Domino modfication to a modification

[chrisrosenb]

I recently purchased the Seneca Domino Thickness gauges.
Another threadabout wanting more steps in the gauges got me thinking about why the thickness gauges could not be made to be quick change. I have both Dominos.

It was a pain to swap out the OEM gauges with the Seneca gauges. Small parts & my old hands just do not work well together.
I figured I would never reinstall the OEM thickness gauges, I had nothing to lose, so I decided to remove the stops from the OEM gauges. It worked so well, I decided to also remove the stops from the Seneca gauges. Now I can quickly change between the OEM thickness gauges & the Seneca ones. I do not know how often I will use them,  but the quick change feature gives a lot more options for positive thickness stops. It also opens up the option of me making my own custom thickness gauges for different projects for the 700 Domino.

 
 

 

[Kev]

I'd love to see a pic if you make a custom jobbie [smile]

 

[chrisrosenb]

I just used a flat piece of soft maple wood cut to the same thickness, width & length of  the OEM thickness gauge. I used a 45 degree chamfer bit, with the bearing removed, to put the shouldered on the bottom of the wood strip.

The OEM thickness gauge has recesses in it for a ball detent catch, that holds the thickness gauge at each step.
I tried to drill the recesses in the wood at a closer spacing than the original, to see if I could get more steps on the gauge. The original sockets are spaced at 3/16", I tried to drill them at 1/8". It did not work in wood I used with the bit I have. If harder material were used & a better bit, I believe it would work & more smaller steps could be cut into the gauge. I was able to drill the recesses at the same 3/16" spacing. I am not sure that the recesses would even be needed if the custom gauge only had a couple of steps for one project. The ball detent puts enough pressure on the wood gauge to keep it for moving around.