It took me a while to make the decision, but as of this weekend I am an owner of the Domino.
My first few joins were a bit frustrating. The major problem I am having is vertical alignment issues. My procedure is as follows (i.e. parallel joining with 5/4 red oak with #8 dominos). Lay both boards next to each other, line them up, and draw a line accross the face of each toward one end. Then, start at the reference side (the side with the line) and make my first plunge. Then, based on my cross-stop settings, reference off the last mortise and work my way down the board. I would apply pressure downward on the fence handle and plunge by pushing in at the back of the machine where the cord is making sure not to plunch too fast. I would repeat the process for the matching board (except start at the other end). All of my cuts were with the fence on the good face of the board.
Results: As far as horizontal alignment (right to left) they lined up great because I had room to shift them a little (first plunge at narrow width and each one after the first was a little wider). However, I was getting a varied degree of height issues. At one end the boards were flush as I ran my finger accross the top, however, in the middle they were off about 1/16 of an inch and on the other end they were off 1/16 in the opposite direction. I had the boards clamped down to my workbench for each of the cuts and I applied ample/consistant pressure during each cut (at least I thought I did). I tried this a few different times and there was always a little variation (more than acceptable) during each join.
Has anyone experienced similar problems when you first started using the domino and what did you do to fix the issue. I would rather form good habits in the beginning so any advice would be appreciated. Not to mention, I would prefer not to use my planer after each join
I'm sure it is user error and not the machine.
Thanks.
My first few joins were a bit frustrating. The major problem I am having is vertical alignment issues. My procedure is as follows (i.e. parallel joining with 5/4 red oak with #8 dominos). Lay both boards next to each other, line them up, and draw a line accross the face of each toward one end. Then, start at the reference side (the side with the line) and make my first plunge. Then, based on my cross-stop settings, reference off the last mortise and work my way down the board. I would apply pressure downward on the fence handle and plunge by pushing in at the back of the machine where the cord is making sure not to plunch too fast. I would repeat the process for the matching board (except start at the other end). All of my cuts were with the fence on the good face of the board.
Results: As far as horizontal alignment (right to left) they lined up great because I had room to shift them a little (first plunge at narrow width and each one after the first was a little wider). However, I was getting a varied degree of height issues. At one end the boards were flush as I ran my finger accross the top, however, in the middle they were off about 1/16 of an inch and on the other end they were off 1/16 in the opposite direction. I had the boards clamped down to my workbench for each of the cuts and I applied ample/consistant pressure during each cut (at least I thought I did). I tried this a few different times and there was always a little variation (more than acceptable) during each join.
Has anyone experienced similar problems when you first started using the domino and what did you do to fix the issue. I would rather form good habits in the beginning so any advice would be appreciated. Not to mention, I would prefer not to use my planer after each join
I'm sure it is user error and not the machine. Thanks.
