I am looking for a simple jig for setting out Dominos on a chair frame. We are making framed chairs using 40 x 8mm Dominos and it seems to be that the repetative marking out with a ruler, pencil and square on the legs and ends of rails could be simplified with a jig or gauge. Could someone point me in the right direction please.
setting dominos
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chrisrosenb
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Jesse Cloud
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Rather than making a jig for marking the location of the dominoes, consider making a jig to locate the machine itself. Have a stop for reference say from the top/bottom of the leg and another from the top/bottom of the rail. Why mark? Just another chance to make an error.
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Woodee,
Sorry for the shameless plug, but have you looked at the MGS guide? I don't know enough about what you are doing, but the MGS guide is specifically designed for applications where you have repetitive positioning needs. http://www.dominoguide.com
Sorry for the shameless plug, but have you looked at the MGS guide? I don't know enough about what you are doing, but the MGS guide is specifically designed for applications where you have repetitive positioning needs. http://www.dominoguide.com
Is this a prototype or the finished version?
I have one, and get so frustrated setting it square as the stops do not automatically run parallel. So frustrating I don’t use it at all as i have to get a small square out to set it.
Also, shame the hex bolts are not compatible with the Toolie, it means I need to have separate Allen keys always on hand. It really needs some form of easy adjustment just like Festool employ on all their products.
Good concept, but needs a fair bit of tweaking.
I have one, and get so frustrated setting it square as the stops do not automatically run parallel. So frustrating I don’t use it at all as i have to get a small square out to set it.
Also, shame the hex bolts are not compatible with the Toolie, it means I need to have separate Allen keys always on hand. It really needs some form of easy adjustment just like Festool employ on all their products.
Good concept, but needs a fair bit of tweaking.
I had some time to make up this jig/gauge today from hardwood and clear acrylic.
First sit the jig against the leg with the top of the jig were the top of the rail meets the leg. Mark through the slots with a sharp pencil the position of each domino centre. Sit the jig against the top of the rail and mark the corresponding domino centres on the end of the rail.
It is then just a matter of setting the Domino machine depth and cutting the slots.
This should work well for a project were all the rails are the same size. All the rails in this project are 70mm wide and we use 2 40x8 dominos for each join. I hope the photo tells the story.
First sit the jig against the leg with the top of the jig were the top of the rail meets the leg. Mark through the slots with a sharp pencil the position of each domino centre. Sit the jig against the top of the rail and mark the corresponding domino centres on the end of the rail.
It is then just a matter of setting the Domino machine depth and cutting the slots.
This should work well for a project were all the rails are the same size. All the rails in this project are 70mm wide and we use 2 40x8 dominos for each join. I hope the photo tells the story.
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Terry (Tezzer) I would suggest watching the video on how to set the stop arms (http://www.dominoguide.com/MGSGuideVideo.html). It is not necessary to have them set square. I'd be more than happy to show you how to set this up on Skype.
I'm a little confused, because neither you nor your dealer are in my database as owning one of these.
I'm a little confused, because neither you nor your dealer are in my database as owning one of these.
Rick Christopherson said:
Data bases mean nothing in Australia [smile]
As i said its a great concept, but i wish it was more like the Festool accessory wings with the notched grooves like the Incra stuff. I can set it, but its a bit to fiddly and some plastic thumb wheels like the Festools would be great. No big deal, but just my opinion.
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Tezzer said:
Actually, yes they do Terry, and I now know where you recently acquired your guide.
I've known for a long time that You have a personal vendetta with me, and this cements it.
I can tell from the picture you just posted that you have never even mounted the guide to your Domino machine because it is still in the factory trim that it was shipped. When I build these guides, I move the centering plates to their farthest position so end-users know that they need to be adjusted to fit their machine. Yours is still in that position, and the guide stops are still in the position that I set them during assembly (except for the right-hand stop).
Your posting suggested that that you have used my guide, but you were lying when you said this, weren't you?
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Just watched the vid. You seriously can’t expect that to be the definitive tutorial on setting your stop guide. We are not that silly.
11 minutes in, why didn’t you just use the new Additional stop and the Domino pins for the second mortise? You never explained why you needed your jig to do that particular task. Waste of time.
Oh, and at 12.30 you did a BIG NO NO. If you CAN see timber in the TRIANGLES on the fence you are SAFE to plunge with your fingers behind the cutter, if you CAN NOT see timber you NEVER put your fingers behind the timber like YOU just did. Safety is so important. (The Domino at full plunge -28mm is 2mm from the base of the triangle. it’s the very first lesson I teach my students.
Didn’t get to watch the rest as it wasn’t relative to this discussion and I was pressed for time, but thanks for you effort. Well done.
11 minutes in, why didn’t you just use the new Additional stop and the Domino pins for the second mortise? You never explained why you needed your jig to do that particular task. Waste of time.
Oh, and at 12.30 you did a BIG NO NO. If you CAN see timber in the TRIANGLES on the fence you are SAFE to plunge with your fingers behind the cutter, if you CAN NOT see timber you NEVER put your fingers behind the timber like YOU just did. Safety is so important. (The Domino at full plunge -28mm is 2mm from the base of the triangle. it’s the very first lesson I teach my students.
Didn’t get to watch the rest as it wasn’t relative to this discussion and I was pressed for time, but thanks for you effort. Well done.
