Domino Placement Question

[smirak]

All...so I can't seem to wrap my head around this.  I'm a new Festool convert buying a domino 500, TS55 and a Midi.  I have been in Europe the past week, and they were all delivered to the states while I was there.  So, I was able to unpack and actually use the domino yesterday.  I have a table project that I was going to use traditional M&T for, but this is so much faster/easier.  So, what I'm trying to do (that I can't wrap my head around)...I need to join the aprons to the table legs (small, end table).  My domino mortises are on my aprons almost centered (my stock was 19mm thick and I just didn't adjust correctly - I used 6 mm tenons/mortise).  I have the layout lines on my table leg where I want to put the mortises, but I want my apron inset about 1/8".  I don't know how to position the domino to make the mortises?  Actually, I can't figure out how to position the domino to see where my layout lines are using the plastic "sight window" thingie.  My legs are roughly 1.5" square.  I know this is most likely a very simple solution, but I just can't seem to wrap my head around it.

Any advise is appreciated!

Thanks all,
Kevin

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Kevin

Using the sight window is quite straight forward. You are best holding the stock in a vice or clamped to your bench top. The depth for the domino cuts into the legs will be greater than the cut into the rails.

I would try and mark a thin pencil line on the face of the wood which will be flat against the sight window. The lineneeds to be at right angles to the face edge and in line with the direction of the domino cut.

You will need to change the height setting between rails and legs. The cuts in the legs will need a greater height setting.

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What else do you need?

Peter

 

[ChuckS]

Hi Kevin

You will need to change the height setting between rails and legs. The cuts in the legs will need a greater height setting.

Peter

Or, attach a spacer to the baseplate. See FW 261, June 2017 for details.

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Kevin

You will need to change the height setting between rails and legs. The cuts in the legs will need a greater height setting.

Peter

Or, attach a spacer to the baseplate. See FW 261, June 2017 for details.

You can do this but it is not necessary as the height gauge is very accurate and simple to use. I appreciate that it might make swapping from legs to rails easy but this is not batch production.

Peter

 

[ChuckS]

Hi Peter,

Libby Schrum introduced/used that spacer technique even though she was building just one credenza, not a batch work in any sense. While it is true the table project may be a one-time project, it is beneficial to Kevin, as a new user of the DJ, to know other possibilities of setting the tool. In fact, I have always used the method you described for my previous projects, but for an upcoming build which is not a production work (none of mine is, as a hobbyist), I would like to try out Libby's. Whenever possible, I prefer not to measure. I'll save the spacers (to be made of MDF) for future projects.

 

[Birdhunter]

Peter has, as usual, provided good advice.

He and Halfinchshy have great videos on the use of the Domino. Calibrating the sight window before using the machine is recommended. The videos cover how to do this.

Practicing on scrap can optimize your technique before cutting into expensive wood. I'm building a bed, my first attempt, and I did 3 prototypes in preparation for the real thing and I've been using a Domino for years. The Domino is a wonderful tool, but getting the best results requires really good technique.

Please post photos of your project.

 

[smirak]

Thanks all so far.  I guess what I couldn't wrap my mind around was where to mark the legs!  I wasn't even thinking and was wondering how I was going to make sure I was right at my mark.  Now, mark the legs at the right angle to where my mortises will actually be...(insert dumb blonde moment here)...

Just so I understand correctly...
Leg is 1 1/2" square.  Mark my locations for where I want the mortises to be...in my case, 3/4" down and 1 5/8" down (I think is what I have).  That's where my sight window will line up to put them in line (horizontally) with where I want them.  Then, adjust the fence height to be where I want them vertically.  If I remember correctly, the witness mark (my mark) is the center of the mortise both width and height, correct?  If that's the case, then I'd want my height gauge to be 1/8" higher than where I would normally put them, thus correcting for the 1/8" reveal, correct?

Thanks,
KS

 

[Gregor]

If I remember correctly, the witness mark (my mark) is the center of the mortise both width and height, correct?

Only for width, the height (distance of the mortice center from the corner used for referencing) is set through the fence height setting.

 

[smirak]

Thanks for all the responses.  I cut my mortises, but wasn't paying attention and just rotated my piece 90 degrees toward me.  The distance wasn't an issue and was only off a mm or so.  However, what I didn't realize was that my mortises now intersect each other and I have to trim my tenons a bit so they don't "meet" in the (now) intersecting mortises.  Not a huge issue and  definitely a learning experience.

 

[Stone Message]

Thanks for all the responses.  I cut my mortises, but wasn't paying attention and just rotated my piece 90 degrees toward me.  The distance wasn't an issue and was only off a mm or so.  However, what I didn't realize was that my mortises now intersect each other and I have to trim my tenons a bit so they don't "meet" in the (now) intersecting mortises.  Not a huge issue and  definitely a learning experience.

I do this quite often. Taking a huge amount of care you can trim the dominos at 45 degrees to make a proper job of it.

Peter

 

[Gregor]

Thanks for all the responses.  I cut my mortises, but wasn't paying attention and just rotated my piece 90 degrees toward me.  The distance wasn't an issue and was only off a mm or so.  However, what I didn't realize was that my mortises now intersect each other and I have to trim my tenons a bit so they don't "meet" in the (now) intersecting mortises.  Not a huge issue and  definitely a learning experience.

Other option is to re-cut one of them after having inserted the domino into the other.