Has any one put the newer Festool Domino portable mortiser through it’s paces. Are there any major negatives?
1. Does it really have the power to use the largest bit or does it seem to bog down some?
2. Is it easy to adjust the height?
3. Can be used continuously, say for an hour or so at a time or does it feel like the motor will over heat?
4. Any other insight or comments would be appreciated?
I have the Lamello and Hoffer portable doweler(few major negatives with this unit for the price). Just want to be sure it’s worth the money before I buy it.
Thanks in advance,
Mark Levin
Replies
Mark:
You should also take a quick peek at this thread: 37273.1
I have had the Domino since it first came out. Since I had not invested in any biscuit joiner, doweller or M&T jigs, it was a no brainer.
I have used it for making face frames, frame and panel, attacjing frames to carcasses and making jigs. Only last week I used it to make about 75 M&T joints for draw fronts and other panels (took about an hour). Now to your specific questions:
1. Does it really have the power to use the largest bit or does it seem to bog down some? It goes throught he wood like butter and I have had no sensation that the motor is even close to struggling.
2. Is it easy to adjust the height? It does take a little bit of practice to get the best out of the machine. Becasue it looks similar to a biscuit joiner, many assume it works in exactly the same way. My first few uses had a number of operator errors. There are some good third-party manuals (Festool's is pretty useless). All the adjustments are easy and straightforward, though initial calibration might be required.
3. Can be used continuously, say for an hour or so at a time or does it feel like the motor will over heat? As with the aforementioned joints, I have not an any problems or sense that the machine is getting overly hot.
4. Any other insight or comments would be appreciated? As the thread above noted, "I love my domino!" I think it's a great bit of equipment that works as advertised and saves a great deal of time for smallish M&T joints. A lot of domino owners seem to get rid of their dowellers and biscuit machines once thry have got used it.
Check out the festool owners group for other feedback and reviews, as well as ideas for innovatove ways to use the machine's capabilities, e.g., making draws.
Hope this helps,
Hastings
It's metric.......
Boo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its an amazing tool. My hollow chisel mortiser is now just a big paperweight....waiting for some through tenons. About the only downside to it is (price- in my opinion, well worth it) and the metric thing for us old fashioned english measurement types.Rick
I second everything that was already said. It is a amazing and wonderful tool. There are many uses for it. I just used it the other day for making slotted screw holes for a table top and frame. I used the smallest bit and cut all the way through the piece then reset the depth of plunge and put the biggest bit in. Then I plunged half way done and there you go. A perfect slotted hole for your screws to sit in and allow for the wood movement that you need.
It's well worth the money to get. You'll think of many different ways to use it.
http://www.kalafinefurniture.blogspot.com
Thanks for the tip. I love mine too but didn't think of that application. PMM
Are the dominos made of compressed wood like biscuits are? Do they expand when glued? Is there any possibility of expanding (like biscuits) so that they are visible in the finished piece?
I'm not to sure about the expanding part of this question. I'm pretty sure they are compressed beach. But like a biscut you shouldn't be putting them to close to the top of the work anyways. Because if they do swell then they will show through the top if they are close. But most of the time you will put the domino right in the middle of the pieces so that problem won't happen.Kaleo
http://www.kalafinefurniture.blogspot.com
The local Festool rep was over at my house the other day demoing (sp?) the Domino. The biscuits are not compressed. He emphasized that point for the reason you mentioned.Cheers,Peter
Thanks for the informed response!
It was the etching on the domino that led me to think that. I wonder how they get that on there unless it IS stamped? (Stamping = Compression) They can't have time to etch all those little engravings in each Domino!
Has anyone tried putting glue on a Domino (and a biscuit for control) and check dimensions after curing?
Thom
tkarlmann,
You asked, "Are the dominos made of compressed wood like biscuits are? Do they expand when glued? Is there any possibility of expanding (like biscuits) so that they are visible in the finished piece?"Dominos are solid wood, they do not expand any more than solid wood, and I don't see any possibility of them showing through the finished piece -- assuming you run the machine correctly, of course!The challenge for Festool is to be able to show why the Domino is not a biscuit joiner. It's a natural assumption people are going to make about the machine.
I use mine so often and for so many applications that it is now indispensible in my shop. Example: I am currently making some chairs with seven backslats. I want them to "float" in their mortises. So I used the largest bit and sized my slats to that dimension. Voila: perfect mortises every time.
Your questions were answered by a previous response. No need to elaborate, other than to say that you MUST attach a vacuum to the domino. If not, the chips will not leave the mortise and the domino will struggle a bit, and that will also decrease the bit life.
I look at plans now, or something I dream up, and cutting a mortise and tenon is not even part of my thought process. I decide where to place the mating mortises with my domino, pop in the tenons, and done.
As for the poster who boo hoo'd the metric system, forget it. It is actually helpful. I have a metric and fractional caliper. Say I want to place my mortise in the middle of my workpiece. Workpiece is 30 mm. What is the midpoint? Not too tough: 15mm. Try that with 41/64.
buy the tool. You will never be sorry. PMM
I have had the Domino since April 1st. I love it. The only thing that I would warn any Domino users is to check the fence for squareness to the body. Made a bunch of mortises and dry fit the whole piece and the mortises were at a 1 degree angle so nothing wanted to go togther square. I simple check of the fence and a loosen and tighten of a set screw and its done
Joey
The problem with your metric. Say the plans show a mortise in a table leg that is 1 1/4" from the edge. Now you have to convert every measurement over to metric. every mortise is not in the center of the piece of wood so being able to exactly divide it in half doesn't help
BOO....................
