+1 on the contrasting inlay. Always better to make a flaw a feature rather than trying to hide it.
Contributor
+1 on the contrasting inlay. Always better to make a flaw a feature rather than trying to hide it.
Moderator
I do use Dominos for thicker panels...for alignment...and with as few as necessary to accomplish the task. For big stuff, it's also helpful when working alone for that job.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
I definitely agree that the domino's shouldnt be needed on a long grain glue up that said that concept really comes from the biscuit world and biscuits are abysmal for alignment because they are so sloppy. Without a doubt a well jointed and prepared long grain joint is not really going to benefit from a biscuit/domino/dowel however if you are working with material that is pretty close to its final dimension or you dont really have the means or desire to do a lot of work after the glueup a tight fitting domino or for us, dowels, can leave you with a very close to flush top surface that is far more easy to cleanup if you have to use hand tools. I would also argue that if your parts, or your material, are not perfect the dowel or tight domino, will most definitely help you with regards to a glue joint ever opening up at the ends (which is where you will always have a problem).Originally Posted by Derek Cohen
Anything we can surface through the planer/sander/cnc where we have plenty of thickness to spare gets glued up straight in the clamps no dowels no nothing and then gets flattened after the fact. But if we have some material where there is little to spare or a situation where we really want to protect the ends from possibly opening up, we use dowels. Domino's would be great but I havent been able to con myself into buying one.
Contributor
I like misson style with exposed through tenons. Make a brass or silver piece to cover it and at least 3 or 4 to match. Inlaid glass or mirror, tile etc.
Looks like the start of a Green& Greene thunderbird inlay design to me
Bil lD.
Images for ideas.
https://www.popularwoodworking.com/p...tickley-plans/
https://rhpwood.wordpress.com/2008/0...-coffee-table/
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/381680137169663438/
https://www.instructables.com/id/Gre...ed-Hall-Table/
[OP]
Contributor
I did use it for alignment, as the final panel was wider than my wide belt sander. And it was very effective. Just very light sanding, and the center joint is not noticeable by feel, or sight.
True, I could have avoided them on long grain (and I probably should have), but since I knew I couldn't sent it through the wide belt, I picked it up and used it.
- After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
- It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.
Contributor
We are venturing a little off topic here - I will add mine for the OP in a while.
Mark, I understand and largely agree with you. I am curious about you saying that your biscuits are sloppy. I have a Dewalt, and, although I do not use it much for this, it cuts tight and accurate slots - as tight in the vertical as the Domino 500, which I also have. Those boards I joined with the Dewalt have zero alignment issues. I guess that I predicated my comment on the basis of this.
I would not use dowels. The advantage of the biscuit and domino is that there is room for lateral movement, which permits fitting. Dowels have no lateral adjustment. They must be spot-on otherwise they cannot align.
99% of the time I align without anything other than a few cauls. This is especially so with table tops or cabinet tops. However, this is hand tool thinking, not machine thinking. In hand tool work, one only needs one flat and finished surface - the one that will be seen. If you look at the inside of vintage cabinets, or the underside of vintage tables, you will often see the rough work that was ignored to save time when manufacturing a piece ... why waste time on something that will never be seen? Further, in the absence of a wide planer or belt sander, the use of hand planes makes it easy enough to level and finish a top surface after the boards are joined. Often one just joints edges, glues up, and only then planes top and (if you need) the bottom. It is only the skirt/area at the boundaries that needs to be coplanar.
It is evident that modern times, with all the machines available, have changed this process. Now we begin with finished boards, and there is a need for perfect alignment at the start (as you noted). In my own work this has become the case as well. However, I do not mind taking a jointer plane to the glued top to level, which means I will purposely leave the thickness a couple of mm over the end dimension.
Back to the OP's original issue.
I would rout out the domino. There are two choices: one is to simply add a filler ("Dutchman"). This is tricky unless you can fit seamlessly and match the colour and grain. Fitting a wedge is the way to get a tight fit. The second is to route to depth all the way around, and fit a band (ala inlay). You choice here is wide. Personally, I would go with the same wood as I do not like "GT stripes" in furniture.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Member
Ive heard this before, and in that instance it was because a cheap and out of adjustment machine was being use with crappy biscuits from the dollar bin. Use Lamello biscuits with a well tuned machine like a Lamello, Porter Cable or DeWalt and there will be no alignment problems.I definitely agree that the domino's shouldnt be needed on a long grain glue up that said that concept really comes from the biscuit world and biscuits are abysmal for alignment because they are so sloppy.
I totally agree , none of this is necessary. But then again, lots of the tools we all have are not necessary.
Contributor
+2
But I say that, with zero experience in doing that...... I'd still try it. Experiment on something else first, to learn how to do it.
[OP]
Contributor
So, I took advice above and used the Domino to remove the Domino loose tenons, and replaced them with pieces of sapele, with the best grain match I could find. Came out decent. Didn't mention the issue to the LOML, and she hasn't noticed them, so I guess that's a success.
Here's what the repair looked like when finished:
IMG_3652.jpg
- After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
- It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.
Moderator
That was a really good fix, Alan! And should anyone notice it, it's just a "construction mark".
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
Came out great! I would just say they are just a fancy way of holding the glue-up together for years to come. Exposed joinery!
Contributor
Your fix looks good. I had to make a repair like that but smaller (since it was a biscuit) when I cut into a biscuit slot on a 58" round cherry dining table. If you had put a band around the outside as some suggested it would have come loose in a year or two, it is not practical to do that on a solid wood top due to expansion and contraction with seasonal humidity changes, unless your house is fully climate controlled and the wood has already reached equilibrium with it.
Member
Wow! It looks great!
Nice job.
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