Joining 1/2" BB Plywood Using Dominio DF 500

[sreilly24590]

So I have several pieces of this Baltic Birch plywood but neither is wide enough. Trying to see about side joining to extend width but the fence depth doesn't seen to lower enough to get the domino anywhere close to center. I've moved the fence down as far as it will go and the cutter cuts so it penetrates the top of the board (needs to be deeper-closer to center). The fence is at 90 and the depth is as low as it will go. It does not make contact with the depth gauge (moved back out of the way). Looking from the front it seems the fence only goes down to where there are two black plastic spring loaded devices that push in when they come in contact with the wood.

I can't seem to find any reference as to what minimum thickness wood the Domino will work with for side joining. I'm fairly sure my old biscuit jointer will do this but hey, I'v got a Domino now....any advice?

 

[Slowlearner]

I know domino work on 1/3 of thickness of material. So  flyou can figure it out for the smallest cutter available

 

[Michael Kellough]

You can add a shim to the fence to get the cutter in the center of thin stuff, or you can buy the very handy Domi Plate from Seneca woodworking.

 

[sancho57]

Did you lower te fence all the way? By all the way I mean pull that black fence gage all the way back, no numbers show and the fence sits on a nub on the body.

 

[Birdhunter]

Seneca makes a plate for the 500 that centers the mortise on either 1/2" or 3/4" material. The Seneca plate attaches to the Domino's base plate. You have to use the Domino upside down. Sounds screwy but it works well. Seneca also makes a similar attachment for the 700.

 

[rmhinden]

Seneca makes a plate for the 500 that centers the mortise on either 1/2" or 3/4" material. The Seneca plate attaches to the Domino's base plate. You have to use the Domino upside down. Sounds screwy but it works well. Seneca also makes a similar attachment for the 700.

I have used the XL 700 with the Seneca Small Mortice Kit for XL DF700 on 1/2" plywood.  I used the Festool 4mm bit with the Seneca adapter and 4mm dominos.  Worked fine.

 

[sreilly24590]

I know domino work on 1/3 of thickness of material. So  flyou can figure it out for the smallest cutter available

The 1st mistake I made was having the 5mm cutter in and not the 4mm. That said it made very little difference in the height of the cut itself. As a quick fix I used a piece of 1/4" stock to shim for closer to center.

The 2nd mistake is I haven't gone through a registration process yet. I was looking to quickly join these 2 boards and then later go through everything I should do. Probably not that smart......

 

[sreilly24590]

You can add a shim to the fence to get the cutter in the center of thin stuff, or you can buy the very handy Domi Plate from Seneca woodworking.

I actually have the Domi Plate sitting on the shelf and haven't opened it since I got it. I've been obsessed with getting ready for a trip to Alaska and have set most shop projects on hold but for some reason I decided to try and join these 2 boards.

 

[sreilly24590]

Did you lower te fence all the way? By all the way I mean pull that black fence gage all the way back, no numbers show and the fence sits on a nub on the body.

I think I follow this. You're referring to the depth gauge which I replaced with the Seneca Imperial one? If that's so yes, it shows red and does not touch any of the depth steps. But it does rest on the fence angle metal sides. I was trying to figure out what was the hard stop and it appears to be the angled part of the fence itself. Hope that makes sense.

 

[sreilly24590]

I think I need to find some time between now and Wednesday, when we leave, to go over the entire setup process. For some reason I find the manuals less than easy to follow, maybe it's their size and the feeling that too much is conveyed in a small area.

I fully intend to take my time and go through as many videos and the manual, I did find and print out the Supplemental User's Manual, to get familiar with this tool. I just took for granted that joining these two boards would be fast and easy which I'm sure it will be once I get familiar with the tool properly.

 

[bertv]

Did you lower te fence all the way? By all the way I mean pull that black fence gage all the way back, no numbers show and the fence sits on a nub on the body.

I think I follow this. You're referring to the depth gauge which I replaced with the Seneca Imperial one? If that's so yes, it shows red and does not touch any of the depth steps. But it does rest on the fence angle metal sides. I was trying to figure out what was the hard stop and it appears to be the angled part of the fence itself. Hope that makes sense.

I have heard of people filing away part of that hard stop. Could be what you need (but you did not hear it from me).
OTH the combination of the Domiplate and the 4 mm domino's works fine — in my experience.

 

[sancho57]

[member=69752]sreilly24590[/member]

Since you replaced the OEM with after market, I really dont know as I try to stay with the OEM items.

But what I posted is how its done using the OEM fence gage

 

[ear3]

For some reason I find the manuals less than easy to follow, maybe it's their size and the feeling that too much is conveyed in a small area.

That's the first I've heard of this  [tongue]

BTW, if you haven't already seen it, check out calibration procedures for DF500 described by half-inch shy.  Not all Domino machines will need it, but if your's does, it's a way of dialing in the last few thousandths of an inch of precision, which is very satisfying after achieved.

