# Shop made mortising machine (like Festool Domino)



## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

http://www.instwood.com/2013/01/portable-mortising-router_6259.html


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

thats really slick!


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## ChrisK (Dec 18, 2009)

Nice!


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Looks like he explains this hand motions but I didn't quite get it… it leaves a V shaped mortise, is that going to effect the strength?


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## seriousturtle (Apr 13, 2009)

very cool


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

it doesent leave a v shaped mortise. the head of the machine it angled but the entry path is straight so it cuts a straight path on both sides then it is moved from side to side to clean the remaining material out. Like I said "slick"


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## JulianLech (Jan 13, 2011)

Very cool. This is a great example of why this website is so popular. That is an ingenious jig and inventor.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

I see, it does waggle but does so while cutting so the resulting mortise is straight sided.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

Good idea


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## Derec (Jan 4, 2013)

Rick I think you were correct.

If you look at the rear of the machine you can see the angle that it enters the wood at. The opening of the mortise is the correct size, but then left and right cuts "V" out from there. Just my personal observation.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I reckon the major engineering difference with the 
Domino is the Domino has some sort of cam and gear
system to waggle the cutter back and forth as you 
plunge.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Nov 30, 2012)

Pfft…freaking awesome! Where do I sign up to get the plans for this badboy? My pantorouter is practically complete (this evening), looks simpler to build than the panto that's for sure.

Sure some will comlpain about wiggling the router, think it's great, especially with the overpriced festool.

As for this pupply, guess one would have to make their own silly dominoes unless you mortised a similar size to the bulk sizes out there already.


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## jap (Oct 10, 2012)

amazing. thanks for sharing.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

http://www.instwood.com/

Plans are $11


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Nov 30, 2012)

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…can't access the instwood.com website, Federal blocks the term "wood" ...yet lumberjocks site is allowed, lol.

Thanks for sharing Mike and Loren thanks for sharing the plans. That router used in the vids is actually the same Lowe's carries I think, and it's on my short list of tools needed for small routing jobs.


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## foneman (Mar 11, 2007)

That is pretty darn neat and simple!!!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Very very cool ,that's some great thinking.


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## ScottinTexas (Jan 24, 2013)

It took me a while to see why it was not making a V-shape. Now I get it.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Yeah, if you jump to 7:25 in the 2nd video you can see it cutting. Like Reo said, he plunges straight in from each side then waggles the cutter to remove waste.


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## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

That's cool…even in Russian..thanks Rick


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## paulnwa (May 22, 2011)

*What an amazing value for only $11! *I purchased the plans today and have reviewed them and some of the many construction photos. This is one of the best documented projects I have ever seen! This appears to be a very well engineered project that could easily be adapted for a different router than the one he used. I think I would have no problem recommending this project to anyone who has a use for such a tool. It appears that it probably would take more care and patience than skill to build it. I am not familiar with the Festool Domino, but this tool appears to have more versatility …............... and a very attractive price point!!

One slight anomaly that I noted was that dimensions and notes which were added by the designer sometimes have a comma instead of a period before the last number: i.e. 218,5 which should read 218.5. I have the Sketchup program so I just went thru and corrected them where I found them and re-saved the drawings. A small point but it confused me a little at first, not being familiar with metric dimensioning. That anomaly did not occur in any of the dimensions that were inserted by the program.

I am currently trying to teach myself Sketchup, so I am fascinated with the Sketchup drawings of this project. The 3D projections, exploded views, etc. are wonderful! I hope to be able to do some of that on a future project…............. 

Thanks for posting this.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Thanks for the mini-review of the plans. I rarely build furniture anymore so I'm on the fence whether to actually build this.


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## paulnwa (May 22, 2011)

I haven't tried it yet, but it appears that Sketchup has a feature that allows you to open a drawing and change the dimensional units from metric to Imperial (English)! That would be a big help for us metrically challenged folks!


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Give metric a try, you might like it.


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## Viktor (Jan 15, 2009)

"comma instead of a period before the last number: i.e. 218,5 which should read 218.5"

- In much of non-English speaking world this is standard notation. For example 1,234.5 in US will be 1 234,5 or 1.234,5 in Russia or France. But the Swiss would write 1'234,5.


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