# festool domino



## rutki (Dec 3, 2009)

Hi,

I'm going to build a few inside full size, solid wood doors for my house.
Can I do it with domino joiner or I have to go with regular tenons?


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## mwhafner (Jan 16, 2009)

The Domino is a great choice for this type of application. It is a highly accurate and capable system. 

I know that a lot of people compare the Domino to a plate joiner, and I really feel that is a mistake. It is much more a replacement for dowels and traditional M&T, than biscuits.


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## rutki (Dec 3, 2009)

Thank you, I'm going to use domino for my doors. I think I just have to use the biggest size and a lot of them on my doors. Do you have any experience with domino in full size door project?


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## mwhafner (Jan 16, 2009)

Not exactly a full dimension door, but I build an arched storm door using Domino construction. It has held up extremely well for about 2 years. I think that I used 8mm Domino's, but it may have been 10mm. If you need a little longer and wider tenons, you can always cut your own. I think with the 10mm bit, you can cut the mortise for a 1.25" x 2.25" x10mm tenon. 

You might want to take a look at the supplemental guide for the Domino - http://www.festoolusa.com/media/pdf/domino_df_500.pdf.


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## Johnny Yuma (Jul 14, 2009)

I think I would use loose tenons instead. Domino's failed pretty bad in Fine Woodworking's joint shootout.


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## mwhafner (Jan 16, 2009)

> I think I would use loose tenons instead. Domino's failed pretty bad in Fine Woodworking's joint shootout.


I was a little surprised by the results of that test, mainly where the Domino fell compared to dowels, the Beadlock, and loose tenons. It was a great article.

However, I don't think it is indicative to a Domino's performance in this type of application. A large portion of the doors manufactured today use cope and stick joinery, and they were significantly weaker in the the test you referenced. 

Having said that, if I am concerned about the strength of a joint with the Domino, I will build my own tenon. The machine will cut mortises that are deeper and longer than the standard tenons available. You can also join multiple mortises to create a "hidden spline" joint.


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## Jason W (Dec 18, 2008)

I had some failures on cabinet doors with the Domino. Thankfully it was an experiment on my own project and not a customers.

A Festool Rep came to our shop and I showed him one of the doors. He was very surprised to say the least. When we pulled one apart to see what would have caused it we found that the glue was setting in the bottom of the mortise and didn't contact the domino by much at all.

I made some corrections and everything is fine now.

All I can tell you is be aware that the mortise is deeper than the Domino and use plenty of glue. It's best to put some glue in the hole AND also brush glue onto the Domino before assembling the parts. It's not the Domino that will fail, it's the glue application.

Good Luck:thumbsup:


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## april-1986 (Dec 10, 2009)

I just wanted to get some opinions. If you had a choice which would you choose. They seem to be about the same price.

Also, can a loose tenon be as strong as a regular M&T?


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## ClarkMcGill (Aug 20, 2009)

I'm a huge fan of mortise and tennon, but I have been told that a loose tennon is stronger. The theory behind it is that glued wood is stronger than wood itself. Therefore being that the glue would be in both pieces, it would be less likely that the tennon would break off of the piece it was cut from. I hope that makes sense.


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## Domer (Mar 23, 2008)

*Domino*

I have built several pieces of furniture including chairs. They aren't all that old yet but have been subject to pretty hard use and so far so good.

I don't know about loose tenons being stronger than M & T but I what I have read says they are as strong.

The Fine Woodworking test of joints seemed to be flawed. They compared one Domino biscuit in the center of the joint to multiple dowels and the mortise and tenon was much wider and deeper than the Domino. So I don't think it was a fair comparison. What would have been the results if they had put multiple Domino biscuits in their test. I think that would have been a fairer test.

Anyway, I use the Domino for a awful lot of my joinery and have been very happy with it.

Domer


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