How's everyone doing with their test cuts on Rick's new Domino jig

[Jesse Cloud]

Like many posts I saw this a.m., I got my cool new centering jig from Rick and reserved some shop time to check it out.  A real beauty.  After several tries, I am sneaking up on perfect calibration, but still about the thickness of a sheet of paper off.  I'll try to sneak up a little closer tomorrow (no doubt after viewing Paul Marcel's slick video with some cool tips).  Once I get that sucker dialed in, its really gonna be sweet.

A few preliminary comments - and none of these are meant as complaints:

1. Don't expect to use this without reading the manual first!

2. Don't expect to open the box Monday morning at the job site and put it to work right away - it needs calibration and proper calibration will pay off enormously.  Don't think 'close enough for government work".

3. My method of testing the calibration is to domino the end grain of two pieces exactly the same width.  Butt them together with a Domino then take them apart, flip one over and attach again.  If the mortise isn't exactly centered, you get a good fit one time but not both times.  When you think you got it, try Rick's example in the manual for joining two pieces at a right angle and make a picture frame.

4.  The jig adds considerable depth (especially with one paddle turned down to be 'out of the way') to the tool.  You will need to support it a good ways off the benchtop to ensure free movement.

5. I suspect most of my trouble comes from poor eyesight and lack of mechanical aptitude.  I'm thinking tomorrow I will try putting a razor blade in the centering line on the domino and clamping the jig on that.  Should work. [wink]

Happy Dominoes y'all!

 

[Rick Christopherson]

...I am sneaking up on perfect calibration, but still about the thickness of a sheet of paper off.

WOW! I am absolutely thrilled to hear that you are within a sheet of paper off perfect calibration. That's pretty amazing, and most people would be hard pressed to get their "pins" this close. That drastically exceeds my expectations on any device that moves. Doing this at one position would be great. If you can duplicate this at multiple positions, then I think I am going shopping for a nice steak tonight!

Actually, I think this model of guide could be used right out of the box, as long as you were not shooting for the "sheet of paper" calibration level. That level of calibration will take more work, of course, but when I "slapped" a guide on my Domino to take some pictures and do a quick check of the methods, I was extremely close to perfect simply by eye-balling it with my Domino's sight gauge.

Please keep me (us) posted on how tight you are able to get this.

By the way, if you haven't realized why I am so excited about hearing this, then just try using a couple other centering methods and see how close they come to perfect. I think you'll understand why this is so surprising and exciting to me.

 

[PaulMarcel]

I came up with a centering procedure last night that I liked; made it very easy to do.  Since I got the combo kit, I also used it to calibrate and center the MGS.  I put it on video this morning, but I want to add a section on calibrating the crosshairs on the Domino itself since without that, as they say in the old country, you're hosed.

Nice job, Jesse, on getting it that close.  And he still isn't happy!  [tongue]

BTW, Rick, I see no steaks on that BBQ.

 

[Rick Christopherson]

BTW, Rick, I see no steaks on that BBQ.

Hey, gimme a break! It's an Aussie emoticon. They just "throw shrimps on the barbi" down there. hehehe

My apologies to our Aussie brethren. It comes from the tag-line of a Foster's beer TV commercial here in the U.S.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Hey Rick,
I think a nice steak is definitely called for!  Taking a little liberty to speak for others on the forum, one of the things that impresses us is that we actually got the product soon after ordering.  I was prepared for BCTW or Woodpecker's timing, but delighted to see it in the mailbox a few days after I ordered. 

By the way, friends and supporters of the workshop at the end of a dirt road in New Mexico are dining on chile verde tonight - Southwestern comfort food wherein pork is browned, lots of interesting veggies and chiles added, then stewed in chicken broth until the meat collapses.  Served with buttered warm tortillas.  Yummm.

 

[Alan m]

its just gone midnight here and now im hungry . thanks [eek]

 

[RONWEN]

Like many posts I saw this a.m., I got my cool new centering jig from Rick and reserved some shop time to check it out.  A real beauty. After several tries, I am sneaking up on perfect calibration, but still about the thickness of a sheet of paper off.  I'll try to sneak up a little closer tomorrow (no doubt after viewing Paul Marcel's slick video with some cool tips).  Once I get that sucker dialed in, its really gonna be sweet.

A few preliminary comments - and none of these are meant as complaints:

1. Don't expect to use this without reading the manual first!

2. Don't expect to open the box Monday morning at the job site and put it to work right away - it needs calibration and proper calibration will pay off enormously.  Don't think 'close enough for government work".

3. My method of testing the calibration is to domino the end grain of two pieces exactly the same width.  Butt them together with a Domino then take them apart, flip one over and attach again.  If the mortise isn't exactly centered, you get a good fit one time but not both times.  When you think you got it, try Rick's example in the manual for joining two pieces at a right angle and make a picture frame.

4.  The jig adds considerable depth (especially with one paddle turned down to be 'out of the way') to the tool.  You will need to support it a good ways off the benchtop to ensure free movement.

5. I suspect most of my trouble comes from poor eyesight and lack of mechanical aptitude.  I'm thinking tomorrow I will try putting a razor blade in the centering line on the domino and clamping the jig on that.  Should work. [wink]

Happy Dominoes y'all!

