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GoingMyWay
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Is this the video?
smorgasbord
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I still find it interesting that we're comparing dominos which are shorter than any of the dowels being tested.
Was he comparing 8mm dominos to 6.35mm dowels? Why not 6mm dominos to 6.35mm dowels?
Length is the main reason I bought the DF700 instead.
Was he comparing 8mm dominos to 6.35mm dowels? Why not 6mm dominos to 6.35mm dowels?
Length is the main reason I bought the DF700 instead.
First of all, I made a cutting jig for cutting dowels in short lengths on the table saw that was seriously superior to his effort above. If anyone is interested, I can post photos.
Also, why did he leave out 8mm dowels? That’s what I use.
As a tip, you can get 3mm and 5mm “dowels” from the supermarket. They are sold as skewers and are made from bamboo. The 5mm are handy if you are cutting pre-drilled Euro panels and you need the left and right side to line up.
I use the 3mm to spread the glue inside dowel holes. After each use, I trim off the end with the glue with an anvil cutter. I usually cut after the glue has dried.
A few points:
He did not run enough samples to offer conclusive results. It should have bee a dozen or more.
As to the tests, I am not convinced that that test is the important one for most furniture builders or cabinet makers.
I moved to dowels because of two reports. One contracted by the Ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturers associate probably 15 years ago. Think “IKEA”.
Their priority was that if you assembled a piece of furniture at home, that it would not wobble side to side and that it would not fall apart.
They only tested fasteners that could be part of an automated manufacturing process, which unfortunately left out dominoes.
They tested conventional wood screws, 1/4 turn mechanical fasteners, dowels, and confirmat screws and dadoes
Their test was quite different from the testing above. They had a sheet of 3/4” thick plywood as a vertical, and they had a shelf suspended from one edge only.
The results surprised me. Note: They tested the fasteners only, no glue
The dadoes failed at too low a poundage to register on their equipment.
Next came the 1/4 turn fasteners
Then conventional screws
Then came the dowels
And then the confrimats a near tie to the dowels.
This surprised me, as I was using dadoes almost exclusively for my cabinet building.
Then I read the Kitchen cabinet manufacturers association’s contracted testing. Their priority was slightly different. The were interested in if the joints held together. They did not worry about wobble. Much of the structure of kitchen cabinets is supplied by the wall and floor to which it is attached. Falling apart was of interest; wobble was not. Nonetheless, the ran a similar test on the same fasteners.
It was almost exactly the same but with glue. The results were the same.
Interestingly, they both concluded that no fasteners be placed within 2” from the end of a panel. Apparently the fasteners would break apart the sheet goods if it were closer to the edge than that.
I would have liked to have seen Dominoes included in the tests, but it was sponsored by the biggest manufacturers and they have no interest in Dominoes because they use automated equipment, and Dominoes are not set up for that.
I do use 1/2” dowels for assembling 1-1/2” x 1-1/2” square stock, and it was reassuring that the tests above indicated a fairly strong trend in that joint.
And though they did not test Dominoes, if I were using them, I would not place the dominoes within the last 2” of sheet goods. The Dominoes would likely survive, but the sheet goods are likely to fail.
At any rate, if anyone is interested in my dowel cutting fixture for the table saw, let me know and I will take some photos and post them.
Also, why did he leave out 8mm dowels? That’s what I use.
As a tip, you can get 3mm and 5mm “dowels” from the supermarket. They are sold as skewers and are made from bamboo. The 5mm are handy if you are cutting pre-drilled Euro panels and you need the left and right side to line up.
I use the 3mm to spread the glue inside dowel holes. After each use, I trim off the end with the glue with an anvil cutter. I usually cut after the glue has dried.
A few points:
He did not run enough samples to offer conclusive results. It should have bee a dozen or more.
As to the tests, I am not convinced that that test is the important one for most furniture builders or cabinet makers.
I moved to dowels because of two reports. One contracted by the Ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturers associate probably 15 years ago. Think “IKEA”.
Their priority was that if you assembled a piece of furniture at home, that it would not wobble side to side and that it would not fall apart.
They only tested fasteners that could be part of an automated manufacturing process, which unfortunately left out dominoes.
They tested conventional wood screws, 1/4 turn mechanical fasteners, dowels, and confirmat screws and dadoes
Their test was quite different from the testing above. They had a sheet of 3/4” thick plywood as a vertical, and they had a shelf suspended from one edge only.
The results surprised me. Note: They tested the fasteners only, no glue
The dadoes failed at too low a poundage to register on their equipment.
Next came the 1/4 turn fasteners
Then conventional screws
Then came the dowels
And then the confrimats a near tie to the dowels.
This surprised me, as I was using dadoes almost exclusively for my cabinet building.
Then I read the Kitchen cabinet manufacturers association’s contracted testing. Their priority was slightly different. The were interested in if the joints held together. They did not worry about wobble. Much of the structure of kitchen cabinets is supplied by the wall and floor to which it is attached. Falling apart was of interest; wobble was not. Nonetheless, the ran a similar test on the same fasteners.
It was almost exactly the same but with glue. The results were the same.
Interestingly, they both concluded that no fasteners be placed within 2” from the end of a panel. Apparently the fasteners would break apart the sheet goods if it were closer to the edge than that.
I would have liked to have seen Dominoes included in the tests, but it was sponsored by the biggest manufacturers and they have no interest in Dominoes because they use automated equipment, and Dominoes are not set up for that.
I do use 1/2” dowels for assembling 1-1/2” x 1-1/2” square stock, and it was reassuring that the tests above indicated a fairly strong trend in that joint.
And though they did not test Dominoes, if I were using them, I would not place the dominoes within the last 2” of sheet goods. The Dominoes would likely survive, but the sheet goods are likely to fail.
At any rate, if anyone is interested in my dowel cutting fixture for the table saw, let me know and I will take some photos and post them.
Crazyraceguy
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- Oct 16, 2015
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- 4,887
Miller dowels are a completely different thing. They are effectively "wooden nails" with glue. They have to be exposed to the outside of the carcass and must be drilled into an already assembled joint.
