How to domino two discs together

[cje]

Yesterday I started to cut the pieces for a toy for my grandson (soon to have his 1st birthday)

The toy is a kind of transporting bike, modeled after a type that was very popular in the past by dutch bakers and other trades- and salespeople.
Motion is leg-powered, as the Flintstones cars.

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The plan is for an MDF-version, nailed and glued together, I wanted it to be somewhat more durable, so I bought some panels  of strips of beech glued together.

The wheels will each consist of two circular plates of 18mm, put together to get 36 mm thick wheels.
This is my first project with the domino, I try to avoid screwing and nailing, and will domino all joints.
Now I need to align the domino mortises in the discs of a wheel in a way that these wheels join flawlessly. I'm puzzling what the best method would be.

So far, I considered three options:

• Clamp the two discs of a wheel, and domino through the wheel. Domino and wheel are made of beech, it might look well.
• Make a jig, alike the domino-plate, but having a two-pronged fork, in stead of a plate. The distance between the prongs will determine the offset of the edge of the wheel
• With hindsight, I could have dominoed the 'wheels' when they were still square, before routing the circle. That would have left no play at all for centering and routing the wheels

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The last option is gone, the discs are already there.
Am I overlooking some simple method to do this? Should I forget about dominoing the discs, and just glue them?

TIA, Karel

 

[jonny round boy]

Just glue & clamp them. No need for dominoes...

BTW, that's an interesting looking design. Can't quite see the picture in the photo. Please post more photos as you progress!

 

[AdamM]

I second...just glue and clamp them without Dominos.  They'll never come apart.

 

[cje]

Just glue & clamp them. No need for dominoes...

BTW, that's an interesting looking design. Can't quite see the picture in the photo. Please post more photos as you progress!

That's what I like about this Forum: drop a question and there will be an answer promptly. Even faster than expensive phone call to a call-center would be answered by a human being......
Thanks JRB.

Glue and clamp it will be.

About the design, this is a better picture:
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Downloadable for free,  here

It's in dutch and metric, but I think the picture wil speak for itself.

Thanks, Karel

 

[VictorL]

I would suggest glue square blanks first, then cut circle (wheel). It will save some time for aligning and glue up cleanings.

Good luck!
VictorL

 

[Sparktrician]

If you're really set on the idea of using dominoes, you have the radius lines in place already.  If you're certain that they're true with each other (comparing wheels), you might try swinging an arc 2/3 of the length of the radius (or use the Golden Mean proportion), and using the intersection of that arc and the radians as the point at which to line up the domino tool before plunging through the wheel.  You might also consider clamping both wheels together and plunging both simultaneously using a long stroke with the domino tool.  Just an idea...  

[smile]

 

[jonny round boy]

I would suggest glue square blanks first, then cut circle (wheel). It will save some time for aligning and glue up cleanings.

With hindsight, I could have dominoed the 'wheels' when they were still square, before routing the circle. That would have left no play at all for centering and routing the wheels
The last option is gone, the discs are already there.

You might also consider clamping both wheels together and plunging both simultaneously using a long stroke with the domino tool.  Just an idea... 

Clamp the two discs of a wheel, and domino through the wheel. Domino and wheel are made of beech, it might look well.

Did either of you read the OP? [poke]

 

[awdriven]

Cool project - does the front wagon section pivot so the bike can turn? (looks like a circle there on the floor, that could represent the pivot point.)

Count one more vote for just gluing the two wheel halves together.

 

[tbellemare]

If you want to make it look a little more modern, You could glue and then use through holes with flat head screws in a lug bolt pattern from inside and have exposed (lug) nuts on the outside. I, like JRB, think the dominoes are superfluous but the lug bolts/nuts would add strength and aesthetics.

Tom

 

[Sparktrician]

If you want to make it look a little more modern, You could glue and then use through holes with flat head screws in a lug bolt pattern from inside and have exposed (lug) nuts on the outside. I, like JRB, think the dominoes are superfluous but the lug bolts/nuts would add strength and aesthetics.

Tom

Cool idea!!!  I like it!!! 

[smile] 

 

[peter halle]

If you want to make it look a little more modern, You could glue and then use through holes with flat head screws in a lug bolt pattern from inside and have exposed (lug) nuts on the outside. I, like JRB, think the dominoes are superfluous but the lug bolts/nuts would add strength and aesthetics.

Tom

Depending on the size, you could even use "acorn" nuts.

 

[PeterK]

I would shoot a couple pins in one disc and cut them almost flush and then glue and clamp. Pins just used to hold the discs firmly in place to prevent sliding while glueing and clamping if that makes sense.

 

[tbellemare]

If you want to make it look a little more modern, You could glue and then use through holes with flat head screws in a lug bolt pattern from inside and have exposed (lug) nuts on the outside. I, like JRB, think the dominoes are superfluous but the lug bolts/nuts would add strength and aesthetics.

Tom

Depending on the size, you could even use "acorn" nuts.

'Good one, Peter! That'll help protect the tots.

Tom

 

[cje]

If you want to make it look a little more modern, You could glue and then use through holes with flat head screws in a lug bolt pattern from inside and have exposed (lug) nuts on the outside. I, like JRB, think the dominoes are superfluous but the lug bolts/nuts would add strength and aesthetics.

Tom

Thank you Tom, I like the idea.
I have to rout a semi-rim in the outside of the wheel then, to make the nuts sit inside the wheel. My daughter might not like the scratches on her furniture when the nuts are protruding...

Karel

 

[mosez]

just line the domino up to a line through the center points of the circles. that should do the trick. but i also think that the long-grain to long-grain gluebond should be plenty strong.

 

[flair woodworks]

Karl,

If you still want to Domino them together, this jig will help ensure you get the mortise cut perfectly: http://atelierdubricoleur.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/biscuit-joiner-vise-etau-pour-biscuiteuse/

Just space the side blocks equal to the diameter of the wheels, mark the midpoint on the base and align the Domino Joiner.

 

[cje]

Thank you Mosez,

The disks have been glued already. However, when our children start delivering grandchildren in considerable batches, I have to build toys in a serious production line. 
I have bookmarked the description of the jig to support that, just in case.

Karel