Festool Domino Machine Instruction Manual - page 50

Now that we have seen how the Domino 

M&T can be used for joining pieces, 

aligning pieces to be joined by other 

means, and used for things like hidden 

door slide pins and latches, let’s move to 

still two more projects to find even more 

innovative uses for the Domino machine.

Double Pedestal Desk with a 

Twist

Double pedestal desks are very common 

and many woodworkers eventually get 

around to building 

one either for 

themselves, some 

other family 

member or a 

friend.  They 

mostly all look a 

lot a like as the 

top sits on two 

pedestals, usually 

with drawers both 

in the pedestals 

and in the bridge 

between the ped-

estals.

Some of these 

designs can be 

quite handsome.

Sometimes the 

requirements and/

or the aesthetics 

call for something quite different while still 

maintaining the double pedestal look and 

function.  Here is an example we will fol-

low because it holds a number of hidden 

Domino “tricks” that greatly simplify con-

struction and speed up what otherwise 

would be a long and involved build proc-

ess.

The “finished product” pictures were 

taken in a show context in one corner of 

my booth space along with a couple of 

the other “Domino inspired” pieces we 

have already covered so excuse the 

background clutter.

In this case the client is an active, ener-

getic person who spends a lot of time at 

her desk.  She is slender and tall with 

long legs and her most comfortable work-

ing position is sitting in her chair with her 

legs folded.  That meant the space be-

tween the pedestals and from the floor to 

the underside of the desk top had to be 

maximized.

This piece was a surprise birthday gift 

from her husband so I couldn’t engage 

her in the design process as I normally 

would do.  Fortunately, I had designed 

and crafted other pieces for them so I 

was familiar with her tastes, home and 

decorating style.