I love mine... (dislike festool for personal reasons) saw it at the AWFS show as it was being demoed by the wood whisperer adn knew I would get one... it is everything it is reputed to be...
Drew
Thank you all for your input. Went ahead and ordered one last week.
Mark Levin
Mark,
While the Domino does do floating tenons and mortises, the current model does not have the capability to automatically do Draw-Bore-Pinned-Mortise-and-Tenon. I believe that the Mark II version will have that capability. The Mark III model will incorporate a router which will make the raised panel as the rails and stile joinery is being done. This will be a one step operation, and the Mark III will be a table top machine, not hand held. The Mark IV version will actually suggest changes in the design of doors to the woodworker. They originally planned to have it automatically override the woodworker when his designs were poor, but they figured that would hurt customer relations.
The Domino will be followed by Festool Drawer-maker, which will do custom dovetailing while making the grooves for the drawer bottoms. The Mark II Drawer Maker will automatically put the drawer in clamps and insure squareness as well.
Festool is also coming up with a new line of clothes for the "new woodworker". We are moving toward a time where dust and noise will be automatically controlled by the machine, and the woodworker will actually work from outside the room in which the tools are being used. Indeed, you will be able to control these machines via wireless computers
Actually, Festool is quite forward looking. With the upcoming machines, there is little for the woodworker to do, beyond design. So Festool is developing a new set of DVDs to retrain woodworkers in other areas. Festool noticed how much woodworkers like to write and post messages, that they are focussing on the field of journalism as the target area to move woodworkers into.
There is a Brave New World coming. We must be prepared. I am not concerned about Lie Nielsen and Lee Valley going out of business, because future woodworking robots will actually use hand tools to get the "real hand tooled finish" look. Woodcraft and Rockler will probably morph into travel agencies since woodworkers will have so much free time.
Embrace this new world. Like the Borg, it will assimilate you. Watch Festool as it goes beyond woodworking and into clothing (all green) and into housing and automobiles. Their plan is that all houses will be made from "systainers". Houses will be made modularly from "container units" so that even in the smallest houses, storage will not be a problem. Also, housing will have built in dust collection. Every three months you will remove what seems to be a small brick of dust from the filter. But Festool even has ideas beyond this. They see these bricks of dust as energy sources. Dust is combustible, and they will have an automotive unit which will produce cars which will run on the dust which has been removed from houses.
Don't fight these changes. If you do, your computer will notice it, and will report you to the Festool Police. More on that later. Remember, every silver lining has a cloud.
I hear that already, Festool is making an offer to buy out Warren Buffet.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel:Lucky you! I cannot believe that you are privy to Festool's product roadmap — All that Festool goodness to come.I had heard that Festool was behind another german company called Micro Drones:http://www.microdrones.com/This little device will hover over the woodworker and follow him around. The drone is authorized to shut down any machine if it encounters poor design, substandard skills or mistakes. No longer will it be possible to cut a board too short.I believe they are experimenting with Mark II that will administer a light shock in the event it encounters wrong hand tool practices.Regards,Hastings
Hastings,
I visited the Microdrones site. Thanks for letting me know about it. It might be fun to outfit about ten of them with small paint-ball guns and teach them some strategies. Then stand back and watch them fight it out. I might get one to keep squirrels out of my tomatoes, and another to keep the neighbor's dog from killing my bushes.Have fun,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
FUNNY! LOL...
What part of the body will receive the sensor for that Mark II?
Jimma:I believe the researchers are having some trouble with this. Too small a shock and it won't have the desired corrective effect. On the other hand they don't want to cause any injury.I think they may go for a two stage effect. A slight shock to a large muscle group, and if that doesn't work something targeted at (how shall I put this) a more sensitive area that would bring the erring woodworker to his knees. The researchers believe that just knowing about the second shock will get nearly 100% compliance to the first - but it will be there just in case. Very thorough Teutonic engineering!Hastings
Well, as long as they get it in the end.
I guess I will have to start watching Norm again. He will probably have a separate one for each type and size of joint and panel. Then it will never need to be recalibrated. Within 25 min. he will completely furnish a 5 bedroom home with all of the appropriate trim.
Mr. Herzig,
You found the same thing that I did. I would watch Norm then go down to my shop and wonder why my saw wasn't set up and ready for the cut. I know that Norm did more to get people into woodworking than anyone else, but he really did a bit of a disservice by not showing what it takes to set up a router, a saw, etc. Once your tool is set up, making the cut is trivial. But somehow you and I both survived and now we are having fun, in spite of having been corrupted by Norm. But ya just gotta love the guy. He exudes a good nature and a can-do attitude. It is engaging "persona" which makes his show so likable. Enjoy,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
I actually once sent him an email suggesting that he devote several shows to a single project wherein he actually showed the set-up and adjustments. No response.
I do have to report however that he is personally quite likeable. My son and his family were having dinner at The Summer Shack in Boston and my granddaughter (4 at the time) went up to him and his wife and made friends. My son recognized him even though she didn't.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled