Domino vs Leigh FMT

[Heather Thompson]

I am looking at the idea of putting out the cash for a Leigh FMT, but what do you folks think? Does anyone have experience with both machines, or do owners of either machine care to share pro and cons.

Thanx,

Heather:confused:

[Bob Michaels]

Have both and both are high quality first class machines. The Domino has become my go-to machine for mortise and tenon work, eventhough they are floating tenons. In my shop it has also replaced my biscuit joiner. The Domino is fast, accurate and a no brainer. Having said that, the FMT is one heck of a machine too, giving extremely accurate results.

[Chris Rosenberger]

I also have both & like Bob I use the Domino more than the FMT. There are joints that I have done on the FMT that I cannot do with the Domino. These invloved angled & compound tenons. I would not want to be without either. The Domino is quicker than the FMT to setup for simple joints, but the more I used the FMT the easier it is to get setup.

[Bryan Berguson]

I am looking at the idea of putting out the cash for a Leigh FMT, but what do you folks think? Does anyone have experience with both machines, or do owners of either machine care to share pro and cons.

Thanx,

Heather:confused:


And if you haven't checked lately, the price of the FMT has come down $200. I've been wanting one too but the $800 tag scared me a little. $600 is doable.

Bryan

[Heather Thompson]

And if you haven't checked lately, the price of the FMT has come down $200. I've been wanting one too but the $800 tag scared me a little. $600 is doable.

Bryan


Bryan,

I watch prices like a hawk, was going to reveal the results of my research, but not sure if that is ok to do on this site. I desire to stay in the good graces of the moderators. :)

Heather

[Tim Sproul]

I have both - I've had the FMT for a few years and used it on many projects. I got the Domino this past spring and have used it a few times.

The biggest differences, IME:

1. Milling requirements. The FMT requires stock to be more true compared to the Domino. The registration of stock along the table or fence is further from the cutter on the FMT so if the stock isn't quite true....you end up with joint that isn't flush or square. The Domino fence/face is very small...so stock that is off just slightly doesn't really affect the Domino.

2. Joint size. The domino is limited to 5, 6, 8 and 10 mm thickness tenons and the depth of the mortise is limited to 30 mm (the 30 may be off but it is around there). The FMT can cut mortises and tenons of just about any size you might ever want....from working with 1/8 inch stock to working with 4 inch square legs. Working with really long stock - the FMT can be rigged but the Domino is much better....assuming the tenon sizes can be engineered properly into the joint design.

3. The Domino is up and running in a matter of moments. The FMT can require 15 minutes to get up and running (test cuts).

4. Cost? They are pretty much dead even for initial cost. The FMT needs a router and the accessory guides and cutters - brings it close to $1K. But then you only have cutters that need to be replaced on occasion...where as the Domino requires you to purchase Dominos or make your own tenon stock.

[Steve Rowe]

Heather,
I have both and agree with all the posts above. Both are excellent machines and Leigh in typical fashion has most excellent manuals. I have thought about selling the FMT but it does things the Domino cannot do in the small M&T arena. I think I will keep it.
Steve

[Heather Thompson]

I have both - I've had the FMT for a few years and used it on many projects. I got the Domino this past spring and have used it a few times.

The biggest differences, IME:

1. Milling requirements. The FMT requires stock to be more true compared to the Domino. The registration of stock along the table or fence is further from the cutter on the FMT so if the stock isn't quite true....you end up with joint that isn't flush or square. The Domino fence/face is very small...so stock that is off just slightly doesn't really affect the Domino.

2. Joint size. The domino is limited to 5, 6, 8 and 10 mm thickness tenons and the depth of the mortise is limited to 30 mm (the 30 may be off but it is around there). The FMT can cut mortises and tenons of just about any size you might ever want....from working with 1/8 inch stock to working with 4 inch square legs. Working with really long stock - the FMT can be rigged but the Domino is much better....assuming the tenon sizes can be engineered properly into the joint design.

3. The Domino is up and running in a matter of moments. The FMT can require 15 minutes to get up and running (test cuts).

4. Cost? They are pretty much dead even for initial cost. The FMT needs a router and the accessory guides and cutters - brings it close to $1K. But then you only have cutters that need to be replaced on occasion...where as the Domino requires you to purchase Dominos or make your own tenon stock.

