Domino 5 mm cutter broke, after 2 hours of use

[gbruzze1]

So I just got my domino last week, and Wednesday night put it to use.  I was extremely careful using it, partly because of the cost and partly due to being intimidated by it from reading about the learning curve and the intricacy of the unit itself.

So I used it the first day for about 20 mortises with no problems.  The next day, I started using it and realized that when setting it at a 15mm plunge and using 5x30mm tenons, the tenons were not setting in the mortise fully.  I thought there was a problem with the plunge, but when I opened it up, I noticed that the cutter had broken.

Has this happened to anyone else??  I was mortising 3/4" birch ply, no nails no screws anywhere on the boards.  The tool was never dropped or jammed or anything.  I can't figure out why or how that happened, but I am most concerned with making sure it doesn't happen again.

 

[jonny round boy]

If you do a search on 'domino bit broke' on here, you will see quite a few posts (maybe a dozen or so).

It does happen occasionally it would seem, though strangely it does seem to only be with the 5mm bits?

 

[mouppe]

It has never happened to me, but you should return the cutter and get a new one. You are well within the warranty period. Perhaps the cutter had a fault- it happens from time to time. I would not worry about it and would not consider it to be a common problem.

If you got the domino set (a systainer of various-sized dominoes and cutters) check the others to make sure they are ok.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Rick C. made a post about this and from what I remember, he said to go slowly with the plunge, not at the same rate as the larger cutters.  This is not like plunging a biscuit joiner's blade into wood.  It's a narrow straight bit plunging and oscillating at the same time so take extra care while doing that.  Especially considering the depth at which it has to go.

 

[davee]

Earlier today, I was cutting end grain, hard maple.  I could really hear the difference in effort and chatter when I went just a little faster.  Going slow gives me a better cut in addition to less chatter and straining noise. 

 

[Chris Hughes]

I have used my domino on oak, hard maple, ipe, Brazilian redwood and a few other woods of varying hardness.  I have ran over my fair share of trim nails to boot while remortising after partial assembly.  I still have all of the bits that came with the kit.  It sounds to me like you got a bum bit.  I would talk to the dealer that you bought the tool from and if you do not get satisfactin from them them give Lester a call at Festool HQ.  They will fix you up for sure.

 

[PeterK]

I have broken the carbide tip off of 2 of the 5mm bits. Once while trying to make a slot wider and once just plunging. Both times were plunges into plywood.

 

[mastercabman]

I also broke 2 5mm bit.Now i take my time,and i try not to plunge deeper than 15mm.

 

[gbruzze1]

Just to keep those of you reading this posted...

About 10 minutes after posting about my 5 mm bit breaking, I got a PM from Shane.  He expressed his apologies for my experience, and told me to give Customer Support a call tomorrow and they would send me a new bit.  To go the extra mile, he offered to process the whole deal for me if I send him my shipping info.  I told him I would just call Customer Service tomorrow, and he replied that he had contacted them and that they were expecting my call.

I gotta say, I have owned lots of tools from many companies.  NONE have ever compared to the Customer Service that I am receiving here even for such a small issue.  When you put everything in perspective, it becomes evident the high prices for Festool tools is actually a fair price to pay.  The ingenious development of the tools, features and complete system approach is enough to justify the cost.  Then they go ahead and offer exceptional customer service like this and it quickly becomes a no-brainer.

As a professional contractor, I try to go above and beyond to satisfy my customers.  When they do have an issue, I generally will bend over backwards to please them.  It is wonderful to see that there is a company that values their customers and will do the same for them.

Thank you Festool and Thank you Shane.

 

[peter halle]

Shane and Festool are so totally meant for each other.  Customer service rules!
Peter

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Shane and Festool are so totally meant for each other.

Ha! Sometime I feel married to her.  [scared] Surprised my wife doesn't refer to Festool as "the other woman".

 

[Deke]

Well, add a 6mm to the list, but it was my fault. I strongly recommend NOT to try and widen an existing Domino mortise. It seemed to work okay, a little noisy, but later I noticed all my cuts were 18mm deep and not 20. The reason? I had chewed off a bit of the bit and it was a mess. I have two on order now.