Larger Domino Produces Fast, Flawless Joints for Full-Size Furniture

When the Festool Domino DF 500 was introduced in 2007, it was a head-turning idea: a handheld joinery system that made loose mortise-and-tenon joints as easy as biscuits (see “Festool Domino Joiner,” FWW #190).

When I purchased the 500 it was a “paid for itself with the first project” deal. I do a lot of architectural woodworking—doors, built-ins, custom gates—and I used it to build primarily frame-and-panels and window frames, and to register large panel glue-ups. It performed well, so

I was happy to take a look at the newest Domino, the XL DF 700.

This model is bigger, made to cut bigger slots for larger tenons, and I had the perfect job for it: cutting joinery in the rails and stiles of a large door I was making for a camper.

Essentially, the tool operates much like a biscuit joiner. You lay out the slots to be cut with tick marks, install the proper-size bit, adjust the fence and size of the slot, and bring the tool to the work, aligning the layout marks with a center line on the fence. The bit both oscillates and plunges to create the tenon slot.

The fit and finish on the 700 is very good, and the pistol grip is a much better design than the original, giving you a firm hold on this 1-lb. tool. I also found that the trigger and other controls are better than on the original. The fence adjustments for the height and depth work particularly well.

For this tool to work properly, you need good dust collection to clear the chips. I used an old shop vac, and it worked fine.

The 700 cuts slots for tenons sized from 3⁄8-in. thick by 7⁄8-in. wide up to 1⁄2-in. thick by 1-1⁄8-in. wide. But the 700 also cuts slots as deep as 2-3⁄4-in., so you can use tenons as long as 5-1⁄2-in. That’s big-time joinery. A smaller Domino joint (3⁄8-in. by 7⁄8-in. by 2-in.) featured in a strength test (see “Joinery Shootout,” FWW #203) was able to withstand close to 600-lb. of pressure. That test revealed that bigger tenons are stronger, so it stands to reason that the bigger Dominos would perform as well or better. Unfortunately, the bits for each machine are not interchangeable.

Like the 500, the 700 comes with repetitive locating pins, which help locate slots a set distance apart or in from the edge of the workpiece.

A nice feature on the 700 is that the pins can be hinged back out of the way when they’re not used. Overall, the 700 has several design improvements over the 500, with plenty of power and control, even when cutting slots for the biggest tenons. Though pricey, it is a good, well-thought-out tool for quick, flawless joinery.

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