Domino Insertion Pliers

[Kodi Crescent]

Am I the only one who has made a standard out of cutting the domino mortise on the edges of panels with the tight setting and any mortises on the face of plywood on the slightly loose setting?  Aside from avoiding any possibility of the hydraulic lock issue it gives me a little adjust-ability on glue up.

And for an insertion tool I use a round wooden mallet I made on the lathe from a log from my firewood pile.

I was doing that.  Now I use the tight setting and plunge on each side of my mark.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Am I the only one who has made a standard out of cutting the domino mortise on the edges of panels with the tight setting and any mortises on the face of plywood on the slightly loose setting?  Aside from avoiding any possibility of the hydraulic lock issue it gives me a little adjust-ability on glue up.

And for an insertion tool I use a round wooden mallet I made on the lathe from a log from my firewood pile.

I was doing that.  Now I use the tight setting and plunge on each side of my mark.

So you plunge twice for each Domino?

To each his own, but why don’t you just use the built-in medium setting?

 

[ChuckM]

I only plunge twice when I need to correct a misalignment.

 

[StevoWevo]

So I’m new to the domino and maybe I’m doing things in a not so smart way. So let me know. I was using a small dewalt clamp with the rubber grips to pull the stuck ones at first. You can rock it slightly sideways to get them started coming out. Works OK without damaging any parts but a little time consuming.
Last week I started sanding a few down and colored the ends with a sharpie so I can use them for test fitting. I haven’t had to deal with a glued one yet but I’m sure there will be a liberal amount of cussing applied when that happens

 

[Gregor]

Dominos are made of wood. Drying them (microwave- or normal oven) is said to reduces their size do make them easier to remove after dry-fit - without introducing a need to mark them to not accidentely glue something up with too-small sanded down ones...

 

[FestitaMakool]

Could an edge clamp work?
This means that you are able to screw the Domino slowly in and let the glue slowly fill backwards avoiding blow out:
https://www.dorchdanola.dk/brands/bessey/enhandskanttvinge-bs-ekt55.htmlhttps://www.bessey.de/en-GB/BESSEY-Tool/Products/Clamping-Tools/Edge-clamps/Edge-clamp-KT5

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Short microwave treatment (or a bit longer in >100°C oven) adjusts the domino size to make it fit easier, people claim.

I have done that with "biscuits" for years. It does work, but really only if they have swelled from humidity. I have always tried to keep them sealed in zipper bags to minimize that though.
Since getting a Domino, my biscuit use has dropped to nearly zero, and I haven't had Dominos swell like that. Maybe they are more stabile? or I have gotten better at keeping them sealed up.

 

[rst]

I keep mine in sealed bags and I keep dissecant bags in the systainer.

 

[grbmds]

Just wondering if damaging the edges or faces of a board from inserting a Domino is a large enough problem to warrant doing anything special. To pull them out after test fitting I use a locking pliers (Milwaukee I think) and that is a necessary thing. I can't remember ever damaging the board I'm joining. It's important to be careful when inserting the Dominos but, other than that ... ????

 

[Michael Kellough]

Short microwave treatment (or a bit longer in >100°C oven) adjusts the domino size to make it fit easier, people claim.

I have done that with "biscuits" for years. It does work, but really only if they have swelled from humidity. I have always tried to keep them sealed in zipper bags to minimize that though.
Since getting a Domino, my biscuit use has dropped to nearly zero, and I haven't had Dominos swell like that. Maybe they are more stabile? or I have gotten better at keeping them sealed up.

I’ve never found biscuits that fit any way other than too loose.
If I had biscuits that fit snuggly I might have held off buying the Domino.
Well, no.
But I would have felt a little conflicted about it. At least until the first time I used the Domino.

 

[flair woodworks]

I learned the hard way when building boxes with dominos to always install the dominos in the component with mortise in the edge, using a small metal hammer to tap it home so I can hear when it’s fully seated. Then the joint is put together. This has resulted in no inadvertent through domino joints.