How do I do this with a domino?

[Acrobat]

Hi, I'm a novice and am thinking of (one day) making a queen bed,  something along the lines of this (pic & plans from Plansnow - Cherry Bed) and would like to know how do I go about using the domino to mortise the inside of the top arched beam at each bed end, and keep the mortises vertical to ensure the slats run straight up and down? Is there a way to run a fence of some sort perhaps? Any hints or advice welcome and appreciated. I had thought to use the domino to mortise the top first then cut the arch, but by the look of it the depth of each mortise would have to be deep or probably deeper than the domino does and by cutting the arch after, would leave very little depth for a domino biscuit to fully insert.

 

[roadking06]

You could try and mortise the piece with the domino set at the deepest setting first before you cut the arch if its not too drastic. Then fine tune the domino length by hand for each slat.

 

[Scottrollins64]

using the wide setting in the rail and then the narrow setting on the slat might work.  You may have to trim the width of the domino to fit as the curved surface will be at an angle to the slat.  However that is not the problem.  The most difficult part will be matching the curve to the tops of the slats.  the plan makes this easy by using through mortices and extra long slats which float in the mortice.  I have done this and it is much easier than matching all those slats to exact length and curve.  I have made several beds like this and used different methods each time.  The easiest and cleanest looking is extra deep mortices and slats which match the mortice width and thickness. 

 

[Dan Lyke]

How about something like the attached sketch? The blue is your work piece, the grey is a jig to keep the face of the Domino oriented vertically (you could use the rail on the MFT for this), you account for the thickness of that jig in your fence height setting, the green is the Domino machine, the red is the cutter area. Set the Domino to plunge as deep as it'll go, and use the left (in this illustration) edge of the Domino against your work piece.

It'll take a little doing to get your spacing right, maybe as you step in put a Domino in each mortise and key the side of the machine against that Domino. You'll have to do something to make sure they meet right in the middle (or do some larger center piece that's just centered), but that seems like it'd be easy and fast.

 

[butzla]

I'm with Roadking, cut the dominos before you cut the curve.  Keep it simple.  Newbie woodworker's tend to complicate things more than they need.  If the domino slots aren't deep enough after you cut the curve,  Adjust the plans and go with a straight line rather than a curve.  This way will be challenge enough for you.  Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[greg mann]

I like a variation of Dan's method. Mark your domino centerlines and put the worpiece under the rail as if you were going to crosscut it. Use the left side of the rail to orient the Domino square to the workpiece, line up your centerlines and plunge the mortices. Depending on the amount of arc at each cut, you will have different depths and it would result in different length slats but you can storystick the needed lengths in a dry fit assembly.

 

[Les]

If you are trying to justify purchasing the Domino, I'd look for a different project. It could be done but it would require a lot more work than if you just use a router.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

If the curvature is too great (too short a radius), the Domino is likely not to be able to plunge deep enough when the machine and workpiece are oriented as described in Dan's method as modified by Greg, which otherwise should work well. 

What other tools do you have?  If you have a drill press or Shopsmith, you could mount your curved workpiece in a small machinest's vice and cut the mortices with an upcut spiral bit.  I used this technique to build safety rails for a child's bed.  Of course, a traditional morticing machine or hand tools could also be used.

Dave R.

 

[kdi]

Have built two of those beds out of oak, both before I bought my domino.  One for me and one for the son.  The domino won't work for the purpose you desire.  Not enough plunge capacity

The plans call for routing the slots, I used a hollow chisel mortiser, then cut the curves.  A laborious process.  Even more labor intensive would be a drill press and hand chisels.  If you don't have a h.c mortiser, follow the plans, build the jig and use a router.

The bed is solid and great looking.  A very satisfying project.  Good luck.

hth

 

[Cannuck]

The easiest and cleanest looking is extra deep mortices and slats which match the mortice width and thickness. 

I would suggest using the Domino to create through mortices, and then custom mill your slats to fit the domino mortice (i.e. round the edges on a router table to match radius of the largest Domino bit and width).  If you do your mortices on the deepest setting, before you cut the curve of the top rail, you should be able to mortice with the Domino on both sides of the board.  My experience with the Domino has shown it to be precise enough through repeat operations, that you could mortice both sides of the board to get a through mortice. 

The cap on the top rail will conceal the through mortice. 

 

[greg mann]

These slats don't need to be all that deep, IMO, and one always has the option of making the depth setting on the Domino deeper than would normally be used with a small cutter because you will be cutting air for a start. These are not really structural elements and to the extent they are there are so many slats that you don't need to be that deep. Just because the drawing shows the mortices thru doesn't mean they need to be.

 

[woodshopdemos]

You can  use the Domino just fine. Dont look at the top curved section of the footboard as a whole piece. Instead, consider it to be a number of indiividual joints. With that is mind,  fit the stave to butt smoothly into the arch. Pencil a mark half way of the wdith the same as you would a square butt.  The arch is so gentle, you will be able to snug the Domino mortiser against the arch -- even with a bit of a gap at various points. Allow for that by lengthening the mortise slightly.

 

[Acrobat]

Thank you all for your tips and experience guys. It seems there are numerous ways to do this project and I will let you know how I approach it when it all begins.

cheers