Struggling to butt joint a carcase together with my DF 500

[Crazyraceguy]

I work with a ton of sheet goods, and still don't have a Domiplate. I don't see the attraction/need?
It would bother me to use it upside-down in the first place, plus it wouldn't go back in the Systainer w/o removing it. I'm just not going to do that.
I use the trim-stop quite regularly, but very rarely for the "foot".

 

[ChuckM]

I work with a ton of sheet goods, and still don't have a Domiplate. I don't see the attraction/need?Snip.

Neither do I see the need for changing the board thickness gauge to an Imperial version even though I use Imperial units. As for some of the fancy gadgets, there is some truth in the "if you build it, people will come" saying.

 

[Michael Kellough]

The Domiplate provides the same simplicity of surface registration as when you rest the work and tool on the bench without the risks. The main risk being a less than flat workpiece doesn’t sit flat on the bench, resulting in a mortise that is closer to the bench side of the workpiece than planned.

It’s easy to use the machine upside down. Would be nice if the Domiplate could be instantly installed/removed but it’s worth the hassle to me.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

The Domiplate provides the same simplicity of surface registration as when you rest the work and tool on the bench without the risks. The main risk being a less than flat workpiece doesn’t sit flat on the bench, resulting in a mortise that is closer to the bench side of the workpiece than planned.

It’s easy to use the machine upside down. Would be nice if the Domiplate could be instantly installed/removed but it’s worth the hassle to me.

If it works for you, that's fantastic. There has to be some love for them or they wouldn't still be popular.
It's just not for me.
As far as the non-flat workpiece point. If I can't push any bow out by hand, I'm not going to use that piece anyway. Wood is amazingly strong. If you glue a twisted piece (rail or style) into a frame, you will end up with a warped door. No matter how much clamping force or fixturing you do, it will still affect the rest of the door. You can get by with this on faceframes because they are straightened by the carcass. Yes, you do have to be aware of detritus on the benchtop, but that is easy enough.

 

[afish]

I think the Domiplate was popular when the Domino first came out as there was some complaints of fence drift. So the Domiplate was born as an alternative rock steady, aint going to move on ya reference alternative.  I own one and while it does work like its supposed to im not a fan.  However, anyone who has issues with domino in vertical mode needs to try the big foot.  It makes a huge difference when plunging vertically.

 

[fraz]

However, anyone who has issues with domino in vertical mode needs to try the big foot.  It makes a huge difference when plunging vertically.

This is a total truth fact sir!  I bought the TSO Bigfoot v2 when they came out and I have not regretted it one bit.  It seems Festool could make the stock one better with a thicker profile on the existing one (more plastic).

 

[ChuckM]

Snip.It seems Festool could make the stock one better with a thicker profile on the existing one (more plastic).

I think I was wrong when suggesting earlier that Festool made the support bracket so small to save on material cost. They did that to be sure the bracket can still fit inside the systainer -- but unfortunately at the expense of performance.

I found that out after upgrading my support bracket to a footprint that works really well:https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/df500-upgraded-support-bracket-(integrated-index-stops-included)/

Still, I'd rather have the larger bracket and keep it outside the systainer than struggling with the factory design.

 

[krudawg]

Hi,

  Welcome to the forum!

          It can be pretty hard to get and exact center even when using the setting gauge.  Just tightening the lever is sometimes enough to move the fence a tiny bit. EX- a 1/2 mm off becomes 1mm if the pieces get flipped.

          Many people don't worry too much about getting the exact center. As long as the reference surfaces are matched, the centering won't matter. I try to center just to have about the same amount of material on both sides of the mortise. But I make sure to choose reference surfaces that will match up (and keep track of them) to be certain that parts align.

        In general Domino is a really precise machine which tends to make any little variance show up. There are a few ways that a variance can be accidentally introduced even when being very careful. There is no wiggle room in the thickness dimension of the mortise.

        Seth

If you are looking to hit the center of the plywood then I would recommend the Senaca Domiplate.  They have a 1/2" and 3/4" or 12mm and 18mm (Not sure about 16mm - seems like an odd size).  Put the Domiplate on your DF-500 and it will hit the center.  I'm not a pro by any means but using the Domiplate increases your production. 

 

[Lincoln]

If you are looking to hit the center of the plywood then I would recommend the Senaca Domiplate.  They have a 1/2" and 3/4" or 12mm and 18mm (Not sure about 16mm - seems like an odd size).  Put the Domiplate on your DF-500 and it will hit the center.  I'm not a pro by any means but using the Domiplate increases your production.
[/quote]

16mm is a standard sheet material thickness for cabinet boxes in Australia, and I think Europe as well.

 

[afish]

If you are looking to hit the center of the plywood then I would recommend the Senaca Domiplate.  They have a 1/2" and 3/4" or 12mm and 18mm (Not sure about 16mm - seems like an odd size).  Put the Domiplate on your DF-500 and it will hit the center.  I'm not a pro by any means but using the Domiplate increases your production.

16mm is a standard sheet material thickness for cabinet boxes in Australia, and I think Europe as well.
[/quote]

  The issue I have is inconsistency with material thickness. If you work with different types of sheet goods the thickness varies to much to make the domiplate effective at "centering" dominos.  Will it get them closer than the 10mm factory offset ? Yes, but there is really only 2 reasons "I" know of to center the domino.  1. When working with thin stock (still may not require perfect centering if referencing off the same face) 2. To simplify layout and assembly if doing a lot of parts.  Reducing the need for labeling and marking everything.  This requires much more precise location of the slot that the domiplate cannot do.  IF you truly want "centered" dominos you will need 2 or 3 things 1. 6" caliper for measuring the material thickness to the thousandth. 2. some type of height gauge. or 3. a dial indicator and a holder.  I made my own holder that clamps to the fence because otherwise you really need a 3rd arm to hold the tool, hold the indicator and move the fence all at the same time.  I use it more with my ddf40 and it works really good plus the ddf40 has a geared height adjuster so it makes it easy to dial in the perfect height.  It works on the domino too but you have to tap the fence around.     

 

[ChuckM]

When there're lots and lots of parts and mating pieces to handle in a big job, options are available to a user in doing away with most of the marking and labeling. I've used two of them:

1) The paddles or index stops on the DF500, and the trim stop and cross stop will allow a user to mill large quantity of mortises without any pencil lines marked. The key is to plan ahead, and use the trim stop and cross stop where applicable. The cross stop registers the machine against the mortises, not pencil lines while the trim stop against two sides of the stock.

2) Use shop-made jigs to locate and mortise the parts at the same time -- where the reference/placement lines or index pins are already part of the jigs. A totally of 360 - 400 mortises were milled in four panels in the following example without marking pencil lines, except two or three registration lines at the start:

[attachimg=1]

Planning ahead for a big, repetitive job cuts down the use of pencil lines, like drilling variably spaced holes on a rail using spacers rather than pencil lines for the varied spacing on the drill press.