Cordless Domino

[Hipplewm]

This is one that i thought that way too, until I was building my barndominium with no power.  Plus 120acres of fencing - mounted the mitre saw to the back of a gator and used it to cut fence boards.
Also, as we progressed and built our house, the framers used the same dewalt flexvolt mitre saw, even though I had power for them available.

Now, that everything is finished, barn has power, we are living in the house and the fence is built, I sold my flexvolt mitre saw and have a built in powered mitre saw, but to think the cordless is worthless I think is a bit much, they have a use case, but it may not be for you.  My framer would fight you for days over how "useful" it is.

Okay, your fence building situation makes sense, however, a Honda generator about the size of a Systainer would have fit in the back of your Gator, too, and you could have done one saw instead of selling one and replacing it.

Funny you mention that exact scenario as I have just gotten rid of the last piece of anything I own that uses gasoline - I had already offloaded generators at that time.
Tractors use diesel
wife and I both have diesel trucks
whole home generator - propane
gator - diesel
etc...
weed trimmers - battery
weed blower - battery
chain saw (we have very few trees) - battery etc
If I need the run a power tool, I have the dewalt thing that has 4 batteries and an 1800w inverter - and it lasts a long time - but most of all this was bought in 2018 when the flexvolt stuff just came to market and it was DIRT cheap compared to today.  I sold my flexvolt mitre saw for $175 more than i pid for it 6 years ago - crazy times

I can buy bulk diesel (unfortunately not red because we fill our trucks) but still convenient to never go to a gas station, we pay very good prices and it powers everything.  I just don't want gasoline around hay and stuff like that - too much can go wrong etc - diesel is much safer and easier to store without having issues like ethanol gas does

 

[doozer_diy]

I'm new to Festool and new to FOG. Based in the US, I've been a Milwaukee M12 and M18 owner for years. I have a Festool extractor and recently I purchased the cordless ETSC 125 sander. I loved it so much I bought the delta sander, DTSC 400. To add a perspective to the domino cordless conversion here:  I love the new hybrid form factor. It has the smaller battery platform and you can utilize the mains adaptor. The Domino DF 500 looks to have a similar form factor body that could maybe accept a hybrid adaptor, as does the edge router MFK 700.

So for me, while I have battery powered Milwaukee sanders and routers (with surprisingly good dust collection when paired with the Festool extractor), these tools are only ever battery powered tools.  And when they’re hooked up to an extractor, I don’t want/need the weight of the batteries when I could have a cord.  Switching to the Festool hybrid system allows me to do precision work in the shop, but capitalize on the same Festool tool investment and tool quality where it might be easier to work without a cord. If Festool were to add the domino and its edge router to the new hybrid line-up, I’m there. I can see myself using a hybrid domino at an outdoor workstation and not needing mains power or a vac. I can see myself doing this with a hybrid edge router.

 

[Cheese]

I can see myself using a hybrid domino at an outdoor workstation and not needing mains power or a vac. I can see myself doing this with a hybrid edge router.

Unfortunately, you need to use dust extraction when using either of the Domino tools. If you don't, the cut mortices can be undersized, oversized or you can break a cutter because of chip/dust accumulation inside the mortise.

[welcome] to the FOG.  [smile]

 

[Boski]

I have the Lamello Zeta cordless and you can use a dust bag. It is so much easier to use than my corded domino.

 

[doozer_diy]

I could also see Festool expanding the slim battery/hybrid line to bluetooth to their cordless systainer extractor.

 

[city17]

Agree that domino is nearly always used in the workshop, but my experience is with certain complicated joinery or just if you have a small shop, the power cord and vacuum hose can often get in the way. Especially when you have the Domino upright, it can have a tendency to want to pull it out of position due to drag of the cable and vacuum. Having it be cordless would be a great help for that.

If they can make a Lamello Zeta cordless with a dust bag, they should be able to do the same for the domino. A solution like with the sanders would be great, just swap out the battery for a mains adapter if you need continuous power.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

If they can make a Lamello Zeta cordless with a dust bag, they should be able to do the same for the domino. A solution like with the sanders would be great, just swap out the battery for a mains adapter if you need continuous power.

If you look at how the cutter works in the Zeta vs the Domino, you can start to flesh out the challenge for any kind of dust bag for the Domino being effective. They would have to essentially put a small vac in the tool to be able to get material out of the deeper recesses. The rotating cutter that the Lamello tool uses provides forces that more naturally move the debris out of the cut and that can fling them into the bag.

 

[Cheese]

If they can make a Lamello Zeta cordless with a dust bag, they should be able to do the same for the domino. A solution like with the sanders would be great, just swap out the battery for a mains adapter if you need continuous power.

In the last 6 months there's been much discussion here about mains adapters. It basically gets down to the amount of power needed vs the size of the adapter for convenient, ergonomic use.

