The best part about this is that it makes Laura happy. It doesn't matter that there are stronger, or faster, or prettier ways to join boards together, just LOOK at her smile!
I really enjoy the comments explaining what she could also do to increase strength or alternative way to go about what she's doing. It's very eye-opening to a novice, and I think with fellow makers this is the best responses to get. It's always broadening when someone tells you your grand idea is actually an ancient "insert name" technique. While it may deflate the excitement a bit, it helps interested people to research more in the right direction. It's a good reminder that a lot of people who lived before us have had the same ideas and tested things out so you might not have to.
I have taken 300 year old pieces of furniture apart, by knocking out the dowels from hand cut mortice & tenon joints so beautifully made, that they didn't even need glue. Can't say more, but keep progressing. Best wishes. Al.
If you drlled the hole in the workpiece and the hole in the domino separately, and offset by about 1mm or 1/32", you could have a tight drawbore joint in which the dowel wouldn't need to be glued at all and could be tapped out and replaced in the future. You'd have to be careful not to offset too far or it might break the glue joint on the other piece.
This was my immediate thought as well. I probably would make up a jig to cut out dominos from the same wood that the project is being made out of to. Having the domino tenon and the dowel custom made from either the parent wood, or some high contrast hardwood would look really nice.
For me as an carpenter building timber frame huses, as it’s been built since, forever. This is the way to connect frames. The last projekt I did was mowing/repairing houses that originally came from Finland/Russia to Denmark around 1640. Built? nobody knows. We got the wood tested and a piece of pine 4x4 had to be examined under a microscope to count the year rings. When it was built the wood was more than 200 years old. I had the pleasure to repair those buildings. Taking them apart was so easy. A hammer to nock out the dowels. Making new parts that had to be replaced and making new parts. Replacing them with new and offset the holes 1mm. Put in the new dowels "oak". See them coming together so snug that I almost seemed ridiculous. Finding tools and notes in the wall, and of course a beer, from the carpenters that rebuilt the houses in 1640, when I came to Denmark. I will never forget this projekt! Of course I left a piece of tool, a note, and a beer to the next carpenter to see in 400 years from now🫣
Awesome! I love it : - ) I'm a former furniture maker's assistant, so will **always** stick around for nerdy woodworking videos. My boss always talked about the importance of how things look where the pieces come together, and this is such a distinctive look that it could be recognized across a room. "Oh, that's a Laura Kampf sculpture - you can tell by the joint." I look forward to seeing it used in future work.
Great to see you having fun with joinery! A follow-on for you to ponder is the technique of creating a ‘draw-bore.’ This means aligning the outer visible dowel hole in the workpiece a fraction away from the hole in the hidden domino or ‘tenon.’ Traditionally, dowel-pinning has been done into a carved or machined tenon sticking out before assembly from a table apron, a horizontal stretcher between legs, or a ‘breadboard’ end on a table edge. These tenons are part of the workpiece, not an insert. Dominos are essentially a two-ended tenon that slips into machined oval holes. Anyway, a draw bore can create a tight fit in an un-glued joint that may remain so as wood movement takes place over the seasons. If you firstly drill the hole in the outer workpiece, be it an apron or a table leg, etc. before assembly, and then slide the piece to be attached over the undrilled domino/tenon, you can mark onto the tenon with your deep-well pencil or scribe the location of the hole you want to make in the buried domino or tenon. BUT, you don’t co-locate these holes as you would if simply drilling through both pieces at the same time. -Instead, you pull apart the dry-fit joint, and after observing the circular mark you made, you purposely drill the hole in the domino a fraction past the final joint surface. Imagine how the inserted dowel will need to bind a little as it seeks to fit into place, so as to ‘draw’ the joint tighter once it is lightly force-fit into the hole. This technique takes precise drilling or inserting the dowel will be too difficult. Rounding or beveling the dowel end helps; you can cut that off flush afterward. I’m not saying this is necessarily better than what you’re doing, and in fact it may be too fussy to adopt. I’m just ‘Nerding out’ with you!
