First project with my new Domino 500

[sprior]

A day and a half ago I bought a Domino 500, this is my first project with it and as you can see I spent some serious quality time with the Domino today.  The MDF on the bottom is just an assembly surface, the display shelf itself has no back.  My wife had seen this shelf in a catalog so I figured I'd make one.  I planned out every dimension, cut all the pieces to spec, cut the Domino holes, and will glue it up next.  Even after such a short time with the tool everything came out dead on aligned, only had to replace one piece because I cut the holes on the wrong surface (oops).  I used the TS55 with the parallel guides on the guide rail to rip 4 equal strips of MDF, then cross cut everything to length on the MFT/3 with Qwas dogs and Qwas rail dogs for precision, then the Domino 500 for the joinery.  Have the ETS125 for sanding.

Unlike most of you I'm not a professional woodworker (I'm a computer programmer by day), so I chose this project as a skill/confidence builder, plus an exercise in being able to sketch out and execute a project without spending way too much time overthinking it.  In the past I've done projects I've been very proud of, but spent way too much time stressing during the planning stage.

 

[Ashton]

That's great. Love it.

 

[copcarcollector]

Very nice work.

 

[cvn72]

I'm jealous.  I should get my domino out of the box and start using it.  It's kinda hard to give up the convenience of kreg pocket screws.

 

[sprior]

I have a Kreg pocket hole jig and have really liked it.  The problem I've had with it is when I want to join two pieces of wood at a 90 degree angle and use the Kreg clamp that fits into a hole and holds to the other side - the joint tends to wander a little when I screw the screw in.  I recently got a pair of Woodpecker solid aluminum box clamps which seem to help that a lot.  However today by my count I made 22 pairs (front and back at each joint) of Domino joints, didn't use any clamps besides temporarily holding them to the MFT, and every single joint is dead on accurate and I didn't split any wood by driving a screw too close to the edge.  I've been thinking about this project for a long time and until recently would have done it with pocket holes, but in this case the holes would have been on all sides so I would have ended up patching all those holes and there's almost no way they wouldn't have ended up showing.  So this particular project was the poster child for Dominos over pocket screws.  I also get my jollies knowing there is no metal at all, only wood in this piece.

 

[Jmaichel]

Looks awesome!
I actually just got the DF500 too but have not used it yet. Did you calibrate it first?

James

 

[Guilliaume woodworks]

Very sweet! What color you going to paint?    Btw pocket screws  can't be compared with dominos. That's like comparing harbor freight to woodpecker ....right?    Post pic of finished piece , I really like the design.

 

[Woodmatt]

Very nice job,I to have just done my first peice of work with the DF500 but its nowhere near as good or ambitious as yours. Can we have some pictures when its painted and fitted?

 

[sprior]

Didn't calibrate the DF 500, I made some test joints with scrap and they lined up when I had the Domino set to zero play.

I'll post pictures when it's done.  It's going to be painted black.  Not sure how soon that's going to be - I hate painting.  I bought a Rockler spray gun last Fall, but I live in the Northeast and we're nowhere close to be able to paint outside.  My goal is to have all the joints disappear so it looks like it was always one piece.  I'm wondering if I should paint it with maybe a shellac sanding sealer first to get a smooth hard base to paint.

The design is a copy of a unit I saw online selling for $200.  I'm sure it's a particle board piece shipped flat pack and has those cam fasteners so  the buyer can assemble it with a screwdriver.  I'm hoping my version will look better (it'll come down to the paint) and ignoring the cost of those fantastic and expensive Festool tools it cost 1 sheet of MDF + 44 Dominos + paint = less than $50.

 

[MrMac]

Wow, nice job! I've found that the DF500 has become a necessity. It took me a while to get onto how to use it, but when I figured it out it became a "go to" tool. I don't even consider other ways to assemble things now, just domino.

BTW don't hit a nail aint sayin how I know that  :'(  I couldn't blame anyone because I put the nail in. I call it a $48 lesson in paying attention LOL

How are you going to attach it to the wall?

 

[Makkus]

Hi,

Great work! Looks very nice. Will you paint it and how?

Keep us updated.

mark

 

[semenza]

I have a Kreg pocket hole jig and have really liked it.  The problem I've had with it is when I want to join two pieces of wood at a 90 degree angle and use the Kreg clamp that fits into a hole and holds to the other side - the joint tends to wander a little when I screw the screw in.  I recently got a pair of Woodpecker solid aluminum box clamps which seem to help that a lot.  However today by my count I made 22 pairs (front and back at each joint) of Domino joints, didn't use any clamps besides temporarily holding them to the MFT, and every single joint is dead on accurate and I didn't split any wood by driving a screw too close to the edge.  I've been thinking about this project for a long time and until recently would have done it with pocket holes, but in this case the holes would have been on all sides so I would have ended up patching all those holes and there's almost no way they wouldn't have ended up showing.  So this particular project was the poster child for Dominos over pocket screws.  I also get my jollies knowing there is no metal at all, only wood in this piece.

Dominos work great in combination with pocket hole screws. The domino prevents that little "jump" you are talking about and keeps the pieces together while you are putting screws in. For many things you can dispense with clamping because the screws provide some clamping action.

Seth

 

[sprior]

Ooh, that's a valuable tip SRSemenza - thanks!

 

[fshanno]

You've done extremely well.  I've had my Domino for years and I can't get results any better than that.

You may want to do some experimenting with sealing the "end grain".  Lots of different ideas, joint compound, shellac and so on. 

 

[peter halle]

I also now use the domino in combination with pocket screws but if you have the "jump / creep situation" while using only pocket screws you can use a couple drops of one of the instant glues just before screwing together.  That is some advice given to me a few years ago.

Peter

 

[stahlee]

Out of curiosity, do you guys put glue on the joints or just pocket screws only?

chris

 

[sprior]

I've used pocket holes both with and without glue for various projects - sometimes my desire to not deal with glue squeeze out was the deciding factor, but I'm interested in other opinions.

However a more relevant question for me is whether people take the time to paint the sides of the domino with glue or do they just squirt glue in the hole?

 

[jacko9]

I've used pocket holes both with and without glue for various projects - sometimes my desire to not deal with glue squeeze out was the deciding factor, but I'm interested in other opinions.

However a more relevant question for me is whether people take the time to paint the sides of the domino with glue or do they just squirt glue in the hole?

Nice work and a great use of the Domino.  If you intend to do a single glue up to maintain alignment, I'd use liquid hide glue and brush it on the hole and the tenons.  You have a lot of open time with hide glue and you shouldn't be rushed.  I'd make sure that you have clamping cauls cut to size and do a dry assembly for practice.

Jack

 

[peter halle]

Out of curiosity, do you guys put glue on the joints or just pocket screws only?

chris

I guess it would depend on the application and the woods involved.  Usually I use the dominos on the tight setting and then use pocket screws without glue if it is cabinet related.  Because of the fact that the screws will be going into non-end grain I am not worried about the strength.

Just me.

Peter

 

[Alan m]

i rarely glue pocket hole screws. it is usually end grain to side grain anyway so not that strong anyway.
with the domino i put the glue in th ehole and dip the domino in the glue. i use the middle setting mostly unless i need the allignment