About a week I started to build a toy for our grandson. He will have his first birthday in about three weeks.
The plans for the toy I downloaded from a dutch website.
[attachthumb=#]
The plan is for MDF and pine, I decided to make it stronger and used laminated beech panels.
For the wheels I needed to create a circle jig/trammel unit for the OF1010. I described that jig in another thread.
This was going to be my first project with the Domino, so I decided that joints could only be made using the domino. No nails, screws or whatsoever, just wood, glue an dominoes.
Before I started I had been lurking this form for quite some time, so I knew of the pitfalls about alignment, the advantages of the Domino Plate (which I have used in th e project). I have also read about mortising too deep, because the depth was set wrong. So, I was planning to make none of all the mistakes I've read about. ;D
First of all I used the south-african program maxcut (which comes in a new version, and still free as in version 1, link) to divide the beech panels as afficient as possible.
After I ripped and cut the panels, I started to build the front wagon.
It took some careful planning for the order of assembly, because the front and aft bulkheads aren't square, but with a slight bevel.
So I started with the domino's between the bottom and the side panels. I decided to use a depth of 12 mm in the side panels, and 20mm in the bottom panel, to avoid a domino getting hammered through the side panel. Of course that requires attention to the depth setting, and I verified that before making each mortise. Panel one went like a dream, using the Domino Plate turned the whole action a a very easy task. I continued with the other side panel enthousiastically. After marking the positions for the dominoes cutting the mortises in the bottom panel were made within a minute, and the next minute I had cut the mortises in the side panel. Then I tried a dry fit.
[oops]
I planned not to make the mistakes I had read about. However, the mortises in the side panel went trough the panel all the way. I was happy with the economic cutting plan of maxcut, now I had some spare wood to cut a new side panel from.
Lesson #1: ALWAYS check the depth setting.
I continued to fix the front and back panel. I started with the front panel. Because that is mounted at a bevel of appr. 10o, the bottom of that panel was cut with a matching bevel. The sidewalls have a corresponding miter at both ends. The domino's in the sidewalls point downwards, so I had to do the same with the dominoes in the botten, otherwise the bulkheads could not be mounted on the bottom/sidewalls. I made a mistake by making the mortises angled at both the bottom panel and the front/end panels. At the front/endpanels they had to be square, so I went there again with the domino.
The vertical bars for the steering rod are dominoed to the back panel. Here I made the depth setting error again.
[oops] [oops]
[attachthumb=#]
And worse, there wasn't enough wood left to make a new one. I will solve this by gluing two small strips over the vertical bars and the back panel.
Lesson #2: ALWAYS double check the depth setting.
Then for the steering rod I got the idea of fixating it with dominoes as well. I made a mortise at the top of both vertical bars. The mortise would go into the steering rod for just 3mm. I will insert and glue the dominoes, and later cut and sand them flush with the top of the vertical bars. To make the mortises I clamped the workpiece (with the vertical bars glued in place alreeeeady) and I used the domino more or less free-handed to cut the mortises. Maybe, having bought the set, I should have used the trim stop, but OTOH, the steering rod sitting in place to be partially mortised as well might have prevented me from doing that.
So far, the front wagon is almost ready, I just have to make its axle and mount the wheels.
[attachthumb=#]
Speaking about wheels: they are not dominoed, but just glued together.
[attachthumb=#]
TBC
Edit 17:47:40: Added link to maxcut, typo corrected
The plans for the toy I downloaded from a dutch website.
[attachthumb=#]
The plan is for MDF and pine, I decided to make it stronger and used laminated beech panels.
For the wheels I needed to create a circle jig/trammel unit for the OF1010. I described that jig in another thread.
This was going to be my first project with the Domino, so I decided that joints could only be made using the domino. No nails, screws or whatsoever, just wood, glue an dominoes.
Before I started I had been lurking this form for quite some time, so I knew of the pitfalls about alignment, the advantages of the Domino Plate (which I have used in th e project). I have also read about mortising too deep, because the depth was set wrong. So, I was planning to make none of all the mistakes I've read about. ;D
First of all I used the south-african program maxcut (which comes in a new version, and still free as in version 1, link) to divide the beech panels as afficient as possible.
After I ripped and cut the panels, I started to build the front wagon.
It took some careful planning for the order of assembly, because the front and aft bulkheads aren't square, but with a slight bevel.
So I started with the domino's between the bottom and the side panels. I decided to use a depth of 12 mm in the side panels, and 20mm in the bottom panel, to avoid a domino getting hammered through the side panel. Of course that requires attention to the depth setting, and I verified that before making each mortise. Panel one went like a dream, using the Domino Plate turned the whole action a a very easy task. I continued with the other side panel enthousiastically. After marking the positions for the dominoes cutting the mortises in the bottom panel were made within a minute, and the next minute I had cut the mortises in the side panel. Then I tried a dry fit.
[oops]
I planned not to make the mistakes I had read about. However, the mortises in the side panel went trough the panel all the way. I was happy with the economic cutting plan of maxcut, now I had some spare wood to cut a new side panel from.
Lesson #1: ALWAYS check the depth setting.
I continued to fix the front and back panel. I started with the front panel. Because that is mounted at a bevel of appr. 10o, the bottom of that panel was cut with a matching bevel. The sidewalls have a corresponding miter at both ends. The domino's in the sidewalls point downwards, so I had to do the same with the dominoes in the botten, otherwise the bulkheads could not be mounted on the bottom/sidewalls. I made a mistake by making the mortises angled at both the bottom panel and the front/end panels. At the front/endpanels they had to be square, so I went there again with the domino.
The vertical bars for the steering rod are dominoed to the back panel. Here I made the depth setting error again.
[oops] [oops]
[attachthumb=#]
And worse, there wasn't enough wood left to make a new one. I will solve this by gluing two small strips over the vertical bars and the back panel.
Lesson #2: ALWAYS double check the depth setting.
Then for the steering rod I got the idea of fixating it with dominoes as well. I made a mortise at the top of both vertical bars. The mortise would go into the steering rod for just 3mm. I will insert and glue the dominoes, and later cut and sand them flush with the top of the vertical bars. To make the mortises I clamped the workpiece (with the vertical bars glued in place alreeeeady) and I used the domino more or less free-handed to cut the mortises. Maybe, having bought the set, I should have used the trim stop, but OTOH, the steering rod sitting in place to be partially mortised as well might have prevented me from doing that.
So far, the front wagon is almost ready, I just have to make its axle and mount the wheels.
[attachthumb=#]
Speaking about wheels: they are not dominoed, but just glued together.
[attachthumb=#]
TBC
Edit 17:47:40: Added link to maxcut, typo corrected