In traditional woodworking we would call this a “pinned mortise and tenon” or, a slight variation on it with some additional features, but visually the same, a “drawbore mortise and tenon.” These date back 1000 years and more. Where you’ve gotten creative is doing this with a domino floating tenon; and your tenon is a through tenon on the non-pinned side, which I don't think I've seen before. Yes, there are absolutely some structural problems with how you’ve done it, but they are not unsolvable problems. The primary concern is that you’ve dramatically weakened both the tenon and the board with the hole. Traditionally, we would make the tenon dramatically bigger, and certainly longer. Or make the dowel thinner. Or both. Basically, you’ve got only a tiny amount of wood beyond your hole and that’s going to blow out very easily. And if you don’t glue it, it’s going to be even weaker because that tiny amount of wood is the only thing holding everything together whereas with glue you can rely, to a certain extent, on the rest of the wood that is glued. The simple solution is a bigger domino. At least certainly longer. I don’t have a domino because I’m a traditional hand tool guy so I don’t know what the limits are in terms of width/length for a domino. And maybe a smaller dowel. If that’s not possible, we also used to pin M&T joints with small finish nails. This was more to hold a joint while the glue dried rather than structural (it technically weakens the joint just like your method, but only a miniscule amount that is not of concern). You could fashion a finish nail with a broad fancy-as-hell head. Drill a pilot hole and drive it in. Also, if you don’t glue it, you would absolutely have to drawbore it (offset the holes) because if you don’t that joint is going to start to get wobbly pretty fast. BTW - end grain joints are not weak. That’s a myth that is perpetuated by people being unfamiliar with the nuanced technique in gluing up those joints. You have to first “size” the end grain. That means applying some glue (often slightly watered down a smidge) to the end grain a couple minutes before you do the normal glue-up like normal. This additional step prevents the glue from soaking up into the end grain which weakens the glue joint. End grain glue ups, when properly done, are just as strong as long grain glue joints. The reason we don’t do it except in particular situations where it’s necessary is because we typically cut parts with the grain running in the long direction because the part is stronger that way. That means that, except in certain situations, you are putting an enormous amount of leverage on that joint and it could break (the wood; not the glue). So there are typically better ways to go about things (dovetails, M&T, etc.). But I do love that you are thinking about how your joinery looks and trying to solve an aesthetic problem. I would suggest making a bunch of those and stress testing them to refine your method and make an update video. Maybe it will become the new viral joint! In the old days people went to great lengths to hide all the joinery. That started to change during the craftsman period of architecture around 1900. Then it started seeping into furniture. Now it seems like people go out of their way to show joinery (particularly dovetails for some reason). But it means that you are thinking about the way consumers think about joinery now in the age of mass produced and automated furniture. Seeing the joinery is one way people feel like they can see something was hand made…. Although now they are starting to duplicate that with CNC furniture so I guess that ship is about to sail!
I appreciate the joy and delight you’re sharing here. I’ve been watching a lot of videos and reading guides to work toward making cabinets with drawers. Seeing you here reminds me to try to get it right and also to have some fun and smile.
HI Laura! Your joint looks nice. BUT by adding the round dowels you are weakening the joint alot. May I suggest using longer dominos and a smaller dowel. Hereby your round dowel-hole is further away from the edge of wood and the joint is stronger and you don't remove as mush of the domino. Just to be clear the whole thought and througt domino is alot waeker then a traditional domino joint, since you remove double the ammount of wood and have less wood perpendicular to the domino. Also you could just do the throught and through domino and if you want to open the joint, then cut away the dominos with the machine. So you solution is purely aesthetic. A stronger joint where your round dowels would work better is a horisontal dovetail-groove joint. Anyways, your joint is plenty strong for most things, but I woulden't recommend it for chairs. Keep playing around with it :) Kind regards from a Danish Cabinet Maker and furniture conservator.
@BearbearbearbearbearbearRarrrr if you're talking about your comment, you're absolutely right. However the comment above you was well thought out and something anyone using this joint should consider.
By setting the dowel in the piece then cutting your domino pockets you can have the aesthetic of the dowel without compromising the strength of the domino. If you were only concerned with seeing the dowel on one side of the joint you could shallow set the dowel as you would with an inlay. This similar to counter sinking a screw then using dowel to fill the countersink.
This is actually a very old wood joint technique. Many hundreds of years old. If you really wanted to show the beauty of a wood joint, nothing beats a comb or dovetail joint in my opinion.
Love your takes on furniture and woodworking, a video like this is always appreciated. I don't know if your joint is strong, but I love the idea of being able to take it apart! That's genius. Your passion is inspiring
This is so cool! Love how this is like a combination of a bunch of types of joins. Only gluing one side to make it removable is genius!! Such a good idea, and leaves a distinct mark on you work
Is this that joint that when done in the traditional way you make the holes in slight different places so that the pin pulls the two pieces together right? In any case it's brilliant seeing Laura come up with this version... "good artists borrow, great artists steal"
@@fimdomeio9447 close! That is a drawbore, but you can use a drawbore as the pinning style for the mortise (hole) and tenon (stub/tab). You don't need to, but you can absolutely do it for a bit more tension. I would be a smidge nervous putting that extra strain on floating tenons like dominos, but absolutely a thing for integral tenons!
Very nice, Laura. The exposed joinery also tells someone in the future how to take it apart. You can picture the joint in your head, and see the method. They don’t have to know anything before they start.
As we say in Boston;; WICKED AWESOME!!! Not only is this brilliant as you applied it but I think it resolves an issue I've been puzzling over for MONTHS!! I will post again when I've applied it. I hope I remember to take photos to share. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
With that much joy, I have to subscribe. Gute Arbeit. Wait! You are on Sendung mit dem Maus!?! That is one way I am learning German. That’s so great. Love from Leipzig!
Laura, respectfully this is simply a variation of a doweled mortise and tenon joint which has been used for centuries. I don’t think in your example it’s particularly strong, as the dowel is way too close to the end of the tenon (Dominoe). The tenon and mortise should be longer, so that the dowel is located at 50 to 65% of the tenons length, so that it won’t break under pressure. These joints are traditionally used without glue. Try offsetting the dowel hole in the tenon ever so slightly to the holes in the mortise so that when you drive the dowel home it pulls the joint together really tightly.
