I finally did it, bought a Festool Domino

[David Sloan]

I used my 700 with the 5mm and 6mm cutters of the 500 using the Seneca adapter. But I usually do not use the pre-made tenons. I bought mine used and the seller included some 12mm tenons and I have used a few. But normally I just cut a bit of scrap and make the tenon I need. Even with rounding over the ends on the router table it doesn't take much time - especially compared to traditional mortise and tenon joints. This also allows me to make much wider tenons. I plunge on about 1/2 inch intervals to make the long mortises. I've built a crib and bed with it so far plus a few other things. I am still learning to use it but I have not found it difficult. The mm thing is an unnecessary hassle but I knew that when I bought it. I also have some pre-made up tenon stock that I cut to length as I use it. It is especially time efficient to cut several pieces of scrap up when you have the setup on the saw and router table.

Jim, I also plan to make my own tenons. It’s a great way to make use of scrap. Your point about being able to make wider tenons is a good one. I have ordered the imperial thickness gauge from Seneca. I know it’s pricey but I find it hard to think metric for woodworking.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, I also plan to make my own tenons. It’s a great way to make use of scrap. Your point about being able to make wider tenons is a good one. I have ordered the imperial thickness gauge from Seneca. I know it’s pricey but I find it hard to think metric for woodworking.

Hint...you don't need to work in metric to use the Domino, although the actual tenons and cutters are in metric. If you index from one side of the material always...which is a best practice...there's no real measurement involved. You do not need to have anything "exactly centered" if you follow that indexing rule religiously. Pick a Domino tenon size appropriate for the material you are using and have at it.

[michael dilday]

I just bought the 500 Q set a couple of days ago along with the tenon assortment and bits. Haven't used it yet just read the instructions and made one mortise. Looks like it is going to be very useful.

[John Makar]

I have a well used 500. I find it an interesting sociological item. At a time when the Chis Schwarz's of the world are going back to handtool only, technology is blowing out tradition in a way that is impossible to ignore or equal in ease and quality. The other thing I see is the price inflation. Dayammm, I groaned when I bought mine back in 2008, now the price increase covers what what I paid for the extra dominos' and bits' systainer, plus a fair amount of change.

Mine gets used most for sliding jigs. When I want to screw something to something I don't worry about precision, I just line up the marks close enough, and then cut a thru-motise on the removable piece. That led to competence in threaded-inserts, so now thing like my benchhook gets transmogified constantly. That also led to nylon 1/4-20 screws, that Amazon sells me by the 100s when I can't get any locally. When something like a saw or chisel blade hits a nylon screw, you just toasted 10 cents worth of nylon.

I have a small garage shop, don't have room for exotic jigs, but if you build a modular base, screw on adaptors add a lot and sit on a single 10" peg hook. That can end up being a nuisance. I added 1/4-20 and 3/8-16 inserts to my Moxon, and now struggle between building boxes which I have said is my role in life, and coming up with fun Moxon add-ons. I didn't need more diversions.

If you give a mouse a power tool...

[David Sloan]

8F7E8D99-D77D-4F01-9161-3A5A53A2D203.jpgJust very impressed with the Domino. There are always multiple joinery options in woodworking I know but these carcase miters are going to be solid. This project for my daughter provided the excuse to buy a tool I have long admired.

[Prashun Patel]

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.

[Edwin Santos]

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.

Sigh. Why does woodworking (and so many other things in life) have to be so tribal?

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.

[Larry Edgerton]

Sigh. Why does woodworking (and so many other things in life) have to be so tribal?

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.

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.

[Prashun Patel]

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?

[Jim Becker]

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.

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!

[Edwin Santos]

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?

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

[Edwin Santos]

That led to competence in threaded-inserts, so now thing like my benchhook gets transmogified constantly. That also led to nylon 1/4-20 screws, that Amazon sells me by the 100s when I can't get any locally. When something like a saw or chisel blade hits a nylon screw, you just toasted 10 cents worth of nylon.

I had not heard that idea before. Nice.

If you were inclined to tap the hole in the mating piece, I wonder if you could dispense with the threaded insert entirely.

[Ron Selzer]

sigh. Why does woodworking (and so many other things in life) have to be so tribal?

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.

very well said

[Rick Herrick]

I noticed you bought the Emerald edition, which looks to have a few more goodies with it. From what I could see, its sold out in most places. Did you buy it a while back or did you find a hidden source ?

[Mike Goetzke]

Congrats to OP on great purchase.

For some reason I purchased a 500 many years ago when the BING discount was given on ebay. Anyway, I didn't like it or use it much for some reason so I sold it. Four years ago I was tasked to make a crib for our granddaughter and thought a Domino would be perfect. I found a slightly used 700XL and now love the Domino. For me the XL has a better way to hold it and I find I use it on almost every project - although the 500 is more right sized for 3/4" work.

As far as tenons - I have made my own but you do need a planer due to the precise sizing of the mortises. Guess with trial/error you may be able to use the TS as sawn. The idea behind the system is to have a tight fitting tenon. Tenon price can add up. Last spring I made a couple outside plant stands from rough sawn fence board and there was more $ in tenons then wood (but, I punched these out in very little time)!

Mike