I am trying to join several maple boards together. The tenons are so tight that I am having problems getting the boards together. If I try to remove a tenon, I have to use pliers to get it out. A tight fit is good, but too tight makes it impossible to assemble the piece. The Festool FAQ's said the the feed rate may be too slow, but if I go faster I do not get a nice mortise. I tried heating the tenons to remove moisture. This helped a little. Any suggestions?
Domino tenons are too tight
- Thread starter Sutes
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Sparktrician
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GPowers said:
It sure is here. By the way, rubber mallets were made for assembly chores.
[smile]
I've read where some guys keep a slew of spares that have had their sides sanded down for dry fitting purposes.
Recently, I did just that. Just used a block with sandpaper taped to it - 80 grit - and sanded each side a bit by hand. I was tempted to do this on my stationary belt sander, but it would be too easy to sand off too much.
Now I keep them seperate from my other Dominos. Thinking maybe I should mark them with marker as a reminder they are what they are, and not to use/glue them by accident.
Recently, I did just that. Just used a block with sandpaper taped to it - 80 grit - and sanded each side a bit by hand. I was tempted to do this on my stationary belt sander, but it would be too easy to sand off too much.
Now I keep them seperate from my other Dominos. Thinking maybe I should mark them with marker as a reminder they are what they are, and not to use/glue them by accident.
Kevin D. said:
That's almost a necessity, at least it is for me. The first time I practiced on some scrap wood with the Domino, I had to damage the two pieces to get them apart after dry fitting. I can envision myself having to damage some new project after dry fitting it together. Damned if I'm going to do that.
Almost always, I select the middle sized hole option on the Domino. At the very least, it gives me a little side to side play when aligning and gluing pieces together.
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If the tip is worn or broken you will have a very, very tight bit. The other thing to watch out for is swelling of the Domino's.
Keep the Domino's in a Zip Loc bag or something to help keep the moisture out.
I tend to keep some slightly sanded Domino's around for dry fits cause they go in as well.
Cheers
Dan
Keep the Domino's in a Zip Loc bag or something to help keep the moisture out.
I tend to keep some slightly sanded Domino's around for dry fits cause they go in as well.
Cheers
Dan
GaryLaroff
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For the big current project in mahogany I've been using a large number of 8 x 50 dominos in a double configuration and need to assemble and disassemble a section numerous times in the process of making and fitting all the parts. There is now a container with 24 heavily sanded dominos just for this purpose, each one with a big red X on each of the flat sides to keep it separate from the full-sized dominos.
For the final assembly I glue and tap the dominos into the first piece and let the glue set. Then I chamfer the end of the domino sticking out so as to simplify its entry into the mating mortise.
Gary
For the final assembly I glue and tap the dominos into the first piece and let the glue set. Then I chamfer the end of the domino sticking out so as to simplify its entry into the mating mortise.
Gary
GaryLaroff said:
I was about to do the same with my sanded ones to keep seperate for dry fitting. But I started to wonder whether dropping them in some old stain for a few seconds and letting them dry would work just as well. I may try this with a few. I'm just wondering whether doing so, even for a few seconds, will cause the Domino to swell up, thus defeating the purpose.
GaryLaroff said:
Now that's a heck of an idea. Do you chamfer them before you insert them, and how do you chamfer them, and to what degree do you find ideal. My guess would be just one fifth of the domino thickness along the long side on each side at a 45 degree angle hand holding them on my belt sander. Have you done these just for your final dominos, or do you have your dry fitters like this as well.
GaryLaroff
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Kevin,
The only time consuming or painful part of this procedure was sanding and rasping the dominos to make the loose-fit set. Putting a big bright red X on them with the closest Sharpie at that time was the quickest approach.
Most of the domino work on this project has been using double dominos to connect rails to stiles. The dimension of the mahogany is roughly that of a 2 x 4. The final glued dominos get tapped into the ends of the rails with a Japanese chisel hammer. There is no chance of blowout.
As the glue is drying on the dominos in the ends of the rails, the rails are clamped vertically in a vise and the leading edge of the domino, the oval end surface that will enter the mortise on the stile, is chamfered ever so slightly. Perhaps 1/32 or 3/64 of an inch. [wink] I do this with a sharp chisel while the glue is setting and it is a good time to take a careful look at the dominos and remove any exposed glue that squeezed out.