I had a similar dream after watching Adam build his book shelves. I was thinking of other interesting joinery, but you actually made it! It's so beautiful and practical.
This joint is very useful for attaching breadboard ends to a tabletop. And it looks fantastic when you use a contrasting wood (or as someone else suggested, brass pins).
my favourite thing about this is that yes, it adds some additional strength (ikea use this method, except with screws and plastic bolt locks (which is actually flimsy as hell if the machining isnt very good)) but anyway - the best part is - YOU CAN DO THIS BY EYE and that makes it super fast.
I've done this before, loved how it came out. Only difference in what I did was i glued the domino into the long grain piece (long-grain to long grain glue joint) and doweled through the end grain piece, arguably stronger than just gluing the domino in both sides. Had to pull the piece back a part to repair damage and it saved me a bunch of hassle!
I love the idea of being able to disassemble the joint. My only suggestion might be that in clock manufacture they use a conical pin which pulls the two surfaces together, I wonder if there is a way to modify this for wooden joints, it would look the same but be stronger.
Interesting idea and glad that you're so excited about it. To my eyes the domino is not quite the same shape as the hole the machine makes, so there are visible gaps at the ends. To me, gaps = poor joinery. My woodwork teacher at school used to judge or attempts at joinery by trying to slide a 'ten bob note' (bank note equivalent to 50 pence today). If he could get the edge of the note into your joint you'd basically failed.
I often thought of similar kinds of disassemblable all Wood joints. Its kindof like that Ikea joint, but without the metal Hardware, which i find kind of cool.
Way to bounce back strong Laura! Nerd central for my wood working is competitive and where its at! Your delivery of a new idea its great and ill pass it down onto my apprentices when we begin our new cabinets.
I dig it. It has a traditional craftspersons feel to it while bringing a unique modern look. If I use it, I'll be sure to give credit. I can't think of a situation where you might want to take something apart where this would be the most practical joint since the peg has to be drilled out and the likelihood of damaging the surrounding material is so high. But I still like this very much. A longer domino would be useful in that it would allow room for TWO dowels!
I love how much the little details in things make you light up. 😊 If you're ever in need of inspiration on joinery & woodworking, I came across this amazing channel featuring a master carpenter from China called "Granpa Amu". Kinda random, I know 😅 but this man is absolutely mesmerizing to watch. I saw an episode where he built a new bridge for his village without using any nails or glue, just incredible joinery work & good ol' gravity. Ah-ma-zing!
Still used today, especially in building and restoring windmills, atleast here in the Netherlands, and we will call it 'toognagels'. You first drill the hole trought, put the other wooden piece in the slot, draw out the hole, and then drill it offset by 1 to 2 mm, then put an tapered dowel or 'toognagel' in it, that way it clamps itself in some way
Beautiful, and elegant, in the science sense: simplicity that is good enough, over unnecessary complexity. I'm really looking forward to seeing you putting this to use. Also, I love those times of lying there, nearly asleep, with ideas floating about in my non-judgemental state of mind. I've had some of my best ideas at such times, as well as some of my weirdest. The problem is, it sometimes makes it hard to actually get to sleep!
The Kampf Konnection is essentially a cam-and-dowel solution that could take flatpack furniture to the next level. Instead of shipping boards and metal fasteners, you ship boards and Kampf Konnectors. You send em to the store for a mallet and glue. They assemble the pieces at home and can have a much higher quality result than IKEA with only slightly more work. And should it ever need dissassembly you drill out the dowel as you said. Brilliant! Kudos!
it's a good looking joint. it reminds me of when there are covers over metal joinings. if i can offer a suggestion. don't glue the dowel, just make it an interference fit so you can just knock it out instead of drilling it out. you could go the extra bit of making it a drawbore as well. overall it is still weakening the joint a bit, but as long as that isn't an issue in the design then it's a good looking joint with some flexibility.
I was so excited by your ‘nerding out’, my brain went to hyperdrive. I had to see immediately but didn’t want to cheat and skip to end, so I cranked up the playback speed, pausing to ponder/admire a time or two. Loved your idea (and also loved your love of your idea). I played again at normal speed, and sure enough, still loved.
I love how excited you are to be seemingly a few steps away from basic Ikea furniture joinery, but with wood construction😂. I can't wait to see where this goes.
Yeah, the removable version was the first thing that occurred when you suggested the pegged domino. (I'm not clever, just into repairability). The joint that you show here leaves very short grain in both the domino and the drilled joint piece. Set the domino cutter to work deeper, cut off less domino waste, then set the drill point back from the end grain. Finally, when removing plugs, consider stepping down a drill size or two so that you don't accidentally misposition the hole (fitting the new plugs looked sloppy). Once the plug is hollowed out, you can easily break out the glued shell, maybe with the full sized dowel drill. Lovely idea and thanks for sharing! Nice one.
Kampfverbindung is easier to say, and is grammatically accurate. Note that the German v is pronounced like an English f, and the i in “bind” is like the English i in “India”, so it's Kampf-fer-bind-ung.
