Plantation Shutter joints - M&T, Domino or Dowelmax

[Russell Tribby]

I've got to build some plantation shutters for a customer and I'm pondering what type of joinery I'm going to use. I don't own a dedicated mortiser, Domino or Dowelmax so whatever I decide to do I'll end up having to buy something. If you've built shutters before what would you recommend? What about owners of the aforementioned tools, what pros/cons have you found with each? Thanks in advance for the advice.

[James Hart]

Russell,

There's a You Tube video of a guy using a Domino to make plantation shutters. If you haven't seen it it's good food for thought.

Good Luck,

Jim

[Russell Tribby]

Do you have the link? I ran a quick search and didn't find anything.

[Tim Malyszko]

I have a dedicated mortiser, so that's what I'm using for my plantation shutters. If I didn't have one, I would probably look at the Domino as it seems to be the "go to" tool for low stress M&T joinery.

[Russell Tribby]

If I go with the domino it'll eat up a larger portion of my profit. I'm trying to weigh that against the time it will save. I already have a biscuit jointer. If I went with the domino I would probably sell that to help offset the cost. Do you think the domino would save me that much more time over the other two (mortiser or dowelmax) to justify the cost?

[Bruce Pennell]

Russell here an idea from FOG on the Domino and shutters. festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=2438.0
Hope this helps. One thing to remember the domino will speed up all your new jobs. Hope this helps. Check out FOG just do a search on Domino and you can read for days. Good Luck Bruce

[Tim Malyszko]

If I go with the domino it'll eat up a larger portion of my profit. I'm trying to weigh that against the time it will save. I already have a biscuit jointer. If I went with the domino I would probably sell that to help offset the cost. Do you think the domino would save me that much more time over the other two (mortiser or dowelmax) to justify the cost?

For just this single project, the Domino won't save you significant time as the M&T joinery is not the time consuming portion. Long term, however, the domino would be a good option.

I really don't use my dedicated mortiser too much, but it's certainly nice to have and will cost you about 1/3 of what the domino will cost you once you throw in all the accessories.

Someday, I will buy a Domino; however, since I already own a mortiser, I'm not exactly in a rush to buy one.

One thing to keep in mind is that the stock chisels that come with the mortiser will at a minimum need to be honed, or replaced all together - they aren't exactly top quality.

[Bruce Pennell]

Tim I think the domino will save a lot of time on this project, check out the above post. Just my 2 cent...Bruce

[Paul Johnstone]

If I go with the domino it'll eat up a larger portion of my profit. I'm trying to weigh that against the time it will save. I already have a biscuit jointer. If I went with the domino I would probably sell that to help offset the cost. Do you think the domino would save me that much more time over the other two (mortiser or dowelmax) to justify the cost?

You could probably sell the domino for $20-100 less than you paid for it, quite easily. I recently bought one.. and it seemed that all the used ones on ebay went for pretty close to new price after shipping. IMO, it wasn't worth it to take the chance on used.

On the other hand, if you get the domino, it may help you become more productive on future products, and they are only likely to get more expensive in the near future.. You say you are building this for a customer. I think if you are doing woodworking for profit, then a domino makes a lot of sense. Sure, you will take a hit on this project, but it will speed up future products.

My advice is to buy it, and then after you build the shutters, decide if it's worthwhile to keep it.

Another option is that I think the Leigh FMT jig has a template for doing shutters. That would probably be even faster than a domino. I am not 100% sure though. I'm guessing the FMT would be faster because after the initial setup, you could really crank through them. In contrast, it would probably take more time to position the domino at the correct angle each time.. but then again, I have a domino but have had no time to try it out yet.

[Russell Tribby]

The shutters I'm making will be active so the Leigh jig wouldn't work, nor would it work to use the Domino to cut holes for the slats. I'm looking forward to receiving the tool and putting it to work. You make a good point about resale value, I never thought of that.

You could probably sell the domino for $20-100 less than you paid for it, quite easily. I recently bought one.. and it seemed that all the used ones on ebay went for pretty close to new price after shipping. IMO, it wasn't worth it to take the chance on used.

On the other hand, if you get the domino, it may help you become more productive on future products, and they are only likely to get more expensive in the near future.. You say you are building this for a customer. I think if you are doing woodworking for profit, then a domino makes a lot of sense. Sure, you will take a hit on this project, but it will speed up future products.

My advice is to buy it, and then after you build the shutters, decide if it's worthwhile to keep it.

Another option is that I think the Leigh FMT jig has a template for doing shutters. That would probably be even faster than a domino. I am not 100% sure though. I'm guessing the FMT would be faster because after the initial setup, you could really crank through them. In contrast, it would probably take more time to position the domino at the correct angle each time.. but then again, I have a domino but have had no time to try it out yet.

[James Hart]

Do you have the link? I ran a quick search and didn't find anything.

Russell,

This should work;

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1FivEuxItPw

Jim

[Russell Tribby]

Well...you guys have just about convinced me to pull the trigger on the Domino. Judging from what I've read it sounds like I'll be heading down a slippery slope with my first Festool purchase. I'm going to sleep on it tonight and decide tomorrow, just in time to beat the price increase if I do.

[Bruce Pennell]

Russell remember to buy a combo. I have the CT22 vac and love it. The 33 is bigger. With the domino you need a good vac. You don't want to leave chips in the hole it can throw off your next hole. With the domino a good vac is a must.

[Guy Germaine]

I just started making shutters on Saturday. I don't have a dedicated mortiser, and the setup for my drill press wouldn't work because of the length of the pieces, and where the drill press is sitting (Not enough room to cut the center mortise). I used my router table to cut the mortises. Worked great.

[Russell Tribby]

Guy, I'm assuming you just plunged the material into the bit. Are you using loose tenons or will you be using your router table to make the tenons as well? How many shutters are you making? I'm thinking making enough for my house while I work on this job. I would love to be able to knock it out in one fell swoop.