Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 16 to 30 of 56

Thread: Mortiser on your JP or a Domino?

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Santa Cruz, CA
    Posts
    157
    I bought a used Minimax J/P that came with the mortiser. It looks really nice and beefy and looks like it would work well, but I also have the big Domino, and that tool absolutely rules. I haven't yet made a mortise where I thought the J/P mortiser would be faster or better.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    So Cal
    Posts
    3,739
    I use the domino. It so fast and easy to bring the tool to the work.
    I don’t always use it for loose tenons sometimes just to make the mortise.
    I make dominos as I need them.
    Hey look I have thee I’s lined up
    Aj

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,469
    Quote Originally Posted by Julie Moriarty View Post
    Not that I'm in the market but I was on Felder's E-Shop looking at table extensions when, out of curiosity, I wanted to see what their mortiser attachment cost. It was $890. That's less than the small Domino. So I looked at the videos and it seemed to me the mortiser would be the better choice... if I was in the market.



    Thoughts?
    Julie, I would trade my Domino DF500 for that attachment (for my A3-31) in a heartbeat!

    My preference is traditional joinery. I am a hobbiest and not mass producing items or working to strict deadlines. I have the luxury of time to do the joinery I prefer. I purchased a Domino to aid in a kitchen build (20 frame-and-panels are not taken lightly when my wife says "get on with it"). That was 2+ years ago, and I have hardly touched the Domino since. Sacrilege for some, I know

    I either chop mortices by hand or, in most cases, I excavate them with a router jig I built. This enables the mortices to be any size and depth needed. There are a range of mortice and tenon joints, and each one has a purpose. I do not do loose tenon joinery.

    I hope that this is not coming across as a negation of the Domino. It is simply my preference in how I build furniture. I am really open to being educated about Domino, which is why I still have it and do not plan to sell it.

    Now the morticing attachment is a terrific tool. It appears to have a range of uses, and it also appears to have a repeatable setting. I can do much of this on my router jig, but this attachment is just so much more convenient to use.

    This is my jig ...



    It is essentially a vertical version of that horizontal mortiser.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    So Cal
    Posts
    3,739
    Derek isn’t you router jig making mortises just the same as a domino?

    I have the same router setup except Festool Router haven’t need to use it since the domino does the same thing.
    Aj

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,469
    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Hughes View Post
    Derek isn’t you router jig making mortises just the same as a domino?

    I have the same router setup except Festool Router haven’t need to use it since the domino does the same thing.
    Hi Andrew

    The short answer is "no". Not all mortices are the same. Here is my last build, a base for a coffee table, where the legs splayed ...







    No doubt one can do this on a larger Domino.

    How about this coped tenon ...



    ... into this mortice ....



    ... to create this ...



    Here is a frame-and panel ...





    ... to receive a haunched tenon ...






    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  6. #21
    Brian

    Balestrini, Bacci, maybe more I forget stuff ive seen at auctions, lots of vowels. Good info there on your mortiser. I need to spend more time on mine have more bits now as well. Still always found it slower and have to bend over to look compared to the verticle mortiser. Derek nice jig and construction and hand work there. Stop teasing us by not showing the whole piece

  7. #22
    The domino joiner is head and shoulders above any mortiser in doing angles. Such examples like window louvers and others can be found over the Festool forum. I learned the three way miter joint from a club fellow as he demonstrated his technique based on the domino manual. Youtube has tons of domino videos on countless projects.

    as Prashun says, the domino is genius for reasons that non users won’t appreciate. Or perhaps even some casual or long time users won't appreciate the power of their domino joiners.

    Simon

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,469
    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Lake View Post
    Brian
    ....Derek nice jig and construction and hand work there. Stop teasing us by not showing the whole piece
    Warren, I tell you what - I'll show you the pieces that these became, and you - and others - please show me example of joinery using the Domino which you consider to be an advantage over traditional mortice-and-tenons. I'd really like to see how I can best put to to work alongside my current methods.

    I'm sure you have seen these before ...









    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  9. #24
    No Domino for me so far, ive heard of them but never looked. Your last two photos are how I was taught to make doors, nice to see that. Nice work and your chair reminds me of dinning chairs one of the two old germans I knew did. His wife is still in the home and he made every stick of furniture, floors, kitchen some windows and more.
    Last edited by Warren Lake; 02-17-2019 at 3:08 AM.