A typical sheet of paper is ~.0045" thick so if your left & right stops are registering only ~.0023" off CL I would call that "perfection" for woodworking.  I haven't had a chance to set mine up yet but I'll be very happy if I get similar repeatability.

(Maybe Rick will need to start including five star meal coupons in the kit box -- or maybe he is way ahead of us, I'll check the box again.)  [big grin]

 

[joraft]

By the way, friends and supporters of the workshop at the end of a dirt road in New Mexico are dining on chile verde tonight - Southwestern comfort food wherein pork is browned, lots of interesting veggies and chiles added, then stewed in chicken broth until the meat collapses.  Served with buttered warm tortillas.  Yummm.

Jesse, my wife is from New Mexico (Las Cruces), and we visit there as often as possible. I can say without reservation that there is no better food found anywhere. Unable to find anything comparable in Los Angeles, we have our chile over-nighted in from Hatch, and our tortillas over-nighted in from Bueno Foods in Albuquerque. It does get expensive, but it's still cheaper than travelling to New Mexico once a week, which I would otherwise be tempted to do.  [big grin]

 

[RONWEN]

I made a batch of this Texas style which was pretty good eating:
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/beef-green-chile-chili.aspx

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Hey Ron and John,
NM green chile is one of my favorite things.  The chiles are being harvested now and they are roasting them at the farmer's markets.  I just stand in front of the roaster and inhale for a few minutes and all the troubles of the world disappear.

I had scrambled eggs with fresh Hatch chiles and a little cheese for breakfast today - ready for anything!

[big grin] [big grin]

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

You guys do realize it is wood and that the thickness of a piece of paper is kind of silly?

That might be a lot for a machinist but, nothing worth worrying over when working with wood.

 

[btracey1]

Hey Jesse,
You got right on calibrating the centering jig. I've been too busy getting this years green chile roasted, peeled and frozen. We found some really hot green this year....Yum!
It's true....we may not need to have things calibrated with an accuracy down to less than the thickness of paper, but it's a nice feeling to know they are. We don't need to have dovetail joints on the backs of drawers either...we could just use that brad nailer, and call it a day!
Hope to see you in Cincinnati.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

You guys do realize it is wood and that the thickness of a piece of paper is kind of silly?

That might be a lot for a machinist but, nothing worth worrying over when working with wood.

Yes and no.  If I were just splicing together a couple pieces of base to make a longer piece, I might blow it off or I might touch it up with some sandpaper if it showed.

The problem comes when the errors are additive.  The example I gave was making four butt joints (8 mortises) that come together to make a picture frame.  By the time you get to 8 sheets off, there's something that definitely needs touching up. 

The jig is way cool, I'm not complaining, but I think its worth it to fiddle a little longer.  Paul Marcel got me to thinking (ouch) and now I see that my Domino cuts do not center on the scribed line on the sole of the domino, so I'll adjust the plastic guide and try to calibrate off that.

 

[PaulMarcel]

The mark on the base of my Domino is _definitely_ off center.  My cursor hair is properly calibrated as are the pins on my fence (or I couldn't use those narrow stock spacers for rail/stile joints without -grumble- sanding).  When I look from the bottom of the Domino, it is clearly obvious the line on the base does not line up with the hairs.  Same with the lines that should mark the inside edge of the pins (dunno if you paddle guys have those).

 

[Rick Christopherson]

That's correct, Paul-Marcel. If the line on your Domino's base does not line up with the actual mortise location, only the Festool Factory adjustment can be made to correct it. (i.e. not a user-serviceable adjustment for your Domino joiner). The user can adjust their sight gauge, but not the line on the bottom.

This is the reason why I suggest calibrating the SCG-10 guide to the position of the Domino's sight gauge...with the assumption that the sight gauge is calibrated to the level desired by the end user. Of course, not all users will need a super high level of precision in their calibration of either the Domino or SCG-10.

 

[joraft]

... I've been too busy getting this years green chile roasted, peeled and frozen. We found some really hot green this year....Yum!

... Hope to see you in Cincinnati.

I'm hearing good things about this year's chile crop from relatives in Albuquerque. I'm placing a big order, Big Jims for rellenos, Barkers for caldillo. ... Double Yum!  [smile]

As for WIA, talkFestool.com has the biggest group ever going this year. I'd love to meet up with any FOGgers that will be there too.

 

[greg mann]

That's correct, Paul-Marcel. If the line on your Domino's base does not line up with the actual mortise location, only the Festool Factory adjustment can be made to correct it. (i.e. not a user-serviceable adjustment for your Domino joiner). The user can adjust their sight gauge, but not the line on the bottom.

This is the reason why I suggest calibrating the SCG-10 guide to the position of the Domino's sight gauge...with the assumption that the sight gauge is calibrated to the level desired by the end user. Of course, not all users will need a super high level of precision in their calibration of either the Domino or SCG-10.

Either Paul has better eyes than just about anyone or he is living a charmed life. I really don't feel one can consistently use the sight gage and locate within .002" or .003". In reality, after watching his video I believe he got a little lucky with his gage piece and then transferred that luck to his calibration of your jig. I really do believe that once you get the jig calibrated it would be consistently more accurate than the sight gauge which, of course relies on a perfect mark and perfect vision. Either way, I was very impressed with his presentation and interpretation of how to get the most out of the jig, and was very impressed with the jig itself.

Very cool, Rick (and Paul).  [big grin]