So to add one more bit of old style craftmanship, Brett Hull recommends driving a square peg in a round hole which is how old door sections were attached.
Ich finde es sieht aus wie zusammen "genäht" . Man könnte die Verbindung an längeren Holzteilen wie eine genähte Naht an Stoffstücken aussehen lassen. Sieht jedenfalls cool aus!! Lieber Gruß Anja
Great idea, Laura! I love the “Laura joint” or maybe it’s the “Kampf joint”? I love the interplay of the flattened oval with the circle. Those shapes work really well together, much better than I would have thought when I pictured it in my head. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video and showing us this very cool technique.
Ancient Phoenician ships were built using planks held edge to edge using pegged loose tenons. This method was later adopted by ancient Greeks and Romans. So I think your method is sound, but the peg may be best made a bit smaller to leave more strength in the tenon.
Beautiful and cool! And I don't even think you need to glue in the dowels, really. They're snug enough in there that they won't go sliding out of their own free will. If you don't glue them in, you can use a spare length of dowel plus a hammer to take the joint apart, no drill needed, and then put it back together by hammering the tiny dowel back in!
Love the signature joint! But not sure if reversible thing is needed - although I don't have much experience with all this. And yes, your smile makes me so happy - you clearly dreamed up of something that you love!
Not only beautiful but functional! You have outdone yourself. Love it. You could elevate it by adding a small metal pin of your choice on the piece holding the large dowel. So there would be a small circle above the larger one of a different size. Thank you for sharing. If I ever get a domino tool I will send you a picture of the first think I make with this joint.
This could be really cool to use in applications where disassembly would be helpful or required! Like a setup and tear down situation, vendor expos, festivals, etc. Getting to watch a maker come up with something new and having them share it, there is nothing better!
Can't afford a Domino? Make a jig, use a router to make both the hole and the dominos, and you can make them in different sizes!! Laura always inspires (also) me to take it a step further, try it out, learn and improve from my mistakes! ❤
If you offset the holes a bit (like 0.5 mm), then the dowel will pull the joint together and make it even stronger. And you can still take it out when needed.
I know quite a bit about joining wood, and I think this is a cool idea. I have additions in my head, right away. I wouldn't have thought of this, but it did spark a thing in the old head of how I might use it.
I would look forward to that, too. In that Matthias is of German descent, an engineer, and a skilled and inventive woodworker, I think his comments would be very direct.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
The best part about this is that it makes Laura happy. It doesn't matter that there are stronger, or faster, or prettier ways to join boards together, just LOOK at her smile!
Yes! 🎉
I really enjoy the comments explaining what she could also do to increase strength or alternative way to go about what she's doing. It's very eye-opening to a novice, and I think with fellow makers this is the best responses to get. It's always broadening when someone tells you your grand idea is actually an ancient "insert name" technique. While it may deflate the excitement a bit, it helps interested people to research more in the right direction. It's a good reminder that a lot of people who lived before us have had the same ideas and tested things out so you might not have to.
I know nothing about wood working but I do know the smile of someone who loves what she is doing. 😁
I have taken 300 year old pieces of furniture apart, by knocking out the dowels from hand cut mortice & tenon joints so beautifully made, that they didn't even need glue. Can't say more, but keep progressing. Best wishes. Al.
If you drlled the hole in the workpiece and the hole in the domino separately, and offset by about 1mm or 1/32", you could have a tight drawbore joint in which the dowel wouldn't need to be glued at all and could be tapped out and replaced in the future. You'd have to be careful not to offset too far or it might break the glue joint on the other piece.
Came here to say this. Would want to use hardwood dowels, probably.
This was my immediate thought as well. I probably would make up a jig to cut out dominos from the same wood that the project is being made out of to. Having the domino tenon and the dowel custom made from either the parent wood, or some high contrast hardwood would look really nice.
Same here, came here to comment those two answers, but you guys were faster ^^ Tolle Verbindung!
Thought of it as well, but won't it put too much stress on the other part of the joint? Or put another dowell in that part
For me as an carpenter building timber frame huses, as it’s been built since, forever. This is the way to connect frames. The last projekt I did was mowing/repairing houses that originally came from Finland/Russia to Denmark around 1640. Built? nobody knows. We got the wood tested and a piece of pine 4x4 had to be examined under a microscope to count the year rings. When it was built the wood was more than 200 years old. I had the pleasure to repair those buildings. Taking them apart was so easy. A hammer to nock out the dowels. Making new parts that had to be replaced and making new parts. Replacing them with new and offset the holes 1mm. Put in the new dowels "oak".
See them coming together so snug that I almost seemed ridiculous. Finding tools and notes in the wall, and of course a beer, from the carpenters that rebuilt the houses in 1640, when I came to Denmark. I will never forget this projekt! Of course I left a piece of tool, a note, and a beer to the next carpenter to see in 400 years from now🫣
After watching this video, if you want to be extra fancy. Use a brass pin in place of the dowel.
Imagine telling Laura that she can use brass.
Brilliant!
