Domino - case construction with prefin ply

live4ever

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Dec 3, 2011
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Curious how you all use the Domino for prefinished ply case construction.  Do you only glue the dominos and not the edges of the ply, or use Gorilla glue instead of yellow glue, or make shallow dados?
 
Don't use Gorilla glue unless you have a lot of clamps.

I use, Dominos, pocket screws and Titebond.

Tom
 
I use dominos , and pocket screws. I glue the edges with wood glue. I use the LS130 with 60 grit Cristal to remove finish along the edge before assembly. 

Seth
 
hey make some special for Melamine. Can get it from Amazon.  I like the Roo -glue for reg wood and ply.

Have found that a brand called Gorilla Glue here is very similar to the USAs Roo-glue.
 
I've found Gorilla glue to be useful where I need to fill gaps, but not as good for Dominos or biscuits as a good grade of wood glue.

Gorilla glue expands and bubbles while drying. If you catch the bubbly excess at just the right moment, a single edge razor can neatly peal off the excess.

I don't use it where there are going to be any visible surfaces showing.

Also, it stains fingers an ugly brown. Plastic gloves are recommended.

I find that Dominos, no glue, and 2 brads on each end of a Domino will hold about as good as glued Dominos. I drive the brads with an air gun from the interior surface being careful not to use a brad long enough to punch through to the visible surface.
 
Gorilla also do a "white wood glue" which I have found to be very good. The bottle applicator and combined lid is also very good for applying a nice even layer.
I've found the yellow expanding product very good for exterior work but the joints should be tight as a matter of good practice.
 
Dominos with pocket screws or just regular screws - no glue. I've had a couple of incidents in the past when I've had to resize a case and not having glued the dominos allowed me to do that with ease.
 
Dominos with Titebond II extend is my first choice (no glue on the ply edges).

Jack
 
As much as I love using the Domino 500, long ago I concluded that is not the way I need to build cabinet cases. On the other hand, in a low volume cabinet business or for the DIY the Domino could be very useful.

My shop builds over 100 sets of cabinets every year. All use pre-finished plywood. The maple I buy factory finished, mostly 4x10 sheets, always the same brand from the same vendor so the thickness never varies. However, when a client orders other species of veneer not available factory pre-finished, we have a contract with a firm with an excellent spray booth and artists with spray guns.

Bottom line in cabinet making is that you need to drill the System 32 holes before finishing the insides of the cabinets.

For most cabinet cases we use automatic case clamps which ensure all are right angles. The back of upper cabinets fits into a dado. For uppers the sides, top and bottom all are joined with locking rabbets which remove enough of the pre-finish. I find Titebond II Extended work very well. I have four auto case clamps so we can keep pace with production.

Nearly all the base cabinets we build rest on "sleds" which provide the toe kick. Therefore the bottom shelf is also the cabinet bottom and is joined to each side with a locking rabbet. To ensure our base cabinets remain square the top is solid, but when those will have a sink fitted as part of the counter top the center of the cabinet top has been removed prior to assembly with a CNC router. Again, Titebond II Extended is my preferred glue.
 
Lately I've gone with dominos with glue only in the mortise for the sides deck and top.  No mechanical fasteners there.  I use a 1/4" back put a few small crown staples through the back into the sides bottom and top.

For all kinds of sheet goods. 

I've got plenty of clamps and for me it's a fun way to do it. 

 
For prefinished ply or melamine we use PL Premium in the 295 ml caulking tube. We have done failure tests with some of the other melamine glues & the results were hit & miss where the PL always pulls the face off the finished surface. We dado the backs in and also use the PL in the dado. Dominos produce a very strong joint but I think pin tacks then screws with PL is way strong enough and much faster.

Gerry
 
Birdhunter said:
I've found Gorilla glue to be useful where I need to fill gaps, but not as good for Dominos or biscuits as a good grade of wood glue.

Gorilla glue expands and bubbles while drying. If you catch the bubbly excess at just the right moment, a single edge razor can neatly peal off the excess.

I don't use it where there are going to be any visible surfaces showing.

Also, it stains fingers an ugly brown. Plastic gloves are recommended.

I find that Dominos, no glue, and 2 brads on each end of a Domino will hold about as good as glued Dominos. I drive the brads with an air gun from the interior surface being careful not to use a brad long enough to punch through to the visible surface.

Not that type they make a reg type that sort of resemble the roo-glue or tite bond.
 
SMJoinery said:
Gorilla also do a "white wood glue" which I have found to be very good. The bottle applicator and combined lid is also very good for applying a nice even layer.
I've found the yellow expanding product very good for exterior work but the joints should be tight as a matter of good practice.

thats the stuff Im talking about. I wonder if is another NAINA thing
 
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