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Thread: Well I Took The Plunge

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Ft. Wayne, IN
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    1,453

    Well I Took The Plunge

    Plunging as in making mortises with the Domino I just ordered.
    Yup, I ordered the standard size along with the systainer full of beech dominoes.
    I have a nice Powermatic Hollow Chisel Mortiser, which I will use for larger joints so that's why I opted for the smaller model.
    I am anxious now to try it out.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    SF Bay Area, CA
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    15,332
    My PM mortiser is gathering dust since I got the Domino. So are my mortising chisels and PC 557 biscuit cutter as well as my dado blades and tenon cutter.

    Enjoy it! It really transformed how I put things together now. Do go through it and make sure that the distance from the cutter to the guide pins on either side are dead nuts on center. The manual you get will spell this out for you. Next, go on eBay and search on "Festool Domino Spacer" and consider picking those up to compliment the Domino's guide pins. I do not have these exact ones (mine are aluminum and no clue who I got them from on eBay...could be the same guy) but I use them all the time.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Padilla View Post
    My PM mortiser is gathering dust since I got the Domino. So are my mortising chisels and PC 557 biscuit cutter as well as my dado blades and tenon cutter.

    Enjoy it! It really transformed how I put things together now. Do go through it and make sure that the distance from the cutter to the guide pins on either side are dead nuts on center. The manual you get will spell this out for you. Next, go on eBay and search on "Festool Domino Spacer" and consider picking those up to compliment the Domino's guide pins. I do not have these exact ones (mine are aluminum and no clue who I got them from on eBay...could be the same guy) but I use them all the time.
    Well I went on and bought them. The ones i found are phenolic. Thanks for the tip.
    Anything I need to know? Any advice for using it?
    Oh... I have a Fein Turbo II. Should it fit the dust port ok?
    "I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
    Name withheld to protect the guilty

    Stew Hagerty

  4. #4
    I used one the other day. (Borrowed it from the other cabinet shop in my building) I don't have much use for one, but now I want one. Those couple of times a year it'd be useful, it would be real handy.

    The price is insane though. I'm looking at getting a chaiwanese rip saw, $14k new. It'll be way more than 14 times as profitable to me as an investment than the domino. Yet, I still want one. Weird how that works.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Williamstown,ma
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    996
    Martin, if you mean a SLR, save a bunch of dough, and find a LMC Kikikuwa. A very well built small footprint saw that can be had for $2500-5000.00.
    I have 2 chain mortisers, and 2 chisel mortisers in my shop, and I have both Dominoes. They all have their uses.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by peter gagliardi View Post
    Martin, if you mean a SLR, save a bunch of dough, and find a LMC Kikikuwa. A very well built small footprint saw that can be had for $2500-5000.00.
    LMC is Leadermac? I'm looking at a Cantek, same company, different paint I believe.

  7. #7
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    I meant IMC, but I have seen some LMC branded machines with the exact same design, so they share something. In any event, if you go used, which I know you are an advocate of, those machines are Japanese made, and look every bit as well built and engineered as the old US machines.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Wasner View Post
    I used one the other day. (Borrowed it from the other cabinet shop in my building) I don't have much use for one, but now I want one. Those couple of times a year it'd be useful, it would be real handy.

    The price is insane though. I'm looking at getting a chaiwanese rip saw, $14k new. It'll be way more than 14 times as profitable to me as an investment than the domino. Yet, I still want one. Weird how that works.

    I know... The money...
    I debated, didn't get one, debated, didn't get one, debated, and didn't get one for several years now. In fact I was thinking about it even before I got the mortiser. But then I'm a bit of a traditionalist, but I'm also a hard core Hybrid Woodworker. The clincher for me was watching an episode of Rough Cut where Tommy Mac and another woodworker who's name escapes me at the moment were making a yard swing. The mortise & tenoned all the big major joints and used the Domino for everything else. Something just clicked and BAM, I pulled the trigger.
    "I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
    Name withheld to protect the guilty

    Stew Hagerty

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Issaquah, Washington
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    Stew,
    Check out the Domiplate from Seneca Woodworking, it really helps when working with 1/2" & 3/4" sheet goods.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    So Cal
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    Despite the high price, one of the best woodworking purchases I made. I used to make the same kind of lose tenon joinery using a WoodRat but Domino beats it for the ease of use. I still use the Router Boss (better version of WoodRat) for larger joinery but most are handled with the Domino.
    Last edited by Frank Martin; 08-26-2016 at 10:35 PM.

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill McNiel View Post
    Stew,
    Check out the Domiplate from Seneca Woodworking, it really helps when working with 1/2" & 3/4" sheet goods.
    Excellent. Thank you Bill, I will definitely keep that jig in mind.
    "I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
    Name withheld to protect the guilty

    Stew Hagerty

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Haymarket, VA
    Posts
    86
    Quote Originally Posted by Stew Hagerty View Post
    Well I went on and bought them. The ones i found are phenolic. Thanks for the tip.
    Anything I need to know? Any advice for using it?
    Oh... I have a Fein Turbo II. Should it fit the dust port ok?
    Aside from checking the setup - mine were dead on - i'd advise not trying to go too fast when mortising, especially with the 500 as it will jump a bit sideways on the face. It's very easy to setup and use; greatly speeds joinery.

  13. #13
    Double Check the plunge depth when changing setups. It stinks to run a bunch of parts with the plunge depth one setting too shallow..... I now have "plunge depth, dummy!!" Written in pencil across the top bar.

    I built my own version of the Seneca plate with a piece of 1/2 inch Baltic birch ply, a handle and a few metric screws. Not as nice looking as the Seneca one but functions fine.

    i put off buying it for a long time. I wish I had bought it sooner now that I have one.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Newark, Ohio
    Posts
    356
    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Padilla View Post
    My PM mortiser is gathering dust since I got the Domino. So are my mortising chisels and PC 557 biscuit cutter as well as my dado blades and tenon cutter.

    Enjoy it! It really transformed how I put things together now. Do go through it and make sure that the distance from the cutter to the guide pins on either side are dead nuts on center. The manual you get will spell this out for you. Next, go on eBay and search on "Festool Domino Spacer" and consider picking those up to compliment the Domino's guide pins. I do not have these exact ones (mine are aluminum and no clue who I got them from on eBay...could be the same guy) but I use them all the time.
    Are the domino spacers you speak of for use with fences having pins? If so dominos sold now, at least the 500, are sold with paddles not pins and would not work on newer models. What is the purpose of the spacers?

    BTW I sold my mortiser, biscuit jointer and tenoning jig after I bought my 500. There are still ways I can make mortise and tenons without those machines but that's rarely in my case since I can use the domino now.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,675
    There's really only one tool that I still "want" for my shop...and that's the Domino. Congrats on your acquisition!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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