Was just going to say the very same thing!
if you want to get even fancier use a mosaic brass pin like in knife making for holding knife scales together.
Instead of a brass pin why not use a brass Corby bolt. That way you don’t even need to drill it out to remove it instead just unscrew it 👍🏻
Awesome! I love it : - )
I'm a former furniture maker's assistant, so will **always** stick around for nerdy woodworking videos.
My boss always talked about the importance of how things look where the pieces come together, and this is such a distinctive look that it could be recognized across a room. "Oh, that's a Laura Kampf sculpture - you can tell by the joint."
I look forward to seeing it used in future work.
You can also make your own domino. This way you can choose the color of the wood in order to have a good constrast between the pieces.
Great to see you having fun with joinery! A follow-on for you to ponder is the technique of creating a ‘draw-bore.’ This means aligning the outer visible dowel hole in the workpiece a fraction away from the hole in the hidden domino or ‘tenon.’ Traditionally, dowel-pinning has been done into a carved or machined tenon sticking out before assembly from a table apron, a horizontal stretcher between legs, or a ‘breadboard’ end on a table edge. These tenons are part of the workpiece, not an insert. Dominos are essentially a two-ended tenon that slips into machined oval holes. Anyway, a draw bore can create a tight fit in an un-glued joint that may remain so as wood movement takes place over the seasons. If you firstly drill the hole in the outer workpiece, be it an apron or a table leg, etc. before assembly, and then slide the piece to be attached over the undrilled domino/tenon, you can mark onto the tenon with your deep-well pencil or scribe the location of the hole you want to make in the buried domino or tenon. BUT, you don’t co-locate these holes as you would if simply drilling through both pieces at the same time. -Instead, you pull apart the dry-fit joint, and after observing the circular mark you made, you purposely drill the hole in the domino a fraction past the final joint surface. Imagine how the inserted dowel will need to bind a little as it seeks to fit into place, so as to ‘draw’ the joint tighter once it is lightly force-fit into the hole. This technique takes precise drilling or inserting the dowel will be too difficult. Rounding or beveling the dowel end helps; you can cut that off flush afterward. I’m not saying this is necessarily better than what you’re doing, and in fact it may be too fussy to adopt. I’m just ‘Nerding out’ with you!
I came to say about the draw bore
Yeah, used where you can predict shrinkage in green woodworking... well described.
The peg actually bends and is always in tension. There is draw bored furniture that has held for > 200 years. No glue needed
Thanks!
In traditional woodworking we would call this a “pinned mortise and tenon” or, a slight variation on it with some additional features, but visually the same, a “drawbore mortise and tenon.” These date back 1000 years and more. Where you’ve gotten creative is doing this with a domino floating tenon; and your tenon is a through tenon on the non-pinned side, which I don't think I've seen before.
Yes, there are absolutely some structural problems with how you’ve done it, but they are not unsolvable problems. The primary concern is that you’ve dramatically weakened both the tenon and the board with the hole. Traditionally, we would make the tenon dramatically bigger, and certainly longer. Or make the dowel thinner. Or both. Basically, you’ve got only a tiny amount of wood beyond your hole and that’s going to blow out very easily. And if you don’t glue it, it’s going to be even weaker because that tiny amount of wood is the only thing holding everything together whereas with glue you can rely, to a certain extent, on the rest of the wood that is glued. The simple solution is a bigger domino. At least certainly longer. I don’t have a domino because I’m a traditional hand tool guy so I don’t know what the limits are in terms of width/length for a domino. And maybe a smaller dowel. If that’s not possible, we also used to pin M&T joints with small finish nails. This was more to hold a joint while the glue dried rather than structural (it technically weakens the joint just like your method, but only a miniscule amount that is not of concern). You could fashion a finish nail with a broad fancy-as-hell head. Drill a pilot hole and drive it in. Also, if you don’t glue it, you would absolutely have to drawbore it (offset the holes) because if you don’t that joint is going to start to get wobbly pretty fast.
BTW - end grain joints are not weak. That’s a myth that is perpetuated by people being unfamiliar with the nuanced technique in gluing up those joints. You have to first “size” the end grain. That means applying some glue (often slightly watered down a smidge) to the end grain a couple minutes before you do the normal glue-up like normal. This additional step prevents the glue from soaking up into the end grain which weakens the glue joint. End grain glue ups, when properly done, are just as strong as long grain glue joints. The reason we don’t do it except in particular situations where it’s necessary is because we typically cut parts with the grain running in the long direction because the part is stronger that way. That means that, except in certain situations, you are putting an enormous amount of leverage on that joint and it could break (the wood; not the glue). So there are typically better ways to go about things (dovetails, M&T, etc.).
But I do love that you are thinking about how your joinery looks and trying to solve an aesthetic problem. I would suggest making a bunch of those and stress testing them to refine your method and make an update video. Maybe it will become the new viral joint! In the old days people went to great lengths to hide all the joinery. That started to change during the craftsman period of architecture around 1900. Then it started seeping into furniture. Now it seems like people go out of their way to show joinery (particularly dovetails for some reason). But it means that you are thinking about the way consumers think about joinery now in the age of mass produced and automated furniture. Seeing the joinery is one way people feel like they can see something was hand made…. Although now they are starting to duplicate that with CNC furniture so I guess that ship is about to sail!
