DF 500 Minimum Height / Board Thickness

[4nthony]

Hi,

I've been making a bunch of test joints with the DF 500 and I have a question about the fence height.

If I pull the board thickness gauge all the way out (no numbers in the window) and set the fence to 45 degrees, the fence will stop just above the bit centerline corner (top photo).

If I put the fence at 90 degrees, the height isn't quite as deep.

Are these useable heights when cutting mortices in thin stock or should they be avoided, with 16mm being the minimum recommended height? I checked the Festool manual along with the supplemental manual but neither mentioned a height when the thickness gauge is fully retracted.

Thanks!

 

[jbarr]

Seneca's domiplate allows the use of 12mm or 1/2" material but with the use of shims and double sided tape you could probably go as low as 10mm

 

[ChuckM]

Snip.

If I put the fence at 90 degrees, the height isn't quite as deep.

Are these useable heights when cutting mortices in thin stock or should they be avoided, with 16mm being the minimum recommended height? I checked the Festool manual along with the supplemental manual but neither mentioned a height when the thickness gauge is fully retracted.

Thanks!

When the board thickness gauge is completely retracted and the fence is set at 90*, the fence angle gauge bottoms out, preventing the fence from going down as much as when the fence is at 45*, or 30*, etc.

The board thickness gauge must be retracted -- not at 16mm or any thickness regardless of the stock thickness-- when you

-  do carcass shelf joint (see manual p. 21), or
-  do the bevel/angle joint.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I find that repeatability is a very important factor for every cut, so pretty much anything you can do (and remember) to maintain that is good.
When joining beveled edges, like a miter fold, you will often need to move the Dominos closer to the inside edge. The sharper the angle, the more important this becomes. The depth of cut comes into play here too. You don't want to blow out the other side. I often do test cuts and cut through them to physically see how close it is to cutting through. Sometimes this requires shortening the Dominos too.

 

[4nthony]

Ok, I think I get it now. I'll have to make more mitered joints and test different heights and depths to get a feel for it.

Also, thanks for the tip about the Seneca. I don't know how often I'll be using a Domino in 1/2" stock, but nice to know the option exists.

Thanks!