 

[ChuckM]

Snip.
For some reason I find the manuals less than easy to follow, maybe it's their size and the feeling that too much is conveyed in a small area.

The manual is often the weakest component in a product release. Most manuals that come with machines imported from Asia are poorly written or full of errors, causing frustrations to the nth degree.

The Festool manuals are o.k., but not as good as those for the Leigh Dovetail Jigs (which may also have some weaker sections, just like the SawStop manual).

The DF500 manual can be improved. Examples of issues include typos ("jounter" on p. 10; "avaible" on p. 20, "latchs" on p. 23), referring to the stop lever in [1.7] which appears on p. 3 instead of making reference to [8.2] which is on the same page (p. 11) where the instruction is given, giving the wrong part #s in the Operation section (p. 11), using a wrong label ("pin" (for the older model) instead of "stop latch" on p. 19), etc.

But the main problem with the DF500 manual is its reliance on text rather than illustrations or photos to show the steps. Terms like "Captive" and "Caps" are more helpful if you show them in a diagram or photo, for instance.

So don't blame yourself if you struggle with the DF500 at the beginning and make some mistakes. It is a tool to tame, but once mastered, it produces superior joinery results even in complex angled joints unlike any other.

After trimming my Festool fat, I now only own three Festool machines: DF500, Kapex and two sanders. The DF is used as much as the Kapex; sanders a lot less. As an amateur woodworker, I can live without the latter two, but not without the Domino Joiner (specifically the DF500).

 

[sreilly24590]

For some reason I find the manuals less than easy to follow, maybe it's their size and the feeling that too much is conveyed in a small area.

That's the first I've heard of this  [tongue]

BTW, if you haven't already seen it, check out calibration procedures for DF500 described by half-inch shy.  Not all Domino machines will need it, but if your's does, it's a way of dialing in the last few thousandths of an inch of precision, which is very satisfying after achieved.

Great suggestion and yes, I've already downloaded and watched this video and a few others of his regarding the DF500. Turns out I haven't checked the cursor or even used it yet due to using the Domi Plate for 1/2" and that's been dead on. So far on this project I've side joined two boards using the 4mmx20mm Dominos and also joined 2 boards at 90 degrees using the same 4x20mm. This worked out great. I'll be gone for a few weeks but intend to go over the DF500 thoroughly when I return. Not comparison to the biscuit jointer I have been using although I'll still hold onto it and the 1,000 or so biscuits I already have.

What I've seen with this quick use is that the boards are evenly joined on both ends and flatness so the registration from the factory is fine when using the Domi Plate. Will check with thicker stock and the standard cursor.

 

[sreilly24590]

Snip.
For some reason I find the manuals less than easy to follow, maybe it's their size and the feeling that too much is conveyed in a small area.

The manual is often the weakest component in a product release. Most manuals that come with machines imported from Asia are poorly written or full of errors, causing frustrations to the nth degree.

The Festool manuals are o.k., but not as good as those for the Leigh Dovetail Jigs (which may also have some weaker sections, just like the SawStop manual).

The DF500 manual can be improved. Examples of issues include typos ("jounter" on p. 10; "avaible" on p. 20, "latchs" on p. 23), referring to the stop lever in [1.7] which appears on p. 3 instead of making reference to [8.2] which is on the same page (p. 11) where the instruction is given, giving the wrong part #s in the Operation section (p. 11), using a wrong label ("pin" (for the older model) instead of "stop latch" on p. 19), etc.

But the main problem with the DF500 manual is its reliance on text rather than illustrations or photos to show the steps. Terms like "Captive" and "Caps" are more helpful if you show them in a diagram or photo, for instance.

So don't blame yourself if you struggle with the DF500 at the beginning and make some mistakes. It is a tool to tame, but once mastered, it produces superior joinery results even in complex angled joints unlike any other.

After trimming my Festool fat, I now only own three Festool machines: DF500, Kapex and two sanders. The DF is used as much as the Kapex; sanders a lot less. As an amateur woodworker, I can live without the latter two, but not without the Domino Joiner (specifically the DF500).

It's been my experience with manuals that they seem to be written by the designers of the tool instead of including the input of the users. Software is a great example. The creator of the code knows exactly the ins and outs of the program they just wrote and then they write the manual without the clearest procedures because they know the software from inside out and already know what to expect/do without thinking about it. It's like telling someone who has never taken a shower or even knows what that is. You need to explain each and every step to take a shower, enter the bathroom, close the door, remove your clothes, turn on the bathtub water, adjust the temperature to comfortable, step in the tub.......any missed step will result in a possible failure. Now I'm not saying it has to be that plain but as you said pictures help tell far more/easily than words sometimes. Well produced videos even better.