[OP]
Contributor
Have looked at all the Festool tools for years at places like Woodcraft and Highland in Atlanta. Considered them overpriced like many. But I broke down and drank the green koolaid. I bought the Domino 500 Emerald edition. I am floored by its quality and how beautifully it works.Like my Sawstop 3hp PCS worth the money! Thinking there might be more Systainers in my future!
Member
Congratulations! I recently purchased a 700 and I like it a lot. Easiest way to make mortises. Doesn't take up much space in the shop. And very portable.
Member
I resisted for a long time but recently bought both dominoes. Lovely machines. A joy to use.
Member
Congrats David. Big tool purchases are always a bit nerve wracking but it sounds like you made the right choice. From my perspective the Domino is a game changer in power tools and I will probably follow your lead. Hopefully I can resist the lure of making all my tools a matching green.
Contributor
Enjoy your new tool David!
I fell for a Rotex 90 a couple years ago, a few months later had the 150. As the old saying goes "only regret is not doing it sooner"
Moderator
Domino (both versions) are really great tools, IMHO. I was very sad that I waited as long as I did to acquire my 700 after using it the very first time. It does what I ask it to do efficiently and accurately...every time. I think it's probably that "one Festool" worth owning, regardless of brand loyalties for so many other things. Of course, I have a lot of Festool tools just because I really like them and the system and over time they've been no more expensive or maybe less expensive than other choices because they last and last and last. Most of mine were acquired in the mid-2000s.
The most important thing to remember with Domino (and any alternative type tool such as a biscuit joiner or doweling cutter) is to always index off the same surface on adjacent components.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Moderator
What non-Domino users don't realize is that the genius of the Domino is not its ability to drill floating tenon mortises; it's the flip switch that allows you to widen the holes in increments. This means you don't have to mark ultra precisely. It's really hard to put into words how versatile and flexible this makes things. Domino is to tools as Rush is to music. You either get it and get it HARD, or it just seems like a lot of noise.
Contributor
Sigh. Why does woodworking (and so many other things in life) have to be so tribal?Originally Posted by Prashun Patel
In my case, I don't own a Festool Domino. But I have used one one two occasions now. I agree with you that the tool is very nice, and the adjust-ability error margin that you can dial in can be quite useful, especially in a complex assembly. But you know what? In the balancing act of budget constraints and a never ending tool wish list, the Domino just hasn't made the buy button yet. This is mainly because it does things that I can already mostly do, albeit it does do them faster and more conveniently. Plus maybe my priority as a woodworker at the moment is skills acquisition and design.
I think I may very well buy a Domino someday, but I object to the idea that since I'm a non-user, non-owner, I'm not a member of the tribe so therefore I just don't get it.
Disclaimer: I admit I'm sensitive to this thinking because these days it permeates our society and perhaps not (IMO) to anyone's benefit.
Edwin
BTW, congrats to the OP on the new tool and looks like you're off to a good start with it.
Contributor
Excellent post Ed, and I own a domino. I can just do most of what it does better with other tools. I thought I would use it for face frames as I do them with traditional M&T but they were just not right for reasons I will not discuss here. Mine sits in its storage spot most of the time, and being who I am when I bought it I bought every accessory and a lifetime supply of Dominos. It has not paid for itself.
One of the things I bought it for was precision offsets and I find the fence to be too hard to be consistent with. The steps are a pain in the butt, never exactly what I want. They should have copied Dewalt fence on their biscuit joiner with its rack and pinion to allow the user to locate the domino exactly where they want it. I don't use material in just the dimensions that the steps allow and adjusting it to dimensions that "I" want is just too slow and easily inconsistent.
I have to admit I was swept up in the glowing reviews, and have since learned to for the most part keep my dissenting opinion to myself. But for the price of a domino you can buy a nice mortising machine for example, a machine I use a lot more.
With all of this in mind I am having an argument with myself in regards to a Lamello Zeta P2 right now, an argument I will probably lose and hopefully it is just not another pretty box on the shelf. I have drunk the Green Koolaid and find that I only like about half of the flavors I have tried so far.
Moderator
There can be no return on your investment if you either choose not to use the tool or just don't like it for whatever personal reasons you may have. Domino is one of those things one needs to use to either appreciate it or determine it's best to sell it off. If it "wasn't right for you", that's ok. Maybe someone else will be willing to take it off your shelf and be happy with it. That could fund the Lamello....For me, even though I don't use mine a lot simply because of the varied requirements of the work I produce, it was one of the better tool investments I've made. I'm actually sorry I didn't buy it sooner. But that's me. We're all different. Which is kinda nice when you think about it!
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Moderator
Edwin,
I did not mean to be tribal. Sorry about that. I genuinely meant that the best thing about Domino is not it's ability to make mortises, but its ability to make them preferentially sloppy. It just really shines where one needs to be fast. It saves a lot of marking time - not just drilling. It was not intuitive to me and I only came to appreciate it after using it a while.
Sorry again! No harm no foul?
Contributor
No worries Prashun, didn't mean to be overly sensitive about it. Your post just happened to come up right on the heels of finding myself at the wrong end of tribal spears in a few other instances.
Once the patents run out, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the market copies or re-imagines the concept of a hand held mortising machine like the Domino, without a doubt a clever tool. Keep on keepin' on!
Ed
Contributor
very well said
[OP]
Contributor
Thanks guys. I’ve made a lot of mortise and tenon joints using power and hand tools which I think makes you really appreciate the Domino. I can easily see how one could buy both the 500 and the XL. I glued up several thick long panels and I was astounded how much easier the alignment was with the Domino compared to the biscuit joiner. The project that pushed me to make the purchase is a table for my daughter. Basically 4 slabs 15” wide 2 1/4” thick and 60” long for top and bottom and 30” long for the sides. The 4 panels will be put together as oversized Carcase miters and I will use2 rows of 10mm x50mm tenons to support the long miters. Always nice to have an excuse for a new tool! And it was nice to get the three extra cutters with the Emerald 20th anniversary edition.
Contributor
Love mine, had it for 6+ years. Finished a project for the wife last week, a rotating top Blocking Table for her knitting projects, using the DF500. The cubby's are sized to use Ikea Storage bins, which she is currently sorting and filling in the next room.
Tomorrow, I start a set of rolling drawers that will also act as a mobile base for my new lathe. The DF500 will get a good workout.
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