Dominoes

[Packard]

There are certain things I will buy from Harbor Freight, and certain things that I won’t.

Their “acid brushes” are perfect for gluing and are 36 for $2.99.  I keep a good supply on hand.

These were designed for acid flux applications for plumbing (soldering), but are the perfect disposable glue brush.

I pour a little glue into a disposable 2 ounce resin condiment cup and paint on the glue from there. The condiment cups have lids, but I don’t store glue in them.  I did drill a hole in a small piece of MDF as a holder for those cups after I knocked one over and spilled the glue.  The holder also as a groove to hold the glue brush.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in...-brushes-36-piece-61880.html?_br_psugg_q=acid+brush

 

[Crazyraceguy]

[member=74278]Packard[/member] I do the same thing, though sometimes from Amazon. I find the bristles to be a little long and bothersome, so I cut them off with a pair of scissors, which makes them easier to handle.
It's especially difficult to get them down into 6mm Domino slots, without mushing glue everywhere, having the long bristles.

 

[Packard]

I’m a dowel guy, so clearly some of the techniques do not transfer.

I do compress dowels to make for easier fit.  The water in the glue expands the dowels to their original size.

Would compressing the dominoes work also?

 

[Crazyraceguy]

[member=74278]Packard[/member] I don't know? They are made form Beech, and I think they are somewhat already compressed? I think texture on the sides of then is pressed in, similar to Biscuits, so it seems likely.

Most of the time, I use the little paddle thing in the handle end of one of those silicone glue brushes, for Domino slot spreading. Then I just drop it into a plastic cup that has some water in it. I keep that there and ready all the time, dumping and refilling at least weekly.

I keep mine stored in Ziplock bags, to keep them from swelling, or at least make the attempt.

 

[ChuckM]

[member=74278]Packard[/member] I do the same thing, though sometimes from Amazon. I find the bristles to be a little long and bothersome, so I cut them off with a pair of scissors, which makes them easier to handle.
It's especially difficult to get them down into 6mm Domino slots, without mushing glue everywhere, having the long bristles.

I, too, trim the bristles shorter, but I also have brushes that come with bristles that are already about 1/4".

In the last couple of years, I've turned to this exclusively for the dominoes:https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/supplies/applicators-and-cups/114776-glue-spreaders

 

[Packard]

I’m not sure about zip lock bags.  My understanding is that they are waterproof, but not necessarily airtight.  I store my biscuits and dowels in old pickle jars.

I was friendly with a deli owner and he saved a couple for me.  Much larger than the retail packaging.  I dropped one.  I now transfer smaller amounts into smaller jars.  Easier to handle and less glass to pickup if I drop one.

 

[luvmytoolz]

The Dominos must been assembled with just thoughts and prayers, as I was able to pull every single one of them out with pliers fully intact.

That's funny, because it is often discussed how difficult they can be to remove, during a dry-fit situation.
Squeezeout is a touchy subject. I, along with many others, get mystified by the typical "YouTuber" who makes a complete mess doing glue-ups. These guys who smear glue, to the point of running over the edges, before they even turn the parts back to horizontal, and do that to both sides.....are just wasting it and making a mess. This also causes slippage and misalignment problems, not to mention potential for finishing problems later. If the glue layer is so thick that you can't see through it, you are likely to have way too much. A consistent line of pin-head sized beads is all you need. Running or dripping is excessive, wasteful, and requires more time for clean-up. I would imagine the sponsors love it  [big grin]
This comes from years of experience in making things that have to survive a delivery truck ride and all of the "handling" it gets from that guy. The installers themselves are the next level of abuse. I can't say I have never had to fix anything, but the last one was because someone ran into it with a forklift.  [eek]

Too much glue definitely can be as bad as too little, I think though a lot of times people don't allow for the moisture in glue being wicked out into the timber. The sideboard I pulled apart was Jarrah, a notoriously dry hard timber, I always ensure a good glue spread with timbers like that as they literally suck the moisture out of the glue, drying the surface of it, so if the timber isn't "wetted" with glue it doesn't form a good bond. I've found over the years a lot of our Aussie hardwoods like Ash and Blackbutt are similarly dry and need a good glue application to hold a joint securely.

The Dominos in it had glue applied, but it must have been the thinnest of smears, as it just didn't bond at all and left the merest coat of dried glue on the Domino.

 

[luvmytoolz]

There are certain things I will buy from Harbor Freight, and certain things that I won’t.

Their “acid brushes” are perfect for gluing and are 36 for $2.99.  I keep a good supply on hand.

These were designed for acid flux applications for plumbing (soldering), but are the perfect disposable glue brush.

I pour a little glue into a disposable 2 ounce resin condiment cup and paint on the glue from there. The condiment cups have lids, but I don’t store glue in them.  I did drill a hole in a small piece of MDF as a holder for those cups after I knocked one over and spilled the glue.  The holder also as a groove to hold the glue brush.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in...-brushes-36-piece-61880.html?_br_psugg_q=acid+brush

I buy these by the hundreds from Temu (yeah I know, dodgy company!) and use them for everything from wood work to resin work, etc.

