"Dry fit" Dominos

[EdL]

Since the Domino is designed to be a tap fit in the slot and removal is a pain during when doing a dry fit pre-assembly. How about Festool coming out with some reuseable plastic Dominos that are a slip fit into the slot? This would make life much easier when doing a dry fit.

I know another option is to slightly sand down some Dominos for this purpose.....but that isn't any fun. If they aren't kept seperate from the "good" Dominos or really well marked, well they get used when they aren't supposed to.

Ed

 

[bruegf]

Seems like a pair of pliers would be easier for me to keep track of than a set of special undersized dominos.  I'd lose those in about 10 seconds flat!

Fred

 

[ROb McGilp]

Hi Ed,
From my experience, if you have to tap the dominoes into the mortise, something is not right. They should slide in, possibly with some resistance if they are at all swollen. My solution for this when coditions are condicive to Euro Beech swelling is to either Nuke some dominoes for about 15 sec in a microwave, or place them in a warm dry place for about 3-4 hours. (Possibly overnight before you need them?) They usually slide in and out as they should. Try measuring the domis with a dig. caliper pre and post drying and see what they read. I think you'll be surprised.
I have to say, though, that it would be nice if Festool provided Silica gel and/or a seal around the top of the storage systainer.

Regards,

Albert

 

[Michael Kellough]

Maybe it is not the faces of the Dominoes that are tight but the ends in a tight mortise. I often find that a Domino that is tight in a narrow mortise slides easily into a wider mortise so I suspect a couple swipes of the edges of the Domino on sandpaper will make a sufficient difference without affecting the fit.

 

[Christian93117]

EdL,

Thank you for your post. I am in Germany right now and will talk to the product management department
about your idea. I will also bring up Albert's Silica gel idea.

Christian

 

[Raf]

You can also drill two holes in a few domino's for dry fit.

It's easy to remove a domino that way (metal pin through domino to remove) and they will not get mixed with normal domino's because of the holes.

 

[Tezzer]

You can also drill two holes in a few domino's for dry fit.

It's easy to remove a domino that way (metal pin through domino to remove) and they will not get mixed with normal domino's because of the holes.

Tip of the year  ;D ;D ;D ;D thanx Raf

 

[Bob Childress]

You can also drill two holes in a few domino's for dry fit.

It's easy to remove a domino that way (metal pin through domino to remove) and they will not get mixed with normal domino's because of the holes.

Brilliant. Tezzer, why didn't you think of that?  ;D  I'll make some this very afternoon.

 

[glenhyrst]

I've just received my Domino and note the tight fit of the 5mm domino. 
However, this is not surprising as most of the dominos weigh in at >5.0mm thickness (av around 5.05mm, range 5.00-5.08mm) whereas the mortice "width" is around 4.97mm.
The domino moisture content is off my moisture meter scale at

 

[Warrior]

If the mortises cut by the cutter are undersize and the dominoes are oversized is it any wonder why they are so tight? It seems to me that the dominoes should be milled under sized to allow room for glue and ease the need for dryfitting. I myself have been dryfitting less or milling the mortises in the wide setting because of the tightness of the dominos.
I think that this is an issue of great importance and Festool needs to deal with it promptly. You should not have to persuade the domino into the mortise with a mallet.(Period.) 5 mm mortise=4.95 mm domino.

If the pressed ribs on the domino are to allow room for glue, does that mean that the rest of the joint is glue starved?

I think that this is one reason that some of us are making our own dominoes.

This is an easy fix for Festool. Do it.

Thanks
Eiji

 

[glenhyrst]

With regard to the 5mm domino, not only is it thicker than the smallest mortice but it is also wider by 0.5 to 0.9mm.  This explains why it's easier to fit into the wider mortises.
Hardly surprising then that it is a tight fit, and this is with

 

[maxtool]

I've been using my domino for a few years now with no problem BUT today I was gluing up a simple ( thank goodness) butt joint with some 20 mm cherry and on each piece one of the 5mmx30mm dominos split the wood!!! I had never experienced this so I checked my cutter (yep, it was the 5mm bit) and measured the dominos. They were 5.09 mm.

Any advice?

 

[peter halle]

You might want to try microwaving your dominos if they are too tight.  Several here have had success doing that and reducing the swelling that sometimes occurs.  I have a bag of about twenty that were too large for the mortises that I am saving to do that with.

Good Luck!

Peter

 

[Theshipstore]

I did have swelling issue here on Long Island surrounded by water. I have for a while now been vacuum packing my domino's at the end of the day .
I use alot of 5mm Domino's and this has helped alot.
For my dry fit Domino's I have a 12 piece set marked with red sharpie on the ends and stored separately from the rest.
For me this storage method has helped alot and I only have to listen to my wife complain when I use her food saver vacuum packer

Sal

 

[upscale]

I know another option is to slightly sand down some Dominos for this purpose.....but that isn't any fun. If they aren't kept seperate from the "good" Dominos or really well marked, well they get used when they aren't supposed to.

I know it's not your choice, but I do keep a set of slightly sanded Dominos available for dry fitting. Identifying them is as easy as seeing the black X on both sides left by a marker. And, it was pretty easy getting into the habit of using and laying aside of these special Dominos.

 

[Stone Message]

EdL,

Thank you for your post. I am in Germany right now and will talk to the product management department
about your idea. I will also bring up Albert's Silica gel idea.

Christian

Hi Christian

I think that although the idea of plastic 'dry fit' dominos sounds good they will not be cheap to make. Injection moulding costs for a relatively low production run might be disappointing. I have sanded down some normal dominos, marked them with an indelible red felt tip marker and keep them on top of the plastic bag containing the same size domino in the systainer. the Domino system is so good that 9 times out of 10 there is no need for a dry fit stage and so they are not used more than once a week.

The gentleman who is worried about expansion of the dominos might live in a humid area. I keep my dominos in their original plastic bag but put a clip (sort of thing used in your freezer) to keep the bag air tight.

One new use for plastic dominos might be in the construction of items using 'plastic wood'. Quite a few retailers are selling plastic sheet and moulded sections which, I think, are made from recycled plastic. The plastic is machineable (can be sawn and dominoed) and so plastic dominos might be useful provided a suitable glue could be identified. Ideal for sheds, saunas, swimming pools and so on.

Peter

 

[Alan m]

lamello has biscuits that have barbs to clamp the joint without clamps
i wish festool would make some

 

[Wooden Skye]

I use the Sipo tenons to dry fit and due to the different color you won't confuse the beech tenons and vice versa.

 

[jacko9]

Good ideas people.  I keep a few zip lock bags full of sanded (face and edge) dominos with the ends painted black.  I also cut a bevel on the ends.  I don't want anything too tight that might open the mortise in softer woods like Mahogany.

I also keep glass chipper pliers handy to extract any stuck tenons.

 

[sheeschen]

A suggestion I read here a while ago was to drill two holes through your dry fit dominos.  If they get stuck (say you don't like sanding them down too much), just slip a nail through the hole to help pull them out.  Makes them super easy to notice.