John Piwaron
03-31-2012, 10:21 AM
I know, this is very late to the party. I recently got a Domino, have nearly completed my first project with it, and have some remarks. The experiences of others is probably different. These are mine.
Where I come from is that I'm a hobby guy. In my day job I work in engineering. I design small mechanisms.
First, it wasn't ready to use out of the box. The primary problem was the fence slipping. Initial use showed that the domino slots were not all at equal height from the registration faces of my work. After making about 40 of them it was clear that each one was becoming progessively farther and farther away. I just couldn't seem to tighten the hold down enough to stop that. After a little research I found some info that suggested that the lock down surfaces might still have a bit of oil on them from the machining process and the locking surface might be too smooth as a result of the die casting process. So, I disassembled the lock, used a small file (ignition, from the days of points in automotive distributors :) ) to take a couple of careful swipes to rough it up a tiny bit. Then with a rag, wiped it with a simple green solution to get rid of any filings and any possible oil only on the locking surfaces. Following reassembly, it now seems to grip much better. After a further 100 or so domino slots, all are at the same height. I couldn't be happier about that.
Second, I'm wondering how tight I can go on the lock down levers. I'm thinking primarily about the fence height, but this also applies to the bevel gauge. the locking action is really held only by a machine screw into the aluminum casting. And a fine thread screw at that. Aluminum's a pretty soft metal, I'm wondering at what point that strips. And then how hard is it to get a new piece to replace the stripped one with. Or maybe dream up a modification to that.
Third, the indicator and height scale seem kinda "Mickey Mouse" - fat indicator lines combined with a fairly indistinct fixed position aluminum pointer. A bit less than great. I can imagine myself designing alternate solution to that.
Those are my primary issues and concerns. The rest, I think, is just a matter of technique.
I'm not going to use those spring loaded doohickeys on the front. I like using a skinny pencil line to locate the machine. The indicator lines for this on the Domino are just fine for that. I had no problem locating a group of 7 dominos all cut with the narrowest setting in both parts over 23 inches (3/4" plywood) and then assembling the joint. A little persuasion with my hand and they slipped together.
The fact that the cutter is metric and it locates height wise with a metric distance doesn't mean much to me. My work overall will continue to be in the traditional inch system I'm accustomed to. I think of the dominos as located some distance relative to the appropriate surfaces. Not really exactly in the center, but close enough. It couldn't be perfectly centered anyway given the height gage and the incredible variance in the real thickness of plywood on a sheet to sheet basis at HD. No, we won't go there, lets leave it at this - they were the only store open when I wanted to start on my project.
That's about it. It's a good machine that once all the features work as intended, is adjusted suitably, and is connected to one of the Festool dust extractors, works quickly, accurately, and as a bonus, makes no mess or put any dust in the air. I really like that part. No mess whatsoever. :)
As long as it continues to do so, I'm happy with my Domino.
Where I come from is that I'm a hobby guy. In my day job I work in engineering. I design small mechanisms.
First, it wasn't ready to use out of the box. The primary problem was the fence slipping. Initial use showed that the domino slots were not all at equal height from the registration faces of my work. After making about 40 of them it was clear that each one was becoming progessively farther and farther away. I just couldn't seem to tighten the hold down enough to stop that. After a little research I found some info that suggested that the lock down surfaces might still have a bit of oil on them from the machining process and the locking surface might be too smooth as a result of the die casting process. So, I disassembled the lock, used a small file (ignition, from the days of points in automotive distributors :) ) to take a couple of careful swipes to rough it up a tiny bit. Then with a rag, wiped it with a simple green solution to get rid of any filings and any possible oil only on the locking surfaces. Following reassembly, it now seems to grip much better. After a further 100 or so domino slots, all are at the same height. I couldn't be happier about that.
Second, I'm wondering how tight I can go on the lock down levers. I'm thinking primarily about the fence height, but this also applies to the bevel gauge. the locking action is really held only by a machine screw into the aluminum casting. And a fine thread screw at that. Aluminum's a pretty soft metal, I'm wondering at what point that strips. And then how hard is it to get a new piece to replace the stripped one with. Or maybe dream up a modification to that.
Third, the indicator and height scale seem kinda "Mickey Mouse" - fat indicator lines combined with a fairly indistinct fixed position aluminum pointer. A bit less than great. I can imagine myself designing alternate solution to that.
Those are my primary issues and concerns. The rest, I think, is just a matter of technique.
I'm not going to use those spring loaded doohickeys on the front. I like using a skinny pencil line to locate the machine. The indicator lines for this on the Domino are just fine for that. I had no problem locating a group of 7 dominos all cut with the narrowest setting in both parts over 23 inches (3/4" plywood) and then assembling the joint. A little persuasion with my hand and they slipped together.
The fact that the cutter is metric and it locates height wise with a metric distance doesn't mean much to me. My work overall will continue to be in the traditional inch system I'm accustomed to. I think of the dominos as located some distance relative to the appropriate surfaces. Not really exactly in the center, but close enough. It couldn't be perfectly centered anyway given the height gage and the incredible variance in the real thickness of plywood on a sheet to sheet basis at HD. No, we won't go there, lets leave it at this - they were the only store open when I wanted to start on my project.
That's about it. It's a good machine that once all the features work as intended, is adjusted suitably, and is connected to one of the Festool dust extractors, works quickly, accurately, and as a bonus, makes no mess or put any dust in the air. I really like that part. No mess whatsoever. :)
As long as it continues to do so, I'm happy with my Domino.