I appreciate the joy and delight you’re sharing here. I’ve been watching a lot of videos and reading guides to work toward making cabinets with drawers. Seeing you here reminds me to try to get it right and also to have some fun and smile.
That "taking it apart again" argument blew my mind 😅
Great Idea & great Video!
HI Laura! Your joint looks nice. BUT by adding the round dowels you are weakening the joint alot. May I suggest using longer dominos and a smaller dowel. Hereby your round dowel-hole is further away from the edge of wood and the joint is stronger and you don't remove as mush of the domino. Just to be clear the whole thought and througt domino is alot waeker then a traditional domino joint, since you remove double the ammount of wood and have less wood perpendicular to the domino. Also you could just do the throught and through domino and if you want to open the joint, then cut away the dominos with the machine. So you solution is purely aesthetic. A stronger joint where your round dowels would work better is a horisontal dovetail-groove joint. Anyways, your joint is plenty strong for most things, but I woulden't recommend it for chairs. Keep playing around with it :) Kind regards from a Danish Cabinet Maker and furniture conservator.
This conversation adds value to the video.
@BearbearbearbearbearbearRarrrr if you're talking about your comment, you're absolutely right.
However the comment above you was well thought out and something anyone using this joint should consider.
@@orandilu989 could not agree more. As I stated…
By setting the dowel in the piece then cutting your domino pockets you can have the aesthetic of the dowel without compromising the strength of the domino.
If you were only concerned with seeing the dowel on one side of the joint you could shallow set the dowel as you would with an inlay. This similar to counter sinking a screw then using dowel to fill the countersink.
This is actually a very old wood joint technique. Many hundreds of years old. If you really wanted to show the beauty of a wood joint, nothing beats a comb or dovetail joint in my opinion.
Love your takes on furniture and woodworking, a video like this is always appreciated. I don't know if your joint is strong, but I love the idea of being able to take it apart! That's genius. Your passion is inspiring
Your style is awesome. You are truly a design nerd. Brilliant!
This is a really interesting connection. I love the fact that you fixated on this; inspiration comes at odd times
This is so cool! Love how this is like a combination of a bunch of types of joins. Only gluing one side to make it removable is genius!! Such a good idea, and leaves a distinct mark on you work
Such a brilliant removable joint! And a signature one at that.
It's like a modified pinned mortise and tenon joint! The Kampf joint!!
Is this that joint that when done in the traditional way you make the holes in slight different places so that the pin pulls the two pieces together right? In any case it's brilliant seeing Laura come up with this version... "good artists borrow, great artists steal"
@@fimdomeio9447 close! That is a drawbore, but you can use a drawbore as the pinning style for the mortise (hole) and tenon (stub/tab). You don't need to, but you can absolutely do it for a bit more tension. I would be a smidge nervous putting that extra strain on floating tenons like dominos, but absolutely a thing for integral tenons!
Very nice, Laura. The exposed joinery also tells someone in the future how to take it apart. You can picture the joint in your head, and see the method. They don’t have to know anything before they start.
Brilliant and I love seeing the huge smile on Laura's face👍
Well done🎉🙌😊
“I like to see some traces of craftsmanship.” … ME TOO! But, I hadn’t thought of that way to say it. Cheer!!
Maybe think about a tapered dowel that you don't glue in at all and can knock out if you need to disassemble. Really cool application and aesthetic.
isn't that called a tusk tenon? 3 or 4 centuries old.
@@Steven-v6l "Draw Bore"
@@VAXHeadroom i like tapered dowel more
As we say in Boston;; WICKED AWESOME!!! Not only is this brilliant as you applied it but I think it resolves an issue I've been puzzling over for MONTHS!! I will post again when I've applied it. I hope I remember to take photos to share. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
With that much joy, I have to subscribe. Gute Arbeit. Wait! You are on Sendung mit dem Maus!?! That is one way I am learning German. That’s so great. Love from Leipzig!
Brilliant joint, Laura. It's like a through-tenon with dowel, except it's WAY less fiddly. I look forward to trying it.
Laura, respectfully this is simply a variation of a doweled mortise and tenon joint which has been used for centuries. I don’t think in your example it’s particularly strong, as the dowel is way too close to the end of the tenon (Dominoe). The tenon and mortise should be longer, so that the dowel is located at 50 to 65% of the tenons length, so that it won’t break under pressure. These joints are traditionally used without glue. Try offsetting the dowel hole in the tenon ever so slightly to the holes in the mortise so that when you drive the dowel home it pulls the joint together really tightly.
maybe , since glueing the dowel on one end it doesn't need to be so deep and get extra length that way?
Cool video Laura, looking forward to seeing the furniture you make with that joint.
I had a similar dream after watching Adam build his book shelves. I was thinking of other interesting joinery, but you actually made it! It's so beautiful and practical.
Can’t wait to see what you make with this!
