CMT 8mm cutter loose

[frigator]

I am a new Domino 700 owner and had only used the 12mm cutter which came with the machine. Worked fine. Just received a CMT cutter, 8mm and the joints seem loose. I am fine with the 12mm cutter, joints nice and tight. So is it possible there is a problem with the cheaper cmt 8mm cutter?

 

[bobfog]

I am a new Domino 700 owner and had only used the 12mm cutter which came with the machine. Worked fine. Just received a CMT cutter, 8mm and the joints seem loose. I am fine with the 12mm cutter, joints nice and tight. So is it possible there is a problem with the cheaper cmt 8mm cutter?

Dismissing the completely obvious that you're not on the wide setting without realising...

Are they new 8mm dominos that you happened to buy at the same time as the cutter?

If this is the case it is fairly likely your "problem" is that the new 8mm dominos have been sealed in an airtight bag and haven't absorbed as much moisture and expanded as much as the 12mm dominos that have been sitting around your place for a while. It's not a problem, you've just got used to dominos that are slightly harder to put in the mortice due to expansion.

If you put your existing stock of 12mm in the oven for 30 mins on a lowish heat or in the microwave for a couple of minutes they would expel their moisture and feel as comparably loose as the new 8mm.

Additionally the 12mm mortice/domino is a little deeper/longer than the 8mm so that additional depth could make them feel less loose than the 8mm.

 

[peter halle]

I moved this out of the Festool problem area due to the fact that the question is about an after market cutter.

Peter

 

[frigator]

Yes,  the 8mm dominos are in fact new...but when I took the 12mm out of the bag they were new also and were tight from the get-go. I can move the joint around and I was just wondering if perhaps this aftermarket cutter might not be ground to the tolerances as the fess tool cutter. But I haven't seen any other complaints like mine, so maybe that's not it.

I have ordered the adapter to use a 6mm cutter, also CMT, so will see how those dominos fit.

I do have it on the tight settings. I will give it time to acclimate but they seem very loose.

 

[Cheese]

I'd start the investigation process by measuring the 12 mm Festool bit with a caliper or a micrometer. Then I'd proceed to the CMT bit and measure that one. They should both be within .001-.002 (.05mm) of the diameter specified.

Then you need to ascertain where the problem lies...is it with the diameter of the mortise or is it with the width of the mortise.
If the diameter is the issue, then that is a result of the diameter of the cutter, if it is a width issue, then that could be a result of the length of the cutter.

I think most on this forum have just always purchased Festool OEM parts so this has never been an issue.  [big grin]

 

[Gregor]

And in case length and diameter are as expected: the cutter could be askew in relation of the thread - which would lead to a bigger diameter hole created inside the material since the tip of the drill won't rotate axial then but wobble around.