The ACA 100 for the ETSC/DTSC/RTSC sanders only supplies 150 watts while the DF 500 draws 420 watts and the DF 700 draws 720 watts. The ACA would need to be scaled up by a factor of 3-5 times to produce enough power for the Dominos.

Personally, I'd like to see a mains adapter available for the OSC 18, but again, that's not going to happen because of the power it draws, think 350-400 watts.

 

[doozer_diy]

Hmmm. Good points. Thank you. Will be interesting to see if its possible to make accommodations to a version of the ACA. I'd like to think Festool doesn't end that hybrid platform with just the sanders. Maybe 3x more power conversion doesn't have to mean 3x the physical size. Clearly that wouldn't work. I did like the idea further up in this string, where a "Jackery-type systainer" was suggested. If this could supply systainer housed battery power for small corded tools, and maybe also serve as an integrated battery charger for when power is on hand, then I think that's an interesting remote power option. This, with a battery CTC Sys 1 would be helpful in some applications. Realize there are plenty of portable power solutions already. Milwaukee do one which would work with my existing batteries. So, if I want to drop the 700 bucks on that, I could. I'll wait a beat to see what - if anything - Festool has in the way of a hybrid pipeline before pulling the trigger on the existing DF 500 and MFK 700. My purchase this month will be the MW1000 Mobile Workshop. Thanks for the good discussion. Appreciated.

 

[Kev]

A cordless Domino would need more than a power swap, it'd need some sort of onboard DC otherwise it'll be snapping bits all the time as people often tend to ignore DC when they are cordless.

 

[makpacman]

Some thoughts on cordless miter saws and corless tools in general:

I'm a fairly content cordless Kapex user who works in the trades, usually as a finish carpenter. I'd say over the past three to four years corded miter saws have not been the norm.

The reason is that most of our work is remodels and for half of the duration of a remodel outlets aren't in or many aren't live. Sure there's always a live outlet on the ground floor but there are already one or two guys running cords from it and then you need to "borrow" their cord to run yours from. That means carry 100ft of cord, run it through the garage, up the stairs, down the hall to the master bedroom or wherever you can setup shop for that day. It's doable but it also gets old fast.

The reality is, we grab a saw we can easily move to our workspace at the jobsite, and hopefully that can be accomplished one handed. So if said workspace is up a flight of stairs, even my $2.5k cordless Kapex can stay home. Makita and Milwakee have far smaller and lighter cordless saws that cut just as nicely.

Not even neumatic is safe. Finish carpenters often work on doors while closed, and if there are no live outlets in that room, cordless nailguns may be the only answer. There's probably only 1/8 inch between door and tile, and not even a thin hose fits under that.

So while I love every one of my corded festools and grex nailguns, the writing's been on the wall for a while. Go cordless every chance you get and just stick with the fewest battery platforms possible.

So I say, "Hello Dominoe!"

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have the Lamello Zeta cordless and you can use a dust bag. It is so much easier to use than my corded domino.

Agree that domino is nearly always used in the workshop, but my experience is with certain complicated joinery or just if you have a small shop, the power cord and vacuum hose can often get in the way. Especially when you have the Domino upright, it can have a tendency to want to pull it out of position due to drag of the cable and vacuum. Having it be cordless would be a great help for that.

If they can make a Lamello Zeta cordless with a dust bag, they should be able to do the same for the domino. A solution like with the sanders would be great, just swap out the battery for a mains adapter if you need continuous power.

That isn't even close to an apples to apples comparison. The Zeta is effectively a biscuit jointer with a party trick. It is a circular saw-like blade, which inherently forces the chips/dust out of the cut as it spins.
The Domino has spiral flutes to bring chips to the surface, but just like the drill bit it resembles, it can still pack up with chips. With a drill, moving directly in line, this just results in increased friction (which isn't great either) but the Domino bit is also wagging side to side. When that gets overwhelmed, things get ugly.
It would need some kind of on-board extraction fan, similar to the difference in the sanders. An ETS vs ETS EC comes to mind. The form-factor is quite different, as is the weight/balance. It would also require more power to run that fan. (plus the bag, Domino chips are much larger that sanding dust) All of this is adding up to an unnecessary "advancement" for a tool that is rarely used outside of a shop environment anyway.

 

[ChuckM]

Using the DF500 upright can sometimes pose a stability issue, but it doesn't need a cordless version to deal with it. There're a few ways to increase the purchase, such as these:

Spray a coat or two of friction material (e.g. for ladder steps) on the fence

Use a Bigfoot

Use a Dock (for small parts)

Hang the hose up

Make a cradle to steady the machine.

I've done several projects that required the DF to be used upright with precision, using a shop-made cradle and some spray coats.