Brilliant idea. Secure but with flexibility for removal without damging the wood pieces
Amazing Laura! Love it!
Totally gave me some ideas to explore my future signature joint. Thank you Laura
Laura I just love your enthusiasm and unbridled joy ... congratulations on creating your unique joinery signature 🎉
Posting here instead of Premier chat to help your algorithms... love "traces of craftmanship" and your beautiful, reversable joint
Such a fun video - makes me want to do more woodwork
Love the deep dive
Not gonna lie when I first saw your preview on Insta I thought you were crazy, but you're actually a genius, it's so beautiful!
This joint is very useful for attaching breadboard ends to a tabletop. And it looks fantastic when you use a contrasting wood (or as someone else suggested, brass pins).
my favourite thing about this is that yes, it adds some additional strength (ikea use this method, except with screws and plastic bolt locks (which is actually flimsy as hell if the machining isnt very good)) but anyway - the best part is - YOU CAN DO THIS BY EYE and that makes it super fast.
You looked SO joyful. Thank you Laura.
Love that you find the fun in the small details. That is what a maker is about. Nerding out is compulsory! Love it!
Your enthusiasm is contagious.
Love seeing you happy and inspired 😊.
I’ll always love watching people experience the awe and pride that we feel from creating.
I've done this before, loved how it came out. Only difference in what I did was i glued the domino into the long grain piece (long-grain to long grain glue joint) and doweled through the end grain piece, arguably stronger than just gluing the domino in both sides. Had to pull the piece back a part to repair damage and it saved me a bunch of hassle!
I love the idea of being able to disassemble the joint. My only suggestion might be that in clock manufacture they use a conical pin which pulls the two surfaces together, I wonder if there is a way to modify this for wooden joints, it would look the same but be stronger.
Interesting idea and glad that you're so excited about it. To my eyes the domino is not quite the same shape as the hole the machine makes, so there are visible gaps at the ends.
To me, gaps = poor joinery. My woodwork teacher at school used to judge or attempts at joinery by trying to slide a 'ten bob note' (bank note equivalent to 50 pence today). If he could get the edge of the note into your joint you'd basically failed.
I often thought of similar kinds of disassemblable all Wood joints. Its kindof like that Ikea joint, but without the metal Hardware, which i find kind of cool.
Way to bounce back strong Laura! Nerd central for my wood working is competitive and where its at! Your delivery of a new idea its great and ill pass it down onto my apprentices when we begin our new cabinets.
I dig it. It has a traditional craftspersons feel to it while bringing a unique modern look. If I use it, I'll be sure to give credit. I can't think of a situation where you might want to take something apart where this would be the most practical joint since the peg has to be drilled out and the likelihood of damaging the surrounding material is so high. But I still like this very much. A longer domino would be useful in that it would allow room for TWO dowels!
I love how much the little details in things make you light up. 😊 If you're ever in need of inspiration on joinery & woodworking, I came across this amazing channel featuring a master carpenter from China called "Granpa Amu". Kinda random, I know 😅 but this man is absolutely mesmerizing to watch. I saw an episode where he built a new bridge for his village without using any nails or glue, just incredible joinery work & good ol' gravity. Ah-ma-zing!
This is really cool. I especially like how happy it makes you feel!
Yo! This is incredible. Thank you for sharing! I hope you keep exploring and creating. Congratulations on the breath through!
Still used today, especially in building and restoring windmills, atleast here in the Netherlands, and we will call it 'toognagels'. You first drill the hole trought, put the other wooden piece in the slot, draw out the hole, and then drill it offset by 1 to 2 mm, then put an tapered dowel or 'toognagel' in it, that way it clamps itself in some way
Beautiful, and elegant, in the science sense: simplicity that is good enough, over unnecessary complexity. I'm really looking forward to seeing you putting this to use.
Also, I love those times of lying there, nearly asleep, with ideas floating about in my non-judgemental state of mind. I've had some of my best ideas at such times, as well as some of my weirdest. The problem is, it sometimes makes it hard to actually get to sleep!
This looks so cool! I'm not a woodworker, but I LOVE nerding out about things with people who know and love what they're doing
The Kampf Konnection is essentially a cam-and-dowel solution that could take flatpack furniture to the next level. Instead of shipping boards and metal fasteners, you ship boards and Kampf Konnectors. You send em to the store for a mallet and glue. They assemble the pieces at home and can have a much higher quality result than IKEA with only slightly more work. And should it ever need dissassembly you drill out the dowel as you said. Brilliant! Kudos!
it's a good looking joint. it reminds me of when there are covers over metal joinings. if i can offer a suggestion. don't glue the dowel, just make it an interference fit so you can just knock it out instead of drilling it out. you could go the extra bit of making it a drawbore as well. overall it is still weakening the joint a bit, but as long as that isn't an issue in the design then it's a good looking joint with some flexibility.
This makes so much sense! And it is also esthetically pleasing.
Awesome idea.
I was so excited by your ‘nerding out’, my brain went to hyperdrive. I had to see immediately but didn’t want to cheat and skip to end, so I cranked up the playback speed, pausing to ponder/admire a time or two. Loved your idea (and also loved your love of your idea). I played again at normal speed, and sure enough, still loved.