When I feel the glue has set, glue goes on the walls of the mating mortise in the stiles, the dominos of the rails are lined up with the mortises with the leading chamfer registering slightly in the mortise and I press the rails home. The clamps then go on quickly and the joint is closed with clamp pressure.
The sanded test-fit dominos aren't chamfered because I've already sanded the heck out of them. They fit.
Gary
The only time consuming or painful part of this procedure was sanding and rasping the dominos to make the loose-fit set. Putting a big bright red X on them with the closest Sharpie at that time was the quickest approach.
Most of the domino work on this project has been using double dominos to connect rails to stiles. The dimension of the mahogany is roughly that of a 2 x 4. The final glued dominos get tapped into the ends of the rails with a Japanese chisel hammer. There is no chance of blowout.
As the glue is drying on the dominos in the ends of the rails, the rails are clamped vertically in a vise and the leading edge of the domino, the oval end surface that will enter the mortise on the stile, is chamfered ever so slightly. Perhaps 1/32 or 3/64 of an inch. [wink] I do this with a sharp chisel while the glue is setting and it is a good time to take a careful look at the dominos and remove any exposed glue that squeezed out.
When I feel the glue has set, glue goes on the walls of the mating mortise in the stiles, the dominos of the rails are lined up with the mortises with the leading chamfer registering slightly in the mortise and I press the rails home. The clamps then go on quickly and the joint is closed with clamp pressure.
The sanded test-fit dominos aren't chamfered because I've already sanded the heck out of them. They fit.
Gary
Microwaving the 5mms work great and I'm not fighting with them anymore.
The 6mm dominos still will not fit. I have microwaved them twice for 30 seconds per turn and they are still about .74 mm too big, or the mortise is too small So much so that I have yet to join two boards using the tight setting.
My 6mm bit is brand new, and has been used to make 20 mortised or so.
Maybe I should try a longer time in the micro?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The 6mm dominos still will not fit. I have microwaved them twice for 30 seconds per turn and they are still about .74 mm too big, or the mortise is too small So much so that I have yet to join two boards using the tight setting.
My 6mm bit is brand new, and has been used to make 20 mortised or so.
Maybe I should try a longer time in the micro?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
PaulMarcel
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I have some bags of desiccant. Being in Arizona, I don't have much trouble with overly damp Dominos (glue seizing the instant you apply it is another story...) Try putting the Dominos in a ZipLock bag with a big pouch of desiccant. You can buy big cans of it from Lee Valley; the intention is that you toss the can in the drawer with your planes, whatever that is. [tongue] It won't instantly dry them, but next time you need them, they should be dry.
I almost always dry-fit a project together to test everything out and have also been frustrated with the tight fitting domino as it comes from the factory. If you are using the Narrow setting to cut the mortises, you should make sure to sand the edges (or sides, depending on you viewpoint) down so it has a little side to side movement so you can get it out after dry-fitting.
I have had terrible luck sanding the thickness down with the methods I have tried to date. I want to do this very precisely so I can make sure that my finished surfaces that I am test fitting will be checked for "flushness".
I think the next thing I am going to try is using some very sticky double-stick tape (such as Rockler's bowl tape for lathe work) and tape down a row of dominos on a scrap board and very very gently "kiss them" while going through a thickness drum sander such as a Performax. If need be, I will hot glue down some side rails of thinner thickness on each side of the row of dominos to help keep them aligned. Hopefully this will provide the gentle reduction in thickness I am looking for and will still give a set of dominos that is useful for dry fitting only. Has anyone out there done this?
I have had terrible luck sanding the thickness down with the methods I have tried to date. I want to do this very precisely so I can make sure that my finished surfaces that I am test fitting will be checked for "flushness".
I think the next thing I am going to try is using some very sticky double-stick tape (such as Rockler's bowl tape for lathe work) and tape down a row of dominos on a scrap board and very very gently "kiss them" while going through a thickness drum sander such as a Performax. If need be, I will hot glue down some side rails of thinner thickness on each side of the row of dominos to help keep them aligned. Hopefully this will provide the gentle reduction in thickness I am looking for and will still give a set of dominos that is useful for dry fitting only. Has anyone out there done this?
Wood_Junkie
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Umm...Mavrik said:
