Keith,
Saw your post on this at JLC and wondered if you’d talk about it here. I’ve thought about joining the sides and head together with dominoes, but never the casing to the jamb.
I’m imagining it works much like attaching a face frame, plunge, glue and clamp, yes?
Thanks,
Steve
Replies
How small of a piece will the domino work on? A 3/4" door jamb (if that) with a 1/4" reveal only leaves 1/2". Is that practical? Or maybe he is talking about manufactured windows which sometimes have a thicker jamb?
John
The smallest domino is 5mm thick, so just over 3/16", and it can be used easily in a 3/4" carcass.So I'd imagine it would be ok here, though his original post was about casing a door. Not sure if he's using the same idea for windows.'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
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Steve,I've joined mitered casing for a while now with Clam Clamps. I started out nailing all 3 pieces and leaving the last several inches free, putting the clamp on the miters then nailing off.Moved on the biscuit & glue, then nailing off as a unit. Sometimes the moon shaped cut was too wide for the casing profile. Now I use Dominos. The smallest domino has worked on every profile I've used to date.This house will have plinth blocks so I cut every leg the same size. For the head casing every jamb was measured for a cut list. The Domino has indexing pins of each side which means you don't have to measure anything when cutting the mortises. Write the door number on the head casing & off you go. Any leg can be used with any head casing. I have enough clamps to do 10 sets at a time. Clamp for an hour, pull the clamps & do the next set. Cut all the pieces & essembled the casings in a day. Never had to leave the garage where I was set up.Next day sanded the joints on the work bench & started to install. I hate to say it but I did the first floor and about 1/2 the second floor holding the essembly in place with a clamp to make sure the revels where correct before I realized this was just like doing face frames . Tried it on a couple of pieces of scrap first then made a store pole and did the rest of the second floor & the third just like a cabinet. This worked because it is a craftsman style casing so everthing is 3/4 material.I do the same for the windows. Check to make sure the windows are really square first. One was off and I had to remake it. With all four corners Domino'd & glued you can't rack it at all.
Edited 9/6/2008 6:53 pm ET by mathewson
Are you glueing the casings to the jambs too?Steve
I glued the Domino's but not the entire casing, not that it really makes much difference I suppose. I started thinking that one could attach one side of the casing to the jamb before was installed if you cut the ends of your shims first. May only work with this builder, I've never seen walls this plumb before.
Just wondering, as I mostly do remodeling. Often times as I'm removing the trim on something I feel sorry for the guy that's going to come in 30 years from now and try and take apart something I've done with out damaging it. My casings are Kreg-screwed together and most of my trim work is put up with torx-head trim screws counter-sunk, filled with bondo and painted. I've occasionally had to go back and remove some of my own stuff, and since I know my techniques, I can usually find the screws, dig out the bondo, and get things apart again, but not always.I feel bad for the guy coming in after me. Dominoes and glue would make it nigh-onto impossible...Steve
Edited 9/6/2008 6:58 pm by mmoogie
One of the cardinal rules of Lutherie, make it reversable and repairable.
I'd never (even on home trim or cabs) make something that is over attached so horridly that disassembly would render it useless or destroyed, it just ain't right.
I've followed Joe Homowner's work on loose chair joints and his famous Gorilla Glue, epoxy, and nails...F&^$%^N Idiots need to leave that stuff alone.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
The world of people goes up and
down and people go up and down with
their world; warriors have no business
following the ups and downs of their
fellow men.
Sphere,I think you know I'm not some Joe Homeowner. When I make a set of stairs I rout the stringers then glue & wedge in the treads & risers. Glue the risers to the back of the treads. If you want the get a tread out it just isn't reversible. I don't see having to rebuild a door jamb & casing as being that much different. This builder wanted as clean a look as possible- I'm comfortable with what I did.
No, I wasn't criticising you , but the adage still haunts me in my work. I know there are cases where reversabilty is not really a viable option, so be it. But in general practices, I build in some sort of release mechanism some where, some how.
Sorry if you thought I was pointing at you, I wasn't.
A rocking chair is prime example of my point, not a stair case.
You do know that one should never whistle while making a chair right? It'll squeak when sat upon..LOL Yea, I follow folklore too much too.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
The world of people goes up and
down and people go up and down with
their world; warriors have no business
following the ups and downs of their
fellow men.
I do try to think about the next guy & you have a very good point. If you use the Clam Clamps & Domion's for the mitered casing you can pull the casing as a unit place it on the bench & with a Japanese saw kerf the joint. Wish I could say I've never had to do that.
>>make it reversable and repairable.<<I know. That's why I feel bad when I do it. But my own anaI-retentativeness makes me do it anyway. A screw just snugs things up so nicely...Steve
Just use hide glue, then it can be steamed apart! Screws, I can find with a rare earth magnet..(G)Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
The world of people goes up and
down and people go up and down with
their world; warriors have no business
following the ups and downs of their
fellow men.
>>Screws, I can find with a rare earth magnet..(G)<<Except on my exterior trim, where I often use SS screws...
Then no problem, they break easy.! Often they'll pull thru too, like nails. I've removed enough work to read the field pretty well as to how it was put up.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
The world of people goes up and
down and people go up and down with
their world; warriors have no business
following the ups and downs of their
fellow men.
I understand your point. It is my hope that this never gets re-worked. I selected the material, did the relief cuts . Ran everthing through the wide belt up to 180 grit, hand eased the edges. Planed any imperfections on a donkey's ear. Tried to maintain the same nailing pattern on every door.