Oh that looks good and interesting. The reversible version is a bit like a drawbore mortise and tenon, but on a different plane.
I love how excited you are to be seemingly a few steps away from basic Ikea furniture joinery, but with wood construction😂. I can't wait to see where this goes.
Yeah, the removable version was the first thing that occurred when you suggested the pegged domino. (I'm not clever, just into repairability).
The joint that you show here leaves very short grain in both the domino and the drilled joint piece. Set the domino cutter to work deeper, cut off less domino waste, then set the drill point back from the end grain.
Finally, when removing plugs, consider stepping down a drill size or two so that you don't accidentally misposition the hole (fitting the new plugs looked sloppy). Once the plug is hollowed out, you can easily break out the glued shell, maybe with the full sized dowel drill.
Lovely idea and thanks for sharing! Nice one.
Call it the "Kampf Konnection"
Kampfverbindung is easier to say, and is grammatically accurate. Note that the German v is pronounced like an English f, and the i in “bind” is like the English i in “India”, so it's Kampf-fer-bind-ung.
@@rasmis I like that! Perfect...Exactly what I meant but I only have English but that is the idea...
@rasmis I think that name also adds a bit of prestige as well.
The best part of this video was how, genuinely, happy you look :)
So to add one more bit of old style craftmanship, Brett Hull recommends driving a square peg in a round hole which is how old door sections were attached.
❤ The 'Kampf Joint' you are an inspiration Laura.
Ich finde es sieht aus wie zusammen "genäht" . Man könnte die Verbindung an längeren Holzteilen wie eine genähte Naht an Stoffstücken aussehen lassen. Sieht jedenfalls cool aus!! Lieber Gruß Anja
I'm loving the chill music track. I've done these types of joints before to do knockdown furniture, a drawpin plus domino.
Laura=raising the bar ❤
That is beautiful! Love it Laura.
Having your own signature joint is cool 👌😎 lovely video!
Great idea, Laura! I love the “Laura joint” or maybe it’s the “Kampf joint”? I love the interplay of the flattened oval with the circle. Those shapes work really well together, much better than I would have thought when I pictured it in my head. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video and showing us this very cool technique.
Ancient Phoenician ships were built using planks held edge to edge using pegged loose tenons. This method was later adopted by ancient Greeks and Romans. So I think your method is sound, but the peg may be best made a bit smaller to leave more strength in the tenon.
Looks really great with the contrasting woods!
The contrasting coloured woods are a very aesthetically pleasing method of connection.
Beautiful and cool! And I don't even think you need to glue in the dowels, really. They're snug enough in there that they won't go sliding out of their own free will. If you don't glue them in, you can use a spare length of dowel plus a hammer to take the joint apart, no drill needed, and then put it back together by hammering the tiny dowel back in!
Yes, not drilling would preserve the holes better.
That joint gets a standing ovation!
Love the signature joint! But not sure if reversible thing is needed - although I don't have much experience with all this. And yes, your smile makes me so happy - you clearly dreamed up of something that you love!
I love it, it's giving elevated Ikea in the best possible way!
I like it. Simple and effective. Well done.
Not only beautiful but functional! You have outdone yourself. Love it. You could elevate it by adding a small metal pin of your choice on the piece holding the large dowel. So there would be a small circle above the larger one of a different size. Thank you for sharing. If I ever get a domino tool I will send you a picture of the first think I make with this joint.
This could be really cool to use in applications where disassembly would be helpful or required! Like a setup and tear down situation, vendor expos, festivals, etc. Getting to watch a maker come up with something new and having them share it, there is nothing better!
Love the joint! Genius
Wonderful idea and looks fantastic
Awesome video. Love that joint!❤
Im ALL about wood joinery Laura. Heck yeah!
Can't afford a Domino? Make a jig, use a router to make both the hole and the dominos, and you can make them in different sizes!!
Laura always inspires (also) me to take it a step further, try it out, learn and improve from my mistakes! ❤
Love love love it. Aesthetically and functionally cool.
i don't really know much about woodworking but this was still a really enjoyable deep dive for me 👍
If you offset the holes a bit (like 0.5 mm), then the dowel will pull the joint together and make it even stronger. And you can still take it out when needed.
I know quite a bit about joining wood, and I think this is a cool idea. I have additions in my head, right away. I wouldn't have thought of this, but it did spark a thing in the old head of how I might use it.
Like the esthetics 🤓 Looking forward to "Matthias random stuff" testing it and giving us the data on where to (not) use it 🤗
I would look forward to that, too. In that Matthias is of German descent, an engineer, and a skilled and inventive woodworker, I think his comments would be very direct.
I’m loving the Laura Locking Joint. I’ll definitely give it a try even with hand tools!
Love the look of this connection.
You can have fun with different wood types or even use a brass “pin”.
I love the look of this!! 😍
Oh man! That is so cool. Nice work.
This is so cool! I could see trying different shaped dowels to increase the uniqueness, if you didn't want to take it apart again.
Looks cool Laura 👍👍👍