Domino 500: Digital Readout?

[Izzy Charo]

The Domino is a great tool, but would be even better if there was a fine adjust for setting the fence height. The vertical scale is very crude, and even with the tool separated, is difficult to set precisely. I'm wondering if anyone has rigged up a jig to hold their digital caliper to dial this in more precisely... Thanks!

[Michael Burnside]

Precision isn't as critical as repeatability and the domino works great for the latter. This is especially true when one mortise is cut with setting 2 or 3 instead of the tightly fitting 1. If you require precise height adjustments of fixed values I highly recommend taking a look at https://www.senecawoodworking.com/ which have several plates and shims to achieve a fixed depth. I use these most of the time not just because of the fixed depth but because they feel more stable in the hand.

[Richard Coers]

I've never felt like I needed absolute dead centering on my mortises. Just mark the wood for best side and keep that common on all cuts.

[Izzy Charo]

To clarify, I understand that mortises don't need to be exactly centered, and agree with all of the above comments. Given the precision that the Domino has built into it, I just find it surprising that the vertical scale/adjust is crude... I often mill wood to 3/4 thickness, and am trying to find a way to easily center a Domino on that thickness (even though I will still keep the "show" side as the reference face for all mortises)... I did purchase the Seneca Imperial Thickness Gauge...and unfortunately found that it was pretty far off. After installing it per instructions (including cleaning all surfaces on the Domino casting), and setting it to 3/4, the reading I got from the bottom of the fence to the center line mark indication on the casting (top of the notch) was 0.343, and not 0.375. I am in contact with Seneca about this, but also trying out ways to get my Wixey digital caliper set up to set the fence height precisely... hence the Post asking if others have tried this. Thanks for all responses!

[Kevin Jenness]

To clarify, I understand that mortises don't need to be exactly centered, and agree with all of the above comments. Given the precision that the Domino has built into it, I just find it surprising that the vertical scale/adjust is crude... I often mill wood to 3/4 thickness, and am trying to find a way to easily center a Domino on that thickness (even though I will still keep the "show" side as the reference face for all mortises)... I did purchase the Seneca Imperial Thickness Gauge...and unfortunately found that it was pretty far off. After installing it per instructions (including cleaning all surfaces on the Domino casting), and setting it to 3/4, the reading I got from the bottom of the fence to the center line mark indication on the casting (top of the notch) was 0.343, and not 0.375. I am in contact with Seneca about this, but also trying out ways to get my Wixey digital caliper set up to set the fence height precisely... hence the Post asking if others have tried this. Thanks for all responses!

For exact vertical positioning use shim blocks to set up the adjustable fence. Use the caliper to measure the blocks.

[Michael Burnside]

Hmm, weird on the Seneca measurement. Mine is dead on. Will be curious what they say.

[Michael Rutman]

Get the bridge city CS-3 center scribe. You can set the middle, top and bottom quickly and then use the arrows on the Domino to line it up anywhere you want. Yeah, I splurged and bought it and consider it a must have. Other center scribes exist and I've used them, but the CS-3 is just awesome.

Woodpecker makes the DF-500, which has precision shims for most standard sizes. Despite liking to buy expensive tools, I have never considered getting this as pointed out, needing dead center with a tenon means I'm doing something wrong.

[Charlie Jones]

I love the domino but I agree the fence adjustment could be better. My old Dewalt biscuit joiner has a much better fence system. I use the Seneca Domiplate whenever possible.

[Jim Becker]

The cruder, but fixed stops, provide repeatability which is key to the tool, as someone has mentioned. If you make things variable, you're introducing a whole lot of smiles to "Murphy", IMHO.

[Derek Cohen]

The Domino is a great tool, but would be even better if there was a fine adjust for setting the fence height. The vertical scale is very crude, and even with the tool separated, is difficult to set precisely. I'm wondering if anyone has rigged up a jig to hold their digital caliper to dial this in more precisely... Thanks!

Hi Izzy

You are overthinking this. To work to the middle of an edge, first mark this with a pencil. Do it by eye (eyes are good). Then align the scribed line on the side of the Domino with this line. Done.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Dave Sabo]

Izzy - it's easy and very fast to precisely set the domino to a precise depth - as long as it's one of festool's choosing. Or one of a myriad of online 3D printers that have come up with tabs of different depths.

The system was never designed to be infinitely variable , and I think it'd lose its simplicity and easy repeatability. Festool has always been a bit of a closed system (like Apple) and you either like what they're doing / offering or you don't. That's a bit simplistic, but it's kinda the way.