Tim,

I always mill my stock very carefully. Rough lumber normally lives with me for some time before being broken out to basic dimensions, will mill a second time after it has been allowed time to move from the first milling, usually handplane after the second milling depending on project.
The flexibility of joint size is also a positive for the FMT, and with the way my shop is set up I could actually do bed frames for a king size bed.
Set up time of 15 minutes is no big issue as I have often cut mortise and tenon joints by hand, maybe I am slow, but is always longer than 15 minutes to get an fine fit. I currently have four routers, one lives under my router table plus two fixed base a one plunge on the shelf. Cutters are in numerous supply here, so I figure the total cost for the FMT will be 667.50 plus shipping. I base that figure on the LV site.
No one here has indicated anything negative with the equipment, that is what I was looking to uncover. I am new to this group, but it seems to be a very knowledgeable and extremely skilled group of craftsmen that hang out here. Look forward to spending many enjoyable hours in the creek, may have to bring my flyrod in the future. :D

Thank you all for your input and if there is someone out there lurking this thread that would like to part with a gently used FMT, feel free to email me.

Heather

[Jesse Cloud]

Good morning Heather.

I will join the chorus, both the FMT and the Domino are excellent machines. You can't really go wrong with either. Both companies also have excellent customer service.

I do, though, have a few minor quibbles with both...

The FMT is tedious to set up and set up and set up. Personally I found that I needed to fool with the settings every few pieces. The clamps and 90 degree fence tend to work loose. The clamping area is small and the window for the router is large, so to get a good grip on your workpiece (absolutely necessary) you will need to leave a horn on the mortised piece to reach the other side of the window so you can use both clamps.

I understand they have improved the dust collection on the FMT, but with my model it is atrocious. I would guess the Domino has better dc than even the improved FMT. I can work all day with the Domino and have just a hint of dust on the bench.

The FMT is router based, in a way which brings out the worst in routers -- big long bits whirling at high speeds near your face. Lots of vibration, noise, etc. I don't even wear hearing or dust protection with the Domino.

The Domino is limited to specific sizes and those sizes are relatively small. You wind up using more tenons with Domino but thats not a big deal

Bottom line I sold my FMT and biscuit jointer to pay for the Domino and I never regretted it.

[Tim Sproul]

I did some more work over the last week using both the FMT and the Domino. Here is my anecdotal observation:

I'm building frames for cabinet doors with 2-3 inch wide, ~7/8 inch thick stock.

I find the ability to set tenon width on the FMT to be a great asset. The limited width of the Dominos can be a negative. Here is what I observed:

FMT - perfect alignment of all joints - yes, it took me ~15 minutes to dial in the FMT for each different size joint and I had to do this twice - once for the top 2 inch wide rail to 2 inch wide stile joint and again for the bottom 3 inch wide rail to 2 inch wide stile joint.

Domino - I started with 6mm Dominos but wasn't happy. Why unhappy? The joints twisted if I wanted them too. Moving to 8mm Dominos helped resist twisting, but still resistance to twisting wasn't nearly as strong as the FMT made joints. The FMT made joints used ~1 x 3/8 inch tenons on the top rail and ~2 x 3/8 inch on the bottom rail. I will guess that following glue-up, there is little difference in the joints but I suspect that long term (years down the road) in heavy use application may show difference in joint strength/longevity with the FMT made joints outdoing the Domino'd joints.

I like my Domino but I'm really thinking that for joints where you'd only use a single tenon, the FMT may be the better option compared to the Domino. In applications like casework where you put several or many Dominos in a single joint, the Domino excells and the FMT isn't even an option.

[Gary Keedwell]

Thanks Tim...I like to read about hands- on experience like that.:)
Gary

[Greg Cole]

Not to hijack, or at least not a total hijack.... sorry Heather....:D
I've been waiting for the kind of feed back from Domino'ers like Tim put up a few posts above. There've been a few posts asking about Domino feedback that haven't really yielded anything truly helpful. After all the heat here about it before the release and all the guys who chimed in about having ordered one... I was thinking there'd be posts, projects and info abounding. If anyone has any more info to put up on them, please do!
Maybe I need to just shush up and buy one...? Or I could return the tennis bracelet I bought for LOML's b-day on Sunday and get a couple of the green n blue tools...:cool:
I've looked at some of the Wood Rat features, the FMT features etc and I honestly thing with what's available at the day job shop (with our machinst guru) he and I could make a shop built version that would be pretty stout 'n' accurate......:rolleyes: Anyone wanna send me an FMT for a week or 2????

Cheers.
Greg