't you set the tool to 16 and then add a 1mm shim and arrive at your desired 18mm? Do the math to convert to imperial and insert whatever thickness you'd need (feeler gauges would probably work), or am I missing something?

Also, couldn't you remove the spacer block (I don't the name of the part) and shave down the 20mm surface until it gave you exactly 3/4", or whatever you wanted?

I'm just tossing those out there as ideas for whoever wants them. I seriously doubt I'll ever do either though. I'm fine with the tool the way it is.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Looks like another use for a "John Lucas shim pack" - samples or cutoffs from (Formica type) laminate materials.  I gave up worrying about centering in the thickess.  I either 1) place the finish surface of the workpiece up (and overhanging the MFT) and place the fence/baseplate of the Domino to reference on top of the workpiece, or 2) place and clamp the finish surface of the workpiece down on my MFT and also reference the Domino off the top of the MFT (raising the base plate of the Domino to ensure it is not causing the Domino to reference off the backside of the workpiece.  Several of my applications have involved reinforcing plywood or particle board shelving with ~1" thick X 1 1/2" to 2" H edging boards of hardwood.  Referencing off the MFT top ensures everything will line up irrespective of the thickness and depth of the edging pieces (which varied somewhat since I was mostly using leftovers to reinforce "one-of-a-kind" shop and closet shelves and did not much care about the actual dimension).

Dave R.

 

[BoulderBay]

Thanks again to everone who has take the time to reply.

It would seem that I was attempting to make things more complicated than they needed to be. Reinforcing some of the comments here about using the wider domino settings to accomplish easier fitting/alignment is information from Festool's FAQ's on the Domino. I had not read them, but when directed there by another posting concerning bit sharpening I read them all. One specifically mentions the fact that the majority of strength is obtained by the face glue joint. Thus, lending yet further creedence to the general concensus here.

Thanks,

Russ

 

[Ted Miller]

Russ, Make sure that your domino is set up correctly. I had to adjust the pin and the guide when I received mine. I thought myself that the medium width cut was needed to get your work precise. But after fine tunning the domino now I only use the narrow cut for all the bits with zero problems.

I always use a pencil mark for my plunges and never use the pins, but thats my way.

I do plunge a bit deeper if I can on some parts for added glue space...