Domino for bookcase shelves?

[camhabib]

Building a built in bookcase and considering using Dominos to secure the shelves since I recently acquired the machine. Sides are 3/4” ply, shelves are 32”x11.5” 1” ply. Would be my first time doing this and I have some questions.

1) What’s the best way to get consistent positioning of the Dominos? There won’t be a surface I can directly use as a reference, so my plan was mark the height of each shelf across the board for the vertical positioning and use a spacing stick to get consistent horizontal placement from the front edge. Could make a similar spacing stick for height but wondering if there’s just a better way overall?

2) What size and how many Dominos per side of shelf? Was thinking 2x 8x40.

3) How deep do I go on the sides (3/4”)? Cutting 20mm will go through, which is an issue since there’s an exposed side, but 10mm somehow doesn’t seem enough.

4) Are Dominos even the best choice for this? Would it just be better to run a dado instead? Am I just trying to reinvent the wheel here?

Thanks all.

 

[luvmytoolz]

As an avid booklover myself, I'd strongly recommend not fixing any of the shelves bar one in the middle, or ideally for aesthetics a little less than, the height of the bookcase for support.

And then use shelf supports in holes drilled at roughly 15mm spacing to maximise the storage. Some people make up timber slotted vertical supports, but for a single bookcase this size that's pretty overkill, and they can look bulky.

 

[camhabib]

As an avid booklover myself, I'd strongly recommend not fixing any of the shelves bar one in the middle, or ideally for aesthetics a little less than, the height of the bookcase for support.

And then use shelf supports in holes drilled at roughly 15mm spacing to maximise the storage. Some people make up timber slotted vertical supports, but for a single bookcase this size that's pretty overkill, and they can look bulky.

My preference is for adjustable spacing, but for aesthetic reasons, I was asked to make fixed shelf positions, consistent across the entire bank of units.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Fair enough then, for fixed shelves, my preference is always to fix them in a dado roughly 5mm deep at least for maximum rigidity and strength, as a row of books, especially if double stacked, can be an enormous amount of weight.

 

[woodferret]

...I recently acquired the machine ....

Welcome to the world of Dominos.

1) What’s the best way to get consistent positioning of the Dominos? There won’t be a surface I can directly use as a reference, so my plan was mark the height of each shelf across the board for the vertical positioning and use a spacing stick to get consistent horizontal placement from the front edge. Could make a similar spacing stick for height but wondering if there’s just a better way overall?

Pointing you to the old supplemental manual.
Page of interest (although the entire thing would be a thing of interest)

Making Carcase Butt Joints - Festool Domino DF 500 Supplemental User's Manual [Page 17]

Festool Domino DF 500 Manual Online: Making Carcase Butt Joints. Using tenoned butt joints is an effective method for constructing a cabinet carcase. The tenons provide a strong support for each of the horizontal partitions of the cabinet. The simplicity of this method is that you use...

www.manualslib.com

 

[SoonerFan]

1. You could spacing sticks to get the height correct for each shelve and then use the alignment guides on the Domino to get the correct spacing from the edge.

2. I think 2 of the 8X40 dominos would be fine but if it were me and I was using my domino, I would use three.

3. I would plunge 25mm into the shelf and 15mm into the side.

4. While I am a huge fan of the domino and think it would work fine, I would use dados for this project. For me cutting the dados on a table saw leaves little room for error and is faster to get the exact heights you need for the shelves.

Good luck and please post a few pictures when you complete the project.

 

[camhabib]

Appreciate all the replies. Unfortunately I don’t have a table saw large enough to handle these length boards, meaning I’d be doing the dado with a router. I’ve not gone that route before, wondering how feasible something like that would be with an OF1400 or similar?

 

[woodferret]

If using a router, skip the rail and guide and make yourself a dado jig for a mortising bearing bit. Faster and less faffing with the micro adjust.

 

[camhabib]

If using a router, skip the rail and guide and make yourself a dado jig for a mortising bearing bit. Faster and less faffing with the micro adjust.

Do you have any example of one? I only see commercial ones for sale, no real DIY ideas.

 

[woodferret]

Do you have any example of one? I only see commercial ones for sale, no real DIY ideas.

Adjustable Dado Jig

This adjustable dado jig allows you to rout perfect dadoes with pinpoint accuracy, and it’s incredibly quick and easy to set up. No more fiddling with a straightedge to get it positioned just right so the bit cuts exactly where you want. Just insert the piece that fits in the dado, and the jig...

www.woodsmithplans.com

That one doesn't bother with the bearing bit but rather uses a fence. You can choose to forgo adding a fence and just use a bearing too. Since your dados are so wide in this case.

Heck, you can even just use double sided tape and some straight scrap.

 

[ChuckS]

I've built shelves and bookcases using the dominoes alone, and yeah, all you need to build yours is to study the user manual or the supplemental manual.

Since using the DF, my dado cutters have been collecting dust. Why use dadoes when dominoeing is much quicker?

For strength and against racking, use 1/4" ply as a backboard. If all shelves are fixed, 1/8" will do.

 

[ReneS]

If you end up routing, I have built tee squares out of 3/4 pine and then routed into the piece that runs along the side of the board to be routed (the top of the tee, not the leg that crosses the board to be routed). That way you have a dado on the tee square that you can align with the layout marks for the dados on the vertical boards of your shelves. This would make routing the dados fairly easy and reasonably accurate. That way, you don't need a bit with a bearing. You just use a regular straight bit.

But as I figure you know, the challenge with routing dados is matching the dado to the thickness of the material.

If the shelving won't be secured to the wall, I agree about the backboard.

 

[woodferret]

The double fence style jig is useful for getting the thickness since you just set it with an existing board.

 

[ReneS]

Ahh, I see. Thanks, woodferret. I haven't worked with one, but that makes sense, and it would be easier to work with than a tee square jig, unless you got lucky and found a bit that matched your plywood thickness.

I just noticed the raised guides on the fences in the picture. With a top bearing, flush cutting bit, I am assuming you wouldn't need them.

Pretty cool. I always thought that type of jig would be difficult to make, but it looks like it is pretty simple and could be made with a few scraps.