[Randy Heinemann]

If you want exact centering at standard wood thicknesses, like 3/4", 1", 1 1/2", as well as corresponding mm thicknesses, try the Woodpeckers Domino Offset Base. They offer a full set of precisely milled spacers to install on their offset base which will exactly center the dominos. The problem is that exact can be a somewhat relative thing. As long as you have a way of milling your boards to very precise, exact thicknesses, the Woodpecker Offset Base will do what you are asking. In the end, though, while this accessory works well and can center dominos in wood thicknesses, it really isn't necessary. The Domino functions as it is designed without any third party accessories. Accurate joinery with the Domino doesn't require any add-ons to turn out professional style furniture or cabinets with essentially perfect joints.

[Derek Cohen]

There is an issue which is being missed here. In furniture making, one learns - especially when using hand tools - to make careful note of reference sides. Always work with a reference side. That way it does not matter whether a mortice (for example) is centred or not. When everything is measured off a reference side, it will line up.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Alan Lightstone]

There is an issue which is being missed here. In furniture making, one learns - especially when using hand tools - to make careful note of reference sides. Always work with a reference side. That way it does not matter whether a mortice (for example) is centred or not. When everything is measured off a reference side, it will line up.

Regards from Perth

Derek
+1
I use the Seneca offset base, but really don't care within limits where it is, because I am meticulous regarding the reference side.

Couldn't have said this better myself, Derek. Must be the Aussie accent.

[Jay Houghton]

Well...I had the Seneca Domiplate for a while and used it quite a bit. It was awkward because the tools is upside down, but it was OK in making standard cuts in standard material. I managed to snag a Woodpeckers Offset Base system for the DF500, with a set of metric and Imperial spacers and really really like it. It's big, it's precise and the balance of the machine is nice because you're using it right side up. Notwithtanding what they cost if you come across one at a good price I'd go for it. I admit it's a bit of a luxury item but it does take a lot of the guesswork out of the equation and along with everything else Woodpecker it's extremely well made.
Jay

[Derek Cohen]

Jay, I also have the Domniplate, but it has not been used ever since I made the modification in the video below. And using the Woodpeckers Offset Base is missing the point I made earlier.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyHctMqslxo&ab_channel=sedgetool

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Michael Burnside]

There is an issue which is being missed here. In furniture making, one learns - especially when using hand tools - to make careful note of reference sides. Always work with a reference side. That way it does not matter whether a mortice (for example) is centred or not. When everything is measured off a reference side, it will line up.

Regards from Perth

Derek

This pretty much sums up the domino. If you don't understand this fundamental, good luck! I still prefer the domiplate for most of my work, but I've made the modification from Sedge as well.

[James Jayko]

If you want exact centering at standard wood thicknesses, like 3/4", 1", 1 1/2", as well as corresponding mm thicknesses, try the Woodpeckers Domino Offset Base.

I've got one of these that I never use. If you're interested, message me.

[Dave Sabo]

I suppose I’m thick , but I just don’t see how adding ratcheting levers takes the place of dominiplate .

[Derek Cohen]

I suppose I’m thick , but I just don’t see how adding ratcheting levers takes the place of dominiplate .

Dave, the Domniplate was designed to make accurate joints in 3/4" and 1/2" material. It was helped along by those who feared or experienced the Dominos' fence to be unreliable. The modification to the levers add extra tightness, and this has now created a reliable positioning. So, set the depth on the Domino, and the Domiplate is now superfluous.

But what of the instant positioning of the Domniplate to the mid point of 3/4" and 1/2" boards (and metric equivalents)? Well the same criticism applies to the Woodpecker jig: manufactured boards (in MDF or Plywood) do not come at a reliable thickness - the chances of any of these centering devices being accurate is pretty slim. Get used to, instead, using a reference side.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Michael Burnside]

I suppose I’m thick , but I just don’t see how adding ratcheting levers takes the place of dominiplate .

IMHO it doesn't. That's why I still use the domiplate 95% of the time. It's fast, super accurate and I generally prefer the large knob on the domiplate. That said, the lever replacements deal with the other 5% of the time where the fence can drift or shift during operation. For mid-piece mortises or 45-degree miters these levers are great and let you really tighten down without the lever getting caught up on the domino housing. I had my fence drift a couple of times and these basically solved the problem.

[Michael Burnside]

Dave, the Domniplate was designed to make accurate joints in 3/4" and 1/2" material. It was helped along by those who feared or experienced the Dominos' fence to be unreliable. The modification to the levers add extra tightness, and this has now created a reliable positioning. So, set the depth on the Domino, and the Domiplate is now superfluous.

But what of the instant positioning of the Domniplate to the mid point of 3/4" and 1/2" boards (and metric equivalents)? Well the same criticism applies to the Woodpecker jig: manufactured boards (in MDF or Plywood) do not come at a reliable thickness - the chances of any of these centering devices being accurate is pretty slim. Get used to, instead, using a reference side.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek, respectfully I disagree. The domiplate is a far more positive "stop" and is more stable, IMHO, on thin stock mortises. I have the mod as well and at least this is my personal opinion. I think we both agree that being perfectly dead center is missing the point of the domino in general. I grab the domiplate that is "closest" to nominal thickness and I just stick to the same reference edge, never thinking about dead center ever again during the build. :D

[Derek Cohen]

Michael, I don’t think we disagree. I never said that the Domniplate was unreliable, just that I find the lever modification was an important improvement for setting the fence. I prefer to use the Domino the “right way up”. For this reason, the Domniplate is no longer necessary for a reliable mortice. Nevertheless, the Domniplate does offer a fast way to use the Domino.

I should also explain that I rarely use dominos as joinery, but use the Domino as a morticing machine. Since the modification to the levers, this has evolved, and now I do use the fence to position the mortices …

https://i.postimg.cc/2r0g17x0/28.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/59xk0XQc/34.jpg (https://postimages.org/)


Regards from Perth

Derek

[Randy Heinemann]

Sure the Woodpeckers Offset Base is a great accurate accessory. It just isn’t something you truly need to make the Domino work as designed. I do use mine but am not sure I have used it enough to justify the cost. I get great results without it and faster setup.

[Izzy Charo]

Good discussion...I had missed that mod for the fence lever..Thanks Derek! My "solution" was to mill up some wood to a thickness of 19.5mm (10mm center height of bit + half the thickness of a 3/4 inch, or 19.05mm board) and use this as a gauge to set the fence height. My goal is to get close to center on the 3/4 stock... and it works well enough. (and the price was right!).. Even though we all agree that referencing off the same face is critical, it's nice to be able to quickly get the mortise close to center. Thanks much for all the advice!

[Michael Burnside]

Derek, what color of levers did you use? I figured I would go non-standard Festool and used blue levers :p

[Derek Cohen]

Michael, I could only find one colour in the size needed, and this was black. It would have been fun to use green. At least black looks original. It certainly works very well.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Dave Sabo]

Dave, the Domniplate was designed to make accurate joints in 3/4" and 1/2" material. It was helped along by those who feared or experienced the Dominos' fence to be unreliable. The modification to the levers add extra tightness, and this has now created a reliable positioning. So, set the depth on the Domino, and the Domiplate is now superfluous.

But what of the instant positioning of the Domniplate to the mid point of 3/4" and 1/2" boards (and metric equivalents)? Well the same criticism applies to the Woodpecker jig: manufactured boards (in MDF or Plywood) do not come at a reliable thickness - the chances of any of these centering devices being accurate is pretty slim. Get used to, instead, using a reference side.

Regards from Perth

Derek


Derek - hate to beat a dead horse but .................. I know about dominiplate and its (theoretical) advantages but I still don't see how those levers allow a d'plate user to shelve them ?

I'm sure those ratchet levers can exert more torque than the std. ones but my std. ones are plenty tight - even for settings that in between the std. festool metric setting on the stepped gauge. I guess i just don't experience the issues some guys do with domino because all these products are head scratchers to me.

[Michael Burnside]

I had the fence drift a couple of times. That's what the STD levers failed to do...hold tight. Maybe you're lucky but there is a reason Sedge, a Festool spokes person, provided the hack vid. It does happen and it sucks when it does, trust me.

That said, I still use the domiplate most of the time. It makes the domino better and it's ok if you don't agree! :D

[Dave Sabo]

Guess I am just that lucky, and x2 as neither of my machines have that issue.

I don’t see a need for the plates either.

And didn’t you wonder why Brian’s video isn’t on the official festool site, or why he isn’t wearing any festool identifiers, nor does he identify as being part of the organization. Furthermore the first thing he shows you in that vid is how to adjust the std. levers if yours don’t get tight enough.

But hey, if you need the 3rd party accoutrements more power to y’all.

[Stephen Roth]

For many projects where two adjoining surfaces are meant to be flush, I like to intentionally offset the domino from being on center. Perhaps an 1/8th or so.

Then, when you are putting the pieces together, it is clear which is the matching surface, because the wrong way creates a large offset on the surface height. If you try to get the domino in the exact center, you will still be off many "thou". And that difference may not be obvious in the middle of the clamping rush if you but the piece on backwards.

I agree with the comments on marking the reference surfaces, but I also like to prefinish, which erases those marks. The intentional offset is a double check that I have pieces aligned correctly.

[Jim Becker]

For many projects where two adjoining surfaces are meant to be flush, I like to intentionally offset the domino from being on center. Perhaps an 1/8th or so.


That's a good point, Stephen, and a functional way to visually insure things match up as intended.