Dominos on face of plywood for alignment - vertical cut

Van G

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May 7, 2012
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FesNewb! Building a torsion box portable workbench and wanted to use the Dominos instead of dado's.

Trying to figure out how to accurately make my Domino cuts in the face of the plywood so they secure the spreaders.

Using the 4x20 Dominos on 1/2 BB Ply.

Also, I assume I only want to go into the face of the ply 12mm and the balance into the spreader?
 
It is real simple. Draw reference lines on the face of the plywood where you are placing your cross members. Do not reference off of the domino fence. Instead reference from the BASE of the domino. This will give accurate alignment to your cross members. Reason is the distance between the bottom of the domino plate and the cutter is constant. Just bear in mind the side from which you are referencing the plunges and your cross members will be in perfect alignment. It helps to clamp something for the base rest on as the domino shakes somewhat. I use this method with much success and come away with very accurate results. Enjoy the domino as it is a wonderful tool to use!
 
That does not work well with 1/2" ply Tom as the base to cutter distance is 10mm. Nominal 1/2" ply is 12mm.  If you want to reference off the base you need to use a shim or compensate to center the mortice.
 
Little confused. I think the reference video that Shane gave works in my situation.

I'm plunging into the face of 1/2" plywood and going into the edges of 3/4" sides and 1/2" spreaders.

For the sides, am I not simply setting depth to 20mm, fence to 90, and board thickness to 10mm (3/4" ply). Mark the boards, make my cuts into the 3/4, attach the base support bracket and make my cuts (vertical) with the fence against the edge of the 1/2" ply?

For the spreaders, I'm setting the board thickness to 6mm and when making my vertical cuts into the ply, use the tabs and middle line on the base on my marked line.

Sound right?
 
Since you're using the 4x20 Dominos, you'll set your plunge depth to 20mm though it will only plunge 10mm.  4mm Dominos are awkward to offset (putting more in one side than the other).

You can use the video's technique (thanks, Shane!) to place a mortise in the side of the ply.  It'll be 10mm up from your reference line if you put the base on the reference line.  If you use the marks on the base that indicate the center of the mortise, you can place the Domino face down with that line through those fence marks to center the Domino.  I think the latter is what you want for the mortises into the face of the sides where the 1/2" stock will be joining it.

For mortising into the middle of the edge of the 1/2" spreaders, you'll need to set the fence height to 6mm, which works on paddle fences.  If you have pins, you'll need to grind a bit of the fence or put an offsetting shim under the fence.

For joining the 3/4" sides to the 1/2" ply, the best thing is to use the fence in both cases.  Tip down the fence and set the thickness to 20mm; the mortise wil be 10mm down from the fence.  Mortise the edge of the 3/4" sides as you usually would.  To make the matching mortises in the 1/2" face, put the Domino face down with the fence registered to the edge of the 1/2" ply so the mortise is 10mm from that edge.  When you join, they should be flush.

Hopefully I didn't misunderstand what you're creating...
 
Referencing off of the base of the domino does work best with 3/4 inch plywood. Why are you using a mixture of sheet goods for this project. It seems to me that using the same thickness of materials would simplify the construction process and also have a more uniform appearance.
 
If we work at it we should be able to totally confuse you.  [scared]
If you use the Domiplate set for 1/2" ply to do the edge mortises on the 1/2" ply and then same 1/2" setting for the 3/4" faces you'll have perfectly flush joints. 
Because the 4mm cutters are 1/2 the length of the other cutters the mortise depths are also 1/2 the setting.
I could be missing what you are doing though.
 
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