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You weren't told you could not post here. You were asked to be nice with your posts. Constructive criticism is welcome. Personal attacks are not.
I received PMs from members about this thread and because of that asked both of you to take this offline.
I received PMs from members about this thread and because of that asked both of you to take this offline.
Sorry to get caught up in all this angst. Hope you guys can sort it out. I was looking for a simple "home made" jig for marking out domino cuts. I can see Jesse's approach would work but I would prefer a jig that could be used on more than one project. I am using the domino tool in a school workshop so it needs to be adaptable to different projects.
This is how we proceed for tables and chair frames at each join. First we mark out the position of the rail on the leg and then the centres for the dominos.Then place the rail against the leg and transfer the marks. We just use the centre mark on the guide plate on the machine against a mark on the wood to place our cuts.
I just thought that a simple gauge like the one in my previous post would make it easier for transfering marks.
Here is a photo of what we are making.
This is how we proceed for tables and chair frames at each join. First we mark out the position of the rail on the leg and then the centres for the dominos.Then place the rail against the leg and transfer the marks. We just use the centre mark on the guide plate on the machine against a mark on the wood to place our cuts.
I just thought that a simple gauge like the one in my previous post would make it easier for transfering marks.
Here is a photo of what we are making.
John Stevens
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woodee said:
Thanks for sharing, Woodee, very interesting.
Regards,
John
Would it be possible to mount the Domino, using a plate like Ron Wen sells, to a sheet of plywood or whatever so that the top of the plate is flush with the top of the plywood.(the Domino would be right-side up) Then place markings, stops or whatever to mount the legs so that they would be positioned correctly and have at it? The first one would be the same hassle to set up but after that it should be a piece of cake.
Of course this would only work if the actual domino would be in the correct orientation and you might have to "sink" the plate to get the proper centering but I figured it was worth a shot.
John
Of course this would only work if the actual domino would be in the correct orientation and you might have to "sink" the plate to get the proper centering but I figured it was worth a shot.
John
Rob-GB
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Woodee, if I were to do a production run of chairs I would take the time time make a "Domino Station Jig" ( great name eh! I just thought of it [laughing])
My concept is that the chair in your pic has 17 components, so the jig would need to work on all of them, with minimal adjustment to the domino settings (fence heights etc).
Parts of the jig would have to support the curved components and have "landings" and stops to reference the base plate and sides of the machine to allow morticing in the exact position required, most could be made ambidextrous for mirror image parts, back legs for example. The slats in the backrest would only need one jig so the station would be a base board with around eight jig variations requiring 3 reference faces on the Domino machine.
One place I worked had a similar set up for batch machining gun stocks, the time taken to make the jig/s paid for itself several times over.
If you have a cad/design department at your school this might be a good project for them to be involved in, similar to what happens in the workplace. [big grin]
I don't think a one of jig that gets attached to the domino would serve the different tasks well enough, not even Ricks jig that I would like in my kit one day and could have put to good use last week!
Nice chairs by the way, what wood are you using for them?
Rob.
My concept is that the chair in your pic has 17 components, so the jig would need to work on all of them, with minimal adjustment to the domino settings (fence heights etc).
Parts of the jig would have to support the curved components and have "landings" and stops to reference the base plate and sides of the machine to allow morticing in the exact position required, most could be made ambidextrous for mirror image parts, back legs for example. The slats in the backrest would only need one jig so the station would be a base board with around eight jig variations requiring 3 reference faces on the Domino machine.
One place I worked had a similar set up for batch machining gun stocks, the time taken to make the jig/s paid for itself several times over.
If you have a cad/design department at your school this might be a good project for them to be involved in, similar to what happens in the workplace. [big grin]
I don't think a one of jig that gets attached to the domino would serve the different tasks well enough, not even Ricks jig that I would like in my kit one day and could have put to good use last week!
Nice chairs by the way, what wood are you using for them?
Rob.
Jesse Cloud
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Nice chairs Woodee and a nice shop!
OK, here's another try at it. How about making a 'story stick'? Basically a full size piece of scrap or mdf with key locations marked. You could cut out the mortises on the story stick or just drill four accurately placed holes, then 'connect the dots' on the workpiece to draw the horizontal and vertical centerlines. The opposite side of the story stick could locate the mortises for the rails....
I think story sticks are very useful and an important concept for a beginning woodworker to learn.
OK, here's another try at it. How about making a 'story stick'? Basically a full size piece of scrap or mdf with key locations marked. You could cut out the mortises on the story stick or just drill four accurately placed holes, then 'connect the dots' on the workpiece to draw the horizontal and vertical centerlines. The opposite side of the story stick could locate the mortises for the rails....
I think story sticks are very useful and an important concept for a beginning woodworker to learn.
Rob-GB
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Jesse Cloud said:
Jesse, I could not agree more that story sticks or 'rods' as they are known this side of the pond are an absolute boon to woodworkers for many projects and well worth new woodworkers understanding them.
Understanding them is also the key to producing workable cad designs for projects, jigs and tables of work. The cad system just saves the labour and material costs of setting out.
However, story sticks, while making setting out easier and repeatable, do not provide infallable and repeatable positioning of the machine to produce the required result. A well designed jig will do that.
Rob.
