Dominoed drawer boxes

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  • atgcpaul
    Veteran Member
    • Aug 2003
    • 4055
    • Maryland
    • Grizzly 1023SLX

    Dominoed drawer boxes


    For utility drawers, I'm always looking to build fast but still keep it strong. I've done DTs, pocket screws, lock joints, and biscuits.

    DTs using a jig can be fast if you're cutting a lot, but not worth the effort for a handful. I used my HF jig once and sold it earlier this spring about 15 years after the first use. Lock joints using a dado blade require a lot of fussing for a good fit. I like biscuits and pocket screws because you can cut all the parts to final size--don't need to take into account joinery size--and come together fast.

    Biscuits are OK, but the box needs to be clamped because the biscuits don't provide enough strength when the glue is wet. I also sold mine this spring because I got a Festool Domino last year.

    Until recently I've pocket screwed my boxes together. You don't need clamps while the glue dries but the front and back pieces need to be 3/4" thick or you need to adjust the jig and buy shorter pocket screws. Of course, these are only good if you hide the pockets with an applied front.

    I've seen some YouTube videos of boxes with through dominoes. Like biscuit or pocket screwed boxes, I can cut everything to length. The Domino is as easy to use as my biscuit joiner but the really nice thing is when I'm assembling the drawer, I don't even need clamps. Even with pocket screws I have to clamp the box or the parts can shift. That doesn't happen with a domino. I could have hidden the domino but I didn't find the through tenon look to be too obtrusive. These sides are 5/8" Baltic birch.


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  • capncarl
    Veteran Member
    • Jan 2007
    • 3564
    • Leesburg Georgia USA
    • SawStop CTS

    #2
    I really like the domino 500. After you figure out how to use it, it will speed up your project and really help keep everything straight and tight. Did you make these dominos or are the the stock beech that just look darker? I just assembled a new style Tiny Table using the 10, 8 and 6mm dominos exclusively for the joinery rather than cut mortise and tendons. I used a blind domino to position the legs, not using any aprons, and finished by plunging a hand made maple domino through the top slab into each leg. This gave me the dark looking domino on a light maple top, like your through domino into the face of your drawer.

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    • atgcpaul
      Veteran Member
      • Aug 2003
      • 4055
      • Maryland
      • Grizzly 1023SLX

      #3
      These are the stock beech ones with a few coats of finish on the drawer.

      I've got so much thin stock scrap that I really should start making my own. I'm almost out of the thicker dominoes.

      I disabled the two spring loaded "pins" on the domino face. That has helped me immensely. Those pins would sometimes just catch an adjacent domino slot and cause the cut to be askew.

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