Making Domino drawer boxes with the Domiplate.

[Trosey]

8. Pick up your domino jointer with the left pin flush and bumped up against the  left edge on your clamped up corner. Plunge HORIZONTALLY through the vertical member into the horizontal member with the Domino fence in the 90 degree position.

With 12mm thickness horizontal members, the front clamp is 43mm below the top surface of the horizontal member. HTH

I will try to get my son to take some pictures of the jig set up and also some pictures of some finished drawers. He usually stops by every week or so.

The Domiplate is not used or needed using the above method.

 

[Alan m]

that makes sense.
i was thinking you were using the dominoplate.

 

[otis04]

I have some drawers to build, will try the dovetail jig method.  Thanks for the great idea.

 

[DKurzweil]

Frank,

     For this box I used an  8 x 50mm domino.   I left the domino proud so I could flush cut it, I believe I left it 6mm proud (maybe more?).     I used  3/4" (19mm)

plywood.   I set the Domino plunge depth at 28 for the front and back pieces.  And  clamped a scrap piece of mdf to the side pieces to make my thru plunges. 

Last thing I want  to do is make a Domino mortise on the top of my MFT tables.

I will make a couple more examples for the wife to choose from.   I plan on using every domino size available.   And play around with the number of

domino's and the spacing.   

I would say be creative.  Use different sizes and see what looks best to you. 

Hope this helped.

Eric

Eric,

Did you consider or try plunging thru both pieces at once? I have not tried it myself but I wonder if it would work and thereby speed things up and eliminate any chance of misalignment?

RMW

That may work for smaller dominoes, but I do not think it would work for the 8 x 50 dominoes.  I am not by my shop, but I think the maximum cutter depth is only 27mm or so, that is only slightly over half the domino. 

For other applications with smaller dominoes this would be great, just not for this one. 

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Best,
Daniel

 

[John Stevens]

Did you consider or try plunging thru both pieces at once? I have not tried it myself but I wonder if it would work and thereby speed things up and eliminate any chance of misalignment?

Have not tried it for drawers yet (haven't made any in a few years), but I've used it for a few cabinets.  Requires more set-up time but you can forget about any problems due to misalignment.  You also save time marking, as it's optional, and if you decide you need to do it, you only mark one piece.

BTW, a shop-made "right angle jig" works pretty well for this (but you'd leave the guide rail off the top)--

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-how-to/putting-a-118'-deep-groove-on-the-edge-of-a-34'-board/msg205144/#msg205144

Regards,

John

 

[goforbroke442nd]

Those drawers do have an unique look!  I am liking the idea.

I was wondering how the joint would hold up in the long run?  Since the domino can be seen on the face of the drawers, and the drawer is constantly being pulled outward with/along the domino, wouldn't that make for a weaker joint holding the front/back of the drawer?

A possible solution would be to add a dowel (or a really small domino) going through at 90 degress to the domino to lock it in?  Or small pin nails...would have to be done at both the front and the side panels.

Maybe I'm missing something..... ???

 

[Stone Message]

Those drawers do have an unique look!  I am liking the idea.

I was wondering how the joint would hold up in the long run?  Since the domino can be seen on the face of the drawers, and the drawer is constantly being pulled outward with/along the domino, wouldn't that make for a weaker joint holding the front/back of the drawer?

A possible solution would be to add a dowel (or a really small domino) going through at 90 degress to the domino to lock it in?  Or small pin nails...would have to be done at both the front and the side panels.

Maybe I'm missing something..... ???

I agree with these concerns - it would be better for the doms to be put in parallel to the front face of the drawer so that the pulling action does not strain the dom joint.

Peter

 

[Brice Burrell]

Those drawers do have an unique look!  I am liking the idea.

I was wondering how the joint would hold up in the long run?  Since the domino can be seen on the face of the drawers, and the drawer is constantly being pulled outward with/along the domino, wouldn't that make for a weaker joint holding the front/back of the drawer?

A possible solution would be to add a dowel (or a really small domino) going through at 90 degress to the domino to lock it in?  Or small pin nails...would have to be done at both the front and the side panels.

Maybe I'm missing something..... ???

I agree with these concerns - it would be better for the doms to be put in parallel to the front face of the drawer so that the pulling action does not strain the dom joint.

Peter

Yes, that's have it's intended to be done.

 

[mastercabman]

Those drawers do have an unique look!  I am liking the idea.

I was wondering how the joint would hold up in the long run?  Since the domino can be seen on the face of the drawers, and the drawer is constantly being pulled outward with/along the domino, wouldn't that make for a weaker joint holding the front/back of the drawer?

A possible solution would be to add a dowel (or a really small domino) going through at 90 degress to the domino to lock it in?  Or small pin nails...would have to be done at both the front and the side panels.

Maybe I'm missing something..... ???

No worries there,beside if you use a good drawer glide/runner it will ride very smooth.

 

[erock]

OK,    so all day I while working I have been thinking about using my dusty old dovetail jig to make my domino drawer boxes.

I wanted to see if it would be quicker setting up the dovetail jig versus using the domiplate.

Here are a couple pictures I took during the process.

Cut my test pieces and mark them out.  Nothing exciting,  just some scrap 19mm ply.

