Saved SO much money today...

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

    Saved SO much money today...

    by making my own dominoes. I'm joking.

    It only took a pile of scrap headed for the firepit, 2 hours of time, $3k+ of shop equipment, and electricity for the tools, lights, and AC.

    I was nearly out of the thicker 10mm dominoes. A pack of 85 costs $24. I figure I made at least 120 new dominoes. The Festool dominoes are a tad under 1"x2"x10mm. The Domino can actually cut a 1.25" wide x 1 1/8" deep slot so I made about 3/4 of them 1.25" wide. Half of those I made the same length as the retail dominoes and the other half a little longer. I figure the upsized ones will give me a little more glue surface.

    Most of them are walnut--lots of sapwood and offcuts--and some red oak. In the foreground are a side by side of new vs retail.

    Click image for larger version

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

    #2
    Dominos are fluted to allow glue to be presed out to the sides! If you make tight fitting dominos that do not allow glue to properly get to all sides of the domino you will soon see a structural failure of your joint!
    capncarl

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

      #3
      Before I had a Domino, I had a homemade router mortising jig. I made my own loose tenons and haven't experienced any failures. Those tenons weren't grooved. The traditional mortise and tenon joint has withstood the test of time without needing grooved tenons, too. I think my joints will be OK.

      Comment

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

        #4
        Atgcpaul, I too make my own dominos when I need special sizes or different types of wood. I do make them where they are an easy fit, not as tight as the store bought dominos. I always coat the inside of the plundged domino hole with glue using a Q-tip and make sure that there is enough glue in the hole to squeeze out when I press the domino in. When I first started thinking about making my own dominos I did a bunch of online searches and found that others make their own, and there was concerns about glue starving. I made several tests on home made dominos, and sure enough when I used the band saw to dissect the home made domino that was a tight fit, it didn't take much effort to pry out the pieces. The looser fit home made dominos was impossible to pry out. The main comment I remember in my search was " why bother making your own, they are too cheap" I guess if you can afford Festool equipment you would probably think that way. I wish I had time to make all of mine!
        capncarl

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

          #5
          I don't like how tight the retail dominoes fit in the mortise. Sometimes I need to use pliers to pull them out after a dry fit. They all measure about 10.17mm thick. The ones I made are 0.1mm thinner and slide in and out much nicer but don't fall out on their own.

          Unless I'm gluing up a veneered panel, I think I've always applied glue to both wood surfaces--even dominoes.

          I've seen data both ways on whether dominoes are stronger than homemade, and there's a (disputed) FWW article that ranks M&T towards the top of joint strength and dominoes and biscuits towards the bottom. Whatever. Still plenty strong for what I'm doing.

          It took me 2 years to use the 60 or so 10mm dominoes (and a few more of the smaller ones) so I should be good for a while.

          Comment

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

            #6
            atgcpaul
            For my typical Tiny Table I cut a domino mortise about 2 1/2" wide ( using one of the preset stops and moving the machine 2x) in the legs and end of aprons. I make wide dominos that are 2 1/2" x 10mm x 40mm for the tenon. Quite a large floating tenon for a 3/4" thick apron to 1 1/4" table leg connection.

            Click image for larger version

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

              #7
              I'm not exactly sure what kind of furniture this guy builds, but he has a lot of Domino videos sharing tips/tricks and I've learned a lot.

              Good reason to put glue on both the domino and not just in the mortise.

              Comment

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

                #8
                Good video. I often refer to his (.5"< ) videos for Festool questions. He seems to have quite a Festool collection......... and for some reason his videos are recorded in such a way that I can watch them without all the constant refreshing and stumbling I get on other videos!
                He is using acid brushes for glueing. That was my favorite brush until I went to using a "Q tip ", I like the Qtip better for the domino holes, and have about figured out how much glue to squirt in to saturated the hole and paint on the domino and get just a hint of squeeze out. If I don't get squeeze out I pull the domino out and start over. I can't have a failure on a table leg due to a starved glue joint! It.
                capncarl

                Comment

                • Haninga
                  Forum Newbie
                  • Jan 2018
                  • 12

                  #9
                  I agree with you, the handmade work is the best way to save money, that reminds me when I bought an old set of table, 4 chairs, and sofa for an acceptable price but in and doubtable condition, I searched online for some advice about what is the best option, restore it or buy another one and I found this site https://olyfurnitureworks.com/should...the-old-stuff/ which show me the pros and cons of restoring old furniture or buy new ones. I decided to restore the old stuff and I love how it gave a classic theme to my home.

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