Dominoe Issue

[Robert Engel]

No matter how careful I am, I cannot get flush edges on a consistent basis.

I think I have checked and double checked everything.

Is it the nature of the beast?

Ask me anything.

[glenn bradley]

No machine can make up for the irregularity of commercially milled limber so we have to set a reference for what "flush" is. We will assume that your material is properly milled and true, not just right off the rack. I originally had trouble when trying to use the base, as opposed to the fence as my reference. Once I assured that the base was not contacting anything so that the fence was the true reference surface, I was fine. For thinner stock this means elevating it or hanging the point being "Dominoed" out in space. I have done both. To get a flush joint you need to reference of the same face, show or no-show face, on both parts.

[Jim Becker]

The singular question that comes to mind is if you are indexing off the adjacent surfaces consistently? If you are, even with material not being exactly the same thickness will have one surface that's flush with the adjacent one. This takes careful marking of the material (planning) for sure. Glenn also addresses this question in the last sentence of his reply.

BTW, this also applies for biscuits, dowels, splines, whatever...

[Bill Dufour]

I use my biscuit cutter with the tablesaw top as reference, not the fence, for the most part. It is best to mark the non-reference side so the marks show during the cut making sure you get it right. This also means the marks normally can be left since they will not show.
Bill D.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I use my biscuit cutter with the tablesaw top as reference, not the fence, for the most part. It is best to mark the non-reference side so the marks show during the cut making sure you get it right. This also means the marks normally can be left since they will not show.
Bill D.

I'm not sure this would work with the Domino....


In any case,
1) Confirm your stock is flat and square
2) Confirm your Domino fence and base is flat and square
3) As Glenn said, make sure the Domino fence is not hitting your workbench (very easy to do with 4/4 and thinner stock), preventing you from getting a good reference against the stock
4) Plunge slowly, make sure your fence doesn't shift during the cut

I'm not sure what you mean by "flush edges", but whatever problem you're describing is definitely NOT the "nature of the beast".

[Peter Kuhlman]

What type of wood are you using?
My experience adding hardwood trim to plywood caused lots of issues as the cutter seems to go “wonky” in the softer material. I use my DowelMax jig for getting flush joints and they are perfect. Have had unsolvable issues using my Domino 500 for edge joining. Even had Festool service look at it but no resolution. Dowels are sure slower to cut but gives me perfect results.

[mreza Salav]

The absolute best flush joint I get are with dowels and a good dowel jig that locks into the board (e.g. Jessem). Having said that you should be able to get good joints with Domino. The main issue is user operation: not referencing from the same face and/or movement of the machine during the operation.
I find the best way is to use the fence and reference off the "face-up" side of the board rather than resting the domino on the bench and referencing off that surface.
It's also crucial that you hold the machine tight on the board and go slowly to minimize vibration.

[Mark Carlson]

My early results weren't great. Turned out my fence stop wasn't 90. After fixing that I was fine. Remember not to plunge to quickly, especially when doing deep cuts in end grain.

[Jim Morgan]

A couple of other things to think about are the grip and posture you use while making a cut.

I have the larger DF700, which is kind of heavy, with most of the weight toward the back end. When I first got it, I used the handle to plunge but had a hard time keeping the machine perfectly vertical, so the resulting joints were often imperfect. Now I keep my rear hand at the back of the machine with my fingers curled under the bottom to support the weight; the results are much better. Using steady, even pressure to plunge (and unplunge) is best.

Also, work at a comfortable height and adopt a posture that you can comfortable maintain throughout the cut. Crouching at the beginning and straightening up midway results in poor cuts.

[Andrew Hughes]

I second Jim’s suggestion. Push on the back of the tool near the cord this was suggested to me by the Festool rep. When I mentioned unevenness. I get much better with the tool the more I use it.
Good Luck

[Robert Engel]

My early results weren't great. Turned out my fence stop wasn't 90. After fixing that I was fine. Remember not to plunge to quickly, especially when doing deep cuts in end grain.

I'll take a look at the fence.

Yeah I already figured out the soft wood issue.

Fence registration - yes I'm sure it was.

Yes, stock all prepped correctly.

I was using the fence attachment thought I had flush.

I'll try holding it by the end.

[Jay Kepley]

A salesman at Woodcraft told me recently that he had problems with alignment until he started holding and pushing the tool from the end. I can't weigh in on this, because I haven't bought one (yet). Hopefully, that will change sooner than later. It seems like a very useful tool. Good luck.

[Bryan Cramer]

A salesman at Woodcraft told me recently that he had problems with alignment until he started holding and pushing the tool from the end.

Yep that's an issue I had too. Even with the small one (500) its too easy to make the motor a lever and throw off the alignment. Push slowly and lightly from the end with your palm only almost no grip.

[Matthew Hills]

Registration is particularly tough when the workpieces are small and/or not secured well.

I have been using the domiplate as my reference most of the time. This has a knob that is great for applying consistent pressure, but you still need to be careful not to rock if the workpieces are small. Taking care during the plunge is also important.

Is your issue that the plunges are not square, or that they are at different offsets from the reference surface?

Matt

[Robert Engel]

Different offset.