[attachthumb=#]

I checked to make sure that the Domino would work with the Rockler dovetail jig.  Everything clears, and I can now proceed.

[attachthumb=#]

I wanted to be quick,  so I set up to make 4 plunge cuts at once.

[attachthumb=#]

Well,  this is the outcome.  
[attachthumb=#]

Okay, so I used 19mm plywood.  A  8 x 40mm domino.  I set the depth on the Domino at 28mm for the plunges.

By making the plunges for both the fronts and sides at the same time,  the cutter for ME does not cut deep enough.    It only plunged 11mm into the front

and back pieces.  Which left 10mm to have to trim off.  Way to much for me.  

So, for me.  The DOMIPLATE is the way to go.  Since I'm using 19mm plywood for my drawer boxes I know that with the Domiplate I can make a deep

plunge cut in the front and back pieces of my drawers.  

All in all,  I bought the domiplate to use it.  I can see how the domiplate speeds up production, plus takes the guess work out of centering the cutter.

I'm very happy I bought the domiplate.   Time to find more reasons to use it!!!

Hope this helped.

Eric

 

[erock]

Those drawers do have an unique look!  I am liking the idea.

I was wondering how the joint would hold up in the long run?  Since the domino can be seen on the face of the drawers, and the drawer is constantly being pulled outward with/along the domino, wouldn't that make for a weaker joint holding the front/back of the drawer?

A possible solution would be to add a dowel (or a really small domino) going through at 90 degress to the domino to lock it in?  Or small pin nails...would have to be done at both the front and the side panels.

Maybe I'm missing something..... ???

No worries for me.  The domino will be on the side of the drawers.  Not on the face.  I will still make a drawer front and attach it to the drawer box.

The domino acts as a dovetail joint in this application.  So I feel it will be a very strong joint.  I will be using under mount self closing drawer guides,  so

all the hardware will be hidden.  It's will looks sweet !      [big grin]

Eric

 

[otis04]

Most drawer slides are set up to work with nominal 1/2 inch ply, so why use the 19 mil for the sides?  I was thinking of doing the sides in 1/2 so then you would have 15 mil in the front and through the sides.  Sounds like a solid drawer, can't wait to make some!

 

[erock]

I'm using 19mm ply because I have more then 30 sheets.  It's prefinished on both sides.  I was able to buy the plywood at $45 a sheet !!!!  So I bought every

sheet the guy had. 

Eric

 

[otis04]

Understood, I would have done the same!

 

[Kev]

Bigger plunges with the XL would possible !

 

[goforbroke442nd]

No worries for me.   The domino will be on the side of the drawers.  Not on the face.  I will still make a drawer front and attach it to the drawer box.

The domino acts as a dovetail joint in this application.   So I feel it will be a very strong joint.  I will be using under mount self closing drawer guides,  so

all the hardware will be hidden.  It's will looks sweet !      [big grin]

Eric

Ah, I understand now.  My initial impression was the dominos added to the front facing design. Makes sense now. 

Good thread.  And I put in an order for those dominos on clearance at woodcraft! 

 

[epicxt]

[[/quote]

Good thread.  And I put in an order for those dominos on clearance at woodcraft! 
[/quote]

As did I.  Great info here!

 

[fshanno]

But the wife and I are looking for something new, something that you don't see in every other kitchen.  SO once I seen the domino drawers I wanted to try it out and run it pass the boss.  

If you're going with plywood I think you're on the right track with a domidrawer.  Dovetails in plywood is not my favorite thing.  Veneer tends to blow out.  I've done domidrawers in 1/2" prefinished ply drawer material, the kind with the groove already cut and the top edge banded, and it worked great.  I think it's distinctive and attractive.  Another justification for the Domino.

But be forewarned, you may be surprised at how your wife's friends are underwhelmed by what ever you do for drawer joinery.  You could do hand cut needle pins like freakin Chippendale and they would still just go, "Oh, that's nice."  As Ricky Nelson aptly put it, you've got to please yourself.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Alright, maybe it's just me, but, I just completed cabinets for our kitchen and used DT's for all the drawers and don't think they are over rated (even trash pull outs and pantry drawers). I'm a hobbyist and don't make lots of DT's but once you are set up it doesn't take much time to cut the DT's in many drawers. Especially if you use a DT jig to clamp the pieces for the Dominos you might as well cut DT's. I have a Domino and might consider using this method for a few drawers for a shop cabinet but in the house and especially in the kitchen I think the DT's give it a more finished, elegent, and hand crafted look. To me it's like the difference between plywood flat panel doors and solid hardwood raised panel doors.

Mike

 

[erock]

Mike,  Your drawers look great!

I enjoy making hand cut Dt's from time to time.  But that takes a lot of time. 

I could set up my DT jig.  Or knock out a bunch of DT's with my Incra router table.  But I'm looking for something unique and new.

To me, the Domino drawer is a fresh new look that you just don't see in many kitchens.

I used my DT jig as a test to see if it would speed up my production of making the drawer boxes with the Domino.  It did not speed up the process for

me.  The Domiplate and pins on my domino are all I need to make this a fast production. 

Eric