Hot take: domino joiners are overrated for small cabinet doors

I was building a set of 12 shaker doors last week in my garage in Portland and figured I'd try out my new domino joiner for the rails and stiles. First door went together okay, but the second one ended up with a tiny gap on the top corner because I misjudged the depth by like 2mm. Honestly, I spent 20 minutes trying to fix it with glue and clamps but it was a lost cause. I ended up routing out the bad joint and cutting a whole new stile, then just used my old pocket hole jig for the rest of the doors and they came out perfect. Has anyone else had a domino setup mess up a simple door build?

2 comments

2 Comments

valgibson7d ago

Last summer I built two nightstands with my domino and ended up with a 3mm overcut on one mortise because the collet slipped. I had to shim the tenon with a piece of business card to get it tight, but now it's locked in and I stopped trusting the tool for anything under 2 inches. Pocket holes let you clamp and forget, and that extra five minutes of setup isn't worth the headache on small runs.

karenf407d ago

Hasn't your domino got the adjustable depth stop? I've had mine for a few years and those little plastic dials keep me square every time, even on small cabinet doors like shaker rails and stiles. Pocket holes work fine but they just don't give you the same rock-solid alignment for face frames or mitered corners without extra clamping.