  10. #25
    Derek, amazing work there. Have you guys forgot that Grizzly came out with a new slot mortiser? I bought their old drilling machine, which works pretty well.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    MA
    Posts
    2,255
    Lets see... I have a Woodrat. And a Wirth machine. And a mortising attachment for a Smart 300. And those square bits that go in a drill press adapter. And routers. And a Smithy combo lathe/mill. And a Domino 500. And of course some chisels and mallet. Oh, and a Kreg pocket hole fixture (if we are talking joinery need to throw that one in!). No doweling fixture (strangely never appealed in any way to me), but do have a biscuit joiner in the drawer somewhere. Oh, and a tenoning fixture on the tablesaw.

    The Domino is very fast to make floating tenon joints in a certain size. And its simple to cut a piece to finished length (especially when doing angles, etc). They seem strong enough, but I would say overall the joints with the Domino are smaller cross section than the traditional joinery.

    I still havent taken to the idea that I want to do everything with floating tenons. There is a certain satisfaction to the larger surface areas and cross section of traditional design. Personal satisfaction of the design and process. (note I am not producing product, and am here as a hobby and the PROCESS is as enjoyable as the finished piece. Because when you are done, well, you are done and have to start over on something new so its good to enjoy along the way....)

    A lot of times I want a longer/deeper mortise than what the Domino does. (again traditional joinery) Cant beat one of these mortise machines (and yes I clamp a piece into the mill every now and then - brainless).

    For tenons I like the Woodrat. Even angles just clamp in and chase it around the outside and done. Although tenons over a couple inches in length get special consideration on the table saw or more often by hand (bandsaw then cleanup with a shoulder plane).

    So 'it depends' on the philosophical approach to the piece on which tool I reach for. Kinda like dovetailed drawers. I could drawer lock or glue/pin them or even Domino them together. But sometimes at least, I like the look and satisfaction of traditional dovetails. I find the same thought process with the Domino. Its great when I want a fast and strong 'mid tier' joinery technique. But if I am doing a piece that I want to go all the way with, I stick with the traditional joinery. And a mortising machine makes short work of that. (go look at really high end gallery furniture, like northwest woodworkers gallery, not a lot of domino in use there).

    (it always surprises me how 'passionate' users become over a certain method or tool)
    Last edited by Carl Beckett; 02-17-2019 at 6:12 AM.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    547
    Blog Entries
    1
    I have the mortiser for my CF741 as well as a domino. They both have their place. For most joinery, I prefer the mortiser. There are places were the domino is just easier and quicker.

    if I could only have 1 it’d likely be the mortiser. I’ve used it not only for mortises, but for drilling aligned holes as well.

    mike

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Punta Gorda, FL
    Posts
    3,028
    Standing on the outside looking in, it seems the mortiser is both more economical and more versatile than the Domino. If you want to drill a larger diameter with the mortiser, you insert a larger diameter bit. With the Domino, you have to buy the larger machine. Ouch! With the mortiser you could make tenons, with a little improvising. And then there's being able to drill a lock mortise or any other variety of mortises. The Domino seems really more of a doweling system than mortising system.

    The Domino 500 is $960 and the 700 is $1400. The Hammer mortiser is $890 and the mortising bit set (6, 8, 10, 12, 14mm) is around $60. Their 8, 10, 12, 14, 16mm slot-cutting set is $260. Both go up to 20mm in diameter. And it runs off a 4HP motor.

    The downside is trying to joint a board with the mortiser attached appears difficult, at best. It's not portable or easy to stow. And you can't just pull it out cut a few holes and put it away easily.

    Or so it all appears sitting here in the bleachers.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    There is no one "best way" to do things...and an individual woodworker may often get benefit from having multiple methods for mortising in their tooling/skill-set. I spoke highly of the Domino as it has been very supportive of "what I do", but I'm also ready, willing and able to do more traditional M&T using hand tools if that's what best serves a project. I had a bench-top mortiser for many years, but it went nearly unused in my shop...another local woodworker put it on his bench and it gets a lot more action because it works "for what he does".

    So if you feel that you'll get the most utility from the Hammer mortiser attachment, that's going to be a good choice for you and it still doesn't take away your ability to adopt other methods when they are best for a project.
    --

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

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    SW Michigan
    Posts
    668
    I like Jim's comment. If you do lots of fine work like Derek C. maybe the Domino is not the best choice for that type of work. I like mine because it allows me to get the job done, make strong joints, and move on. If the cost of Dominos is a factor in your decision, you can get a systainer full of them,with bits and free shipping of Amazon de. for much less than you can on this side of the pond. You have to keep an eye out for that deal though. Thanks to Van Huskey for that tip.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •