Domino Production Setup and Glue Tips for chairs

[Van G]

Second project with the Domino and really enjoy the speed of the tool.

I'm currently building 2 Ottoman's and 5 chairs for our deck and I'm trying to figure out how I can use the Domino faster so I don't have to pencil mark identical cuts in the pieces.

Frame Rail and Legs:
1x4 rail & 2x2 leg. Rail butts into leg, top and dead center, using Sipo 6×20 x 40 tenons or 8 x 20 40. I'll do 15mm depth in leg and 25mm into rail so tenons don't collide.

I have 20 legs (2 tenon each) of this and would like to figure out a way to simply measure off the fence as opposed to hand marking each one?

From what I can figure, the stop pin and side stop pin don’t work well with the dimensions of material I’m using.

The best I could come up with was to use the stop pin on the base for the first mortise, and then the side stop pin (same side) set to a certain dimension for the second mortise. The side stop pin would catch the end of the material as opposed to catching the first mortise. My problem with the first mortise is I feel it's too far towards the center of the rail?

Back Leg Rails and Back Slats:
Same problem as above, I'd like to figure out a repeatable process without having to hand mark. The legs are 34" tall and have a curved back so I lack and end to get my first reference from.

Glue Madness:
Lastly, any advice or reference material for gluing large number of tenons? I did the Ottoman top which was 28 tenons and found I was scrambling to stay ahead of the glue. I'm using acid brushes to get coverage in the mortise and I also give each tenon a good coat of glue before inserting.

I'm pretty nervous about the chairs since they'll pretty much have to go together in one shot!

Cheers

Van G

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Hey Van,
I know what you mean, as fast as the domino goes, we always want it faster [cool].

One thing you can try on those legs is to make a little spacer from two pieces of scrap, one goes vertical, so it catches the end of the leg, the other goes horizontal long enough to establish the position of the domino fence, then just slap that on, snug the domi up to it and drill baby drill!

Also, you can gang up several legs and mark them when one pencil line if you have a good square or an mft.

For gluing, I have no silver bullets.  I glue the tenons into one piece first, then attach the matching piece.

Maybe the best advice, though you might not like it, is always do a dry fit.  You definintely don't want twenty wet tenons that aren't gonna fit. [eek]

Good luck and please post some pics!

 

[Trosey]

Van,

Get one of Rick C's self center jigs. It will make it a piece of cake. (BTDT)

Try 20/20 on the dominoes and then miter the ends after the domino are glued into the aprons.

Glue up the chairs in sections instead of "all at once".

I like to do the fronts as a unit and then the backs as a unit.  Then put them around the sides.

HTH

Trosey

 

[rnt80]

I'd use an slow setting epoxy for the glue up or something else with a long open time.  Trying to race against time during the assembly process is not a postition you want to be in...not that I've ever experienced that

 

[Van G]

Trosey - what is BTDT? I'm working on the project now so I likely don't have time to wait and order something.

Jesse, thanks for the jig tip. I'm still working through it in my head but once it clicks I'm sure it will be easy.

 

[Trosey]

Van,

BTDT = Been There Done That

I have built many chairs and stools using a Leigh FMT and also the Festool Domino. Using Rick's self centering guide is by far the easiest and fastest way that I have used. Especially since you want the apron centered on the leg.

http://www.dominoguide.com/SCGManual.pdf

If you have a thickness planer or drum sander then mill your apron pieces to 20mm instead of 3/4". It makes using the Domino metric stops/settings center the domino in the center of the stock a no brainer. I purchased the SCG last fall and it is a dream. Hardly a job comes through the shop that I do not use it.

Trosey

 

[jacko9]

Van if you don't want to use epoxy for your glue up, try Tidebond II Extend for more open assembly time.  I also glue the tenons in one half of the joint as I start the assembly.

Jack