I am building a bunkbed. The head and footboards are 1.5" thick. The posts are 3" thick. How would I be able to cut the slots in the posts and have them align perfectly with the slots in the mating boards. There is no surface from which to register that I can think of. Has anyone simply used pencil marks as would be used with biscuits?
Domino question
- Thread starter Monju123
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Jesse Cloud
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- Jan 23, 2007
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Pencil marks work for me - I greatly prefer them over the alignment pins.
With stock that thick, you will want to use multiple dominos. The only really tricky part is getting the spacing between them consistent on both pieces. The thing o remember is that the centerline of the cutter is 10mm above the bottom of the fence the cutter emerges from. So if you want your mortise say 15 mm from the face of the board, the adjustable fence should be set at 25mm. A pencil line for this isn't absolutely necessary, but can warn you of potential problems if the tool isn't positioned right or if the stock isn't square.
If you are having problems fitting multiple mortises, cut one for a tight fit and adjust the tool to leave a little slack in the first one.
As with most things, it helps to try it on scrap wood first!
With stock that thick, you will want to use multiple dominos. The only really tricky part is getting the spacing between them consistent on both pieces. The thing o remember is that the centerline of the cutter is 10mm above the bottom of the fence the cutter emerges from. So if you want your mortise say 15 mm from the face of the board, the adjustable fence should be set at 25mm. A pencil line for this isn't absolutely necessary, but can warn you of potential problems if the tool isn't positioned right or if the stock isn't square.
If you are having problems fitting multiple mortises, cut one for a tight fit and adjust the tool to leave a little slack in the first one.
As with most things, it helps to try it on scrap wood first!
I built a cherry coffee table with an apron and stretchers from 3/4" stock. They were "dominoed" into the 2 1/4" square legs. I used the pencil mark method. I cut the domino slots to the next larger size to allow for error. Everything fit well and after gluing, there was still plenty of strength at each joint.
The only problem in cutting the mortises in thick stock is that you must keep the alignment fence retracted against the machine. You can still align your marks by looking from behind the machine instead of looking straight down at it.
Not sure if I exactly answered your question, but I am sure that someone will.
Neill
The only problem in cutting the mortises in thick stock is that you must keep the alignment fence retracted against the machine. You can still align your marks by looking from behind the machine instead of looking straight down at it.
Not sure if I exactly answered your question, but I am sure that someone will.
Neill
