Drank the cool-aid, and it is good...

[Mike Reinholtz]

Like many I was very turned-off of Festool, unfortunately it had nothing to do with the tools but rather with the worst sales-person (woodcraft store) and the attitude that everything I own is garbage and it should be replaced by this stuff.

Well, while at Eagle tool the other day I asked about Festool and was given such an explanation (even allowed to play with them) that I had to bite. I gave it a night to think about it and went back to get the T55 track saw that's on sale. Holy cow is all I can say. I have been using a Bosch worm drive and a Milwaukee 6391 for quite some time and have been very happy with them, but this Festool saw is simply amazing! They put serious thought into these machines and it shows. No way this is going back!

So this leads to my question about the Domino. I've heard it pretty much replaces the need for a mortiser, any opinions there? I've been seriously looking at some of the offerings from General (in particular the 1hp model that does 1" mortises) and wondered how this would compare. Right now I'm using a Delta benchtop but finding I need something more.

Thanks!

[Paul Johnstone]

So this leads to my question about the Domino. I've heard it pretty much replaces the need for a mortiser, any opinions there? I've been seriously looking at some of the offerings from General (in particular the 1hp model that does 1" mortises) and wondered how this would compare. Right now I'm using a Delta benchtop but finding I need something more.

Thanks!

It can replace a mortiser in a lot of cases, but not all. Some applications might need a bigger mortise/tennon. That said, I have not used a mortiser since I bought mine. It makes it really easy and fast and accurate to do M/T. The domino is defnitely an expensive luxury, no one really "needs" one, but it is a nice tool, for sure.

Some people say that the domino also replaces a biscuit jointer, but I kind of disagree. I still get a lot of use out of my biscuit jointer.. it does some things a domino can not do.

[Eric DeSilva]

I do like my Festools as well. The health issues around fine dust always worried me a bit, so the DC they have is a real selling point for me.

I've got the Domino and a real mortiser (a nearly 500lb floorstanding Bridgewood). The Domino is handy for small joinery, but I like arts and crafts designs and through tenons, so the Bridgewood serves a completely different purpose. You can do much larger mortises for bigger joints, it goes much deeper, and you can do through tenons. Hadn't thought about this until now, but the scary thing is that I think I paid 50% more for my Domino than I paid for my second hand Bridgewood!

[Mike Reinholtz]

Thanks for the replies, I have a PC biscuit joiner as well and plan on holding on to it, I too use mine quite a bit.

The main reason I am looking at the Domino is for building chairs and edge joining for making tables. I made a dining room table and started making the chairs to match but am struggling with the Delta benchtop machine, the Domino looks like it would make it easier.

[Will Overton]

Since getting a Domino I have only used my mortiser for through tenons.

I have also used the Domino, using slightly wide mortises, instead of a breadboard edge, between the walnut strips and the oak on the top.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd75/Bill_de/bc-finished.jpg

It hasn't gone through all four seasons yet, but so far so good.

[Chris Rosenberger]

The Domino works well for chairs.
Here are some pictures of chairs I made using the Domino to cut the mortises.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/100_1052.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/100_1054.jpg

[Jeff Monson]

Mike, I use my domino more and more each project, I originally bought it for a couple of dressor projects that required loose tenon joinery. As long as you really understand the machines capabilities I think the uses are unlimited. I would have a hard time counting all the projects I've done in the last 2 years that have dominos in them somewhere. I built a chair this last winter and used dominos for that also, it came together really nice.

Its my favorite festool in my shop.

[Erik Christensen]

it is one of the most used of my festools after my drill and tracksaw

I have the cross stop accessory and it makes cabinet case construction fast and easy with just glue & dominos. Only problem i have with them is you must learn good technique when locating/cutting the domino slots - unlike biscuits there is no slop (unless you cut a wider slot then you have some give but only in a single dimension) - NONE in a lateral direction. I have learned the hard way about test fitting before applying glue!

cab sides/top-bottom assembly is pretty goof proof but fitting the back if the dimension is not DEAD-ON can be an exercise in frustration. What i have done the last few times that seems to work better for my skill level is - assemble/glue case sides/top-bottom and make square - let it dry. cut back 1/4" oversize - line up on 2 adjacent sides, tack in place with temporary screws - trim other 2 sides with flush bit in router - leave back tacked in place while marking for dominos - remove temporary screws & cut domino slots. Every other way I tried ended up with more cussing than my management (spouse) wanted to put with.

festools are fun to use but like that potato chip tag line "It's hard to have just one" - welcome to the paupers club

[Joe Mioux]

I suppose it was lime-green Kool-aid. ;)

Congrats on the stealth gloat acquistion..... Howeverrrrrrrrrrrrr........no pics- didn't happen. :rolleyes:

[Mike Reinholtz]

I suppose it was lime-green Kool-aid. ;)

Congrats on the stealth gloat acquistion..... Howeverrrrrrrrrrrrr........no pics- didn't happen. :rolleyes:

I know the rules... here is a pic with another stealth gloat behind it.

Picked up the drill press a week ago, broken hand stuck in a cast kept me from playing with it but a neighbor is giving me a hand putting it together after work today.

[Eric DeSilva]

I have learned the hard way about test fitting before applying glue!

One of the best bits of advice I've seen is to get a couple dominos and sand them down a bit, then mark them with a black magic marker with a "T" or something for use in test fitting. When using the standard domino mortise setting, getting the things out after you do your test fit can be a bit of a challenge. They go in that tight...

[Mike Reinholtz]

I noticed that when I was testing (playing with) it, pushing the dominos in was extremely tight but felt very strong. The attachments seemed pretty helpful, probably gonna get the full kit. Are there any alternatives to the Festool brand dominos? While high in quality they were pretty expensive (maybe I'm just used to how cheap biscuits are).

[Will Overton]

I noticed that when I was testing (playing with) it, pushing the dominos in was extremely tight but felt very strong. The attachments seemed pretty helpful, probably gonna get the full kit. Are there any alternatives to the Festool brand dominos? While high in quality they were pretty expensive (maybe I'm just used to how cheap biscuits are).


Cut your own. Unlike biscuits, these are not compressed. They are cut from Beech or Sipo (for outdoor projects). Or, get over being cheap. ;)

[Gary Kvasnicka]

I also have tasted the kool-aid, bought a RO-150 rotex sander and a ct-22 vac from Bob Marino last month. I love it... at least as far as it is possible to love sanding:rolleyes:. I am strongly thinking about a TS55 saw before the sale is over at the end of this month.

[Van Huskey]

Long term lime Kool-aid is by far the most expensive but it is darn good.

[Peter Quinn]

I've heard it pretty much replaces the need for a mortiser, any opinions there?
Thanks!


Depends on just exactly what you need a mortiser to do and what you want to spend. I've used a mortiser (slot mortiser, chain mortiser, chisel mortiser, domino, router with jig, bit and brace). For small mortises of limited depth the Domino is good, its quick, an its easy to set up. I suppose you can run in multiple dominos to make a wider tenon, but that gets tedious.You can't get any deeper than it allows however.

I personally own a slot mortiser and prefer it to the domino for the work I do for its range and flexibility. Its not quite as quick to set up as the domino, and much harder to move to a job site (:eek:), and it takes up more space, but for many things its actually easier to use than a domino. And it does dowels.

You wanted opinions, there's mine. I can't do 3 1/2" deep 5/8" mortises with a domino, so for me its no replacement. For some operations its just the thing though, and it does what it does very well. PS, make sure to use it with DC.