 

[PaulMarcel]

The Dominos are definitely steamed and compressed. The texture on the surface is to capture glue even as it is inserted rather than just wiping it off. If you wet a Domino with glue and give it a few moments before inserting it, you'll notice that it is tighter. Crosswise cut a joint apart and you should see the mortise full except in the radius of the round edges of the Domino. I believe that is intentional to allow glue to escape if you fill it too much; at least that's how it works for me so I'll believe it.
I used to use those flux brushes, too, but it can be annoying with losing bristles. I recently got the Rockler Domino Brushes and they are a treat for applying glue in the mortises. Works well with their glue keeper since the underside of the lid has 2 slots for brushes to keep them from rolling around.
As for the wider mortises, it can be useful to make one pair exact-fit while all the others are exact-fit across from a medium-fit mortise. This way the exact pair do the placement and the others simply go together without fuss. I rarely use the wider settings.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I’m not sure about zip lock bags.  My understanding is that they are waterproof, but not necessarily airtight.  I store my biscuits and dowels in old pickle jars.

I was friendly with a deli owner and he saved a couple for me.  Much larger than the retail packaging.  I dropped one.  I now transfer smaller amounts into smaller jars.  Easier to handle and less glass to pickup if I drop one.

They may not be air-tight, it's just sort of a mind game, in an attempt to do what I can.
The company buys me 6mm Dominos in the big box, which has 6 bags inside. I only open one at a time and pour that bag into a gallon size ZipLock. I keep the rest in a Systainer. I would be way to nervous about a glass jar, maybe some kind of plastic? Tupperware type canister?

 

[ChuckM]

If the DF500 came to existence at that time, I'd have used dominoes instead of circular discs to reinforce this large poster frame:

[attachimg=1]

Very clever.  I would not have thought of that.

This fellow shares a few of his thoughts about reinforcing miters at 12:30 in this video:

 

[PaulMarcel]

Charles Neil did all his miters with discs like that. So quick to do with a decent assortment of Forstner/flat-bottom drill bits. Matching hole-saw bits definitely make it faster (assuming you can get the dang disc out of the hole saw!)
Obviously, ChuckS would prefer what is effectively a puck in the corner...

 

[Packard]

Charles Neil did all his miters with discs like that. So quick to do with a decent assortment of Forstner/flat-bottom drill bits. Matching hole-saw bits definitely make it fassuming you can get the dang disc out of the hole saw!)
Obviously, ChuckS would prefer what is effectively a puck in the corner...

Actually, my cheap (Irwin) spade bits will cut discs like that from 1/4” plywood. But note that Irwin makes two styles of spade bits.  Ones that have the outside spurs will work for this.

And ones without the spur, which will not work for this (Irwin Speed Bore).

 

[ChuckM]

The spurs give you cleaner holes, not discs.

A circle cutter can cut discs, but use it with caution on the drill press.

 

[Packard]

I agree that a hole saw will be better suited to produce discs, but PaulM suggested forstner bits, which also have spurs for cleaner cuts. It is a serendipitous side product of these spurs that allows to make the discs.

And while I have several hole saw blades, none are in the smaller sizes.  The smallest size I use if for installing lock sets (about 2.125” I believe).

I just made some test cuts on nominal 1/4” plywood (available at Lowes) that has an actual dimension of 0.180” thickness.

If I cut the disc free with a 2” forstner bit, It reduces the thickness to 0.094” thick at the point that the disc is released from the parent stock.

With the spade bit, I end up with 0.080” drilling from one side.  If I just score the circle with the bit and then flip it over, I end up with a disc that is 0.165” thick.  I would end up with that regardless of what the thicknesss of the original stock.

I did not try cutting from both sides on the forstner sample because, as you can see in the photo, the center hole became enlarged too much to allow registration. 

 

[ChuckM]

The smallest hole saw I have is 1" dia.

[attachimg=1]

 

[PaulMarcel]

The spade-bit spur would work for thin discs. Usually, I put in a thicker disc. The trick I got from Charles was to pick the flat bit that works best and, assuming you don't have a similarly sized hole saw, use that bit to mark the disc stock. Then bandsaw out the disc. What's helpful here is you can easily adjust the thickness of the disc by drilling down until the left-over is the thickness you want before bandsawing out. I wouldn't do that for a 12+ disc project, but a frame needing 4 is totally fine.
I've also cheated using a Forstner/flat-bit to create a recess on the miter then tossed a washer in there. Bury the washers with epoxy mixed with filler and it is a rock.

 

[Packard]

The problem with using a hole saw for this application, is that you would need either a forstner bit or a spade bit to cut the relief.  The forstner bit is, without doubt, a better choice than the spade bit for cutting the relief.  My spade bits have a very substantial center point and that would be an issue for thinner materials.  It might be an issue for 3/4” thick material.  I would have to make a sample to be sure. 

It is a technique with some execution issues.  But one I will keep in mind for similar situations.

I should have noted that the discs I cut were done on a drill press.  I cannot see this as a reasonable technique drilling down freehand.