Hello Everyone

How many of you have now bought the DF 700? Did you get both systainers with the dominos? Most important of all, what do you think of your new tool?

Peter

Peter

Had mine a few days now and yeah, really really pleased with it. I am using on a couple of joinery projects at the moment and may post the results later.

Seriously good machine and a God send from an efficiency point of view.

I got both Domino systainers, with the cutters, and will see which Domino's are the mainstay, dependant upon each particular application.

At first glance it would appear buying the 750mm lengths will be more cost effective to replenish stocks.

   

Hi Peter

I Picked up my DF700 with both Domino Systainer assortments today walked into my dealers at 4:50 by 5:15 we were all done no waiting for days or weeks. No order just off the shelf.

Haven't played with it yet though
Meatman

i know my dealer has one in stock because i was drooling over it.usually they have to order most of the tools i want . (as im picky ) i actually saw it before he did. i explained to basic design differences to him.

here are pics of my second and third domino XL projects, the first one i didn't take pics of!

a cedar door for a sauna:



and a cedar gate for a carport:



both have 2 (14x140mm) dominos per joint, homemade with afrormosia left overs (african hardwood that doesn't rot)

i got the XL without the separate domino case, i asked to get the 14mm cutter for free and got it as an accessory. it's only 5% of the domino value. As much as i find the domino box for the DF500 to be indispensable, for the XL it seems way more practical to buy or make your own domino stock as long as possible and cut to size for each project to minimize waste.

here are pics of my second and third domino XL projects, the first one i didn't take pics of!

a cedar door for a sauna:

Beautiful! Is there glass going to be put in the top panels?
Tim

and a cedar gate for a carport:

Again, beautiful. Simple but elegant. What do they finish these doors with?
Tim

Beautiful! Is there glass going to be put in the top panels?
Tim
....
Again, beautiful. Simple but elegant. What do they finish these doors with?
Tim

I do this type of work for another woodworker when his guys are too busy or not competent enough, i like that kind of work, he just gives me the dimensions and wood and i build it, no hassle or fuss involved dealing with customers, measuring or fitting.
The door will contain glass, but the customer was going to fit it.
And after taking pics i spray painted the gate with grey-colored water based oil.

@Peter how come you lived in Mons? On American or even British standards i live next to Mons, but on our standards i live  on the other end of the country above Liège.

Talking of English gates, this is one of my favourite episodes of the Woodwright's Shop, in which he builds a Sussex field gate.

http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/3000/3012.html

Guy

I have just seen your 5 bar gate - brilliant. I am sure that your customer will be delighted. I have not used Idigbo - what is it like to work with?

Peter

Quality gate Guy.  Never worked with that wood either.  Is it similar to Iroko ?  What are some of the other sub species called ?

Oh, what's with the 4 "f" clamps on the bottom rail ? Fixing a wee boo boo  . 

Timtool, loving the look of that Cedar.  Is it Western Red Cedar ?

Hi Guy
love the gate I have used lots of Idigbo to make lots of Stable doors for an old client. I agree about all the pitfalls but on a positive note it is a very cost effective timber to use.
One question about the field gate, why dose the top rail not taper from 5" to 4"
Meatman

Hi Everyone

I used the DF 700 to do the joints on the pedestal legs of my new bench. I said in the video that I would show you the finished creation...

It has a main vice and tail vice by Veritas - they are really good and I would not hesitate to recommend them. Almost everything else is made from either scraps from around the workshop or offcuts from my local supplier, Timbersource of Frome. I had to spend a total of £230 on everything, including the vices, some 4x2 timber and the large iroko top (which was ex-display from a kitchen showroom).

I hope that everyone with a DF 700 is happy with their purchase.

Peter

Thank you - the bench turned out much better than I thought it would and so I am thinking of selling it now - but the buyer would have to collect.

I actually used both the DF 700 and the DF 500 on the bench build and, to be honest, the DF 700 on a project like this was total overkill. The DF 500 is a superb all rounder and, used correctly, can be used in some quite demanding designs. However, if you want to tackle large projects, like some that have been described above, then the DF 700 really comes into its own. Maybe one day you can have both!

You would be amazed what some of us wear in our workshops but in this case I was doing a shoot for a main headline photograph for a UK magazine and so I thought that I should look tidy (and breath in a little).

Thanks.

Peter

Excellent review of the D700 Peter.

Hi Kev

Thanks for the encouragement.

I started moving over to Festool about a year ago and have a relatively small array of equipment. The dominos are brilliant but then so is my Kapex, Rotex 90, MFT3, TS 55 and all the little accessories that work so well together. My favourite (at the moment) is the OF2200 router. despite its size, I find it really easy to control and I am sure that its mass and power are part of the secret to its stability. My review is on YouTube and here on the FOG of course. The unsung hero that many of us forget is the dust extractor - I have the CTL26 and I have to say that my satisfaction with so many of the Festool tools owes a lot to the superb performance of the CTL 26 and the way that tool and extractor are so cleverly integrated by the Festool designers/engineers.

I have not done video reviews of either my Rotex 90 or my MFT3 - mainly because the video reviews done by Paul Marcel are so good. I may do something there if I can put some 'English' on it (ie to continue where Paul left off or look at them from a different perspective). The Rotex 90 is amazing and so quick to change from one task setup to another. I do a lot of fine work (small boxes and so on) and the RO90 is a dream.

I really hesitated when buying the MFT3 but now could not do without it. My old Radial Arm Saw needed replacement and that was going to be well over £1300 (thats probably about $7 Australian by now). By buying the MFT3 and TS55 saw I have just about replaced my RAS given that I already had bought the Kapex. I can now cut 700mm kitchen worktop cleanly which was impossible with the RAS - and my setup is portable with no loss of accuracy or flexibility.

The TS55 is a must have saw but I want to put mine into a CMS unit. Once there it will stay in that configuration and so I may just get a TS55R for rail sawing and to use with the MFT3. Now that the uninformed banter has died down and we have been able to have some hands-on with the new saw I think that it is a positive step forward with loads of value added fetaures, a number of improvements and Festool have kept the price the same.

Next on my list is the replacement of all of my Hitachi rechargeable drill/drivers. They all have dodgy batteries and so I hope to be able to do a gradual changeover in the next few months. Lithium Ion batteries are essential for rechargeable tools as the old Nicad and Nickel Metal Hydride tend to fall over too soon.

Thanks again.

Peter