Domino 500 or Domino 700 w/ Shims and Adapter?

[mleung]

I am a newbie to the world of expensive green tools. I have resisted long enough and finally made the plunge into the rabbit hole.  To me Festool is like crack for woodworkers. I see guys on YouTube with walls of systainers and I just think how much cash did they spend on portable tools? I spent so much on my stationary shop machines already. I'm already thinking how awesome the kapex and track saw would be in my shop.  [scared]

Thanks for the input about the 500 and 700 fellas. I have been debating over getting the 500 or 700 for a while now. After reading this thread I decided to get the 700 and the Seneca 6mm XL bit. I also ordered the 8/10 bits and tenon assortment and a bag of 6mm tenons. I will add the 14mm bit and make my own wider 2 and 3 plunge tenons later.

This is my first festool purchase and I think it will speed up my furniture and cabinet door builds tremendously. I hope the 14mm tenons are strong enough for my outdoor gate/door project. I am so used to making huge integral tenons building stickley furniture. If my gate is 2.5" thick shouldn't the tenons be around 3/4" thick?  Maybe doubling the 14mm tenons would be good. Since I can plunge 70mm on each side, it will allow me to pin one side and draw-bore the other.

I don't get enough time to spend in my shop do the 700 should help me bang out my projects more efficiently. I love making traditional mortise and tenons but they just take so much time setting up. I will still make them when appropriate like for through tenons. Using the domino instead of cutting  traditional mortise and tenons feels like cheating in a way. Did you guys ever feel that way?

Ron, I really appreciate the accessories you have been making. They are well thought out. I was hoping that your imperial height guide would be available but did not see it. When do you plan to have it available?

 

[RyWen]

Ron, I really appreciate the accessories you have been making. They are well thought out. I was hoping that your imperial height guide would be available but did not see it. When do you plan to have it available?

I have a set of machined prototype DF700 height gauges here that I'm evaluating.  We need to make a few final tweaks to the design...then they should be available in our store, probably in late January.  Next week I should have a blog post on our site that better describes the direction we're going with the height/thickness gauges for the DF700.  Because the existing Festool height gauge only has 5 index positions, but the fence covers a wide range of offset, we're going to have several options available for an imperial height gauge replacement so that each person can buy what best fits their needs, depending on how they use the Domino XL.

 

[RyWen]

What would happen if I use my domiplate with the DF700.  I will know tomorrow morning.  ;D

Did you ever test your plate on the XL?  I just got my bit adapter and shim plates from Seneca. Big fan of the bit adapter, the plates are nice, just not so much on the attachment process.

The Domiplate will bolt up to the Domino XL, however, the offsets won't be correct since the df500 and df700 have different offsets from base to cutter center line (10mm vs 15mm).  I've had quite a few emails about the Domiplate XL we prototyped a while back (and at the time decided not to take to production).    Because of this, I'm probably going to get a small production run done so we can get some feedback from users.    However, we're also going to release an Imperial Thickness Gauge for the DF700 that will work in conjunction with a shim (one of the Domi-Shims) to provide quick adjustment for centering on common ply thicknesses (1/2", 3/4" etc) so I think that will again negate most peoples' need for a Domiplate XL.

 

[semenza]

Hi mleung,

Welcome to the FOG!  [smile]

You can definitely  double up the dominos if you want to. Depending on the overall design I am not sure you will really need to though.

Seth

 

[bkharman]

The Domiplate will bolt up to the Domino XL, however, the offsets won't be correct since the df500 and df700 have different offsets from base to cutter center line (10mm vs 15mm).  I've had quite a few emails about the Domiplate XL we prototyped a while back (and at the time decided not to take to production).    Because of this, I'm probably going to get a small production run done so we can get some feedback from users.    However, we're also going to release an Imperial Thickness Gauge for the DF700 that will work in conjunction with a shim (one of the Domi-Shims) to provide quick adjustment for centering on common ply thicknesses (1/2", 3/4" etc) so I think that will again negate most peoples' need for a Domiplate XL.

Count me in!!  Love my plates on my XL when working with plywood. Would love to have a different option on the thickness gauge(s).

I love the weight of my beast. I tried the 500, but didn't feel the control I did with the XL. I also love the "full line up" flexibility. I may never use the big dominos other than on my kids bed project, but I will always have it if I do!!

 

[RONWEN]

The Domiplate will bolt up to the Domino XL, however, the offsets won't be correct since the df500 and df700 have different offsets from base to cutter center line (10mm vs 15mm).  I've had quite a few emails about the Domiplate XL we prototyped a while back (and at the time decided not to take to production).    Because of this, I'm probably going to get a small production run done so we can get some feedback from users.    However, we're also going to release an Imperial Thickness Gauge for the DF700 that will work in conjunction with a shim (one of the Domi-Shims) to provide quick adjustment for centering on common ply thicknesses (1/2", 3/4" etc) so I think that will again negate most peoples' need for a Domiplate XL.

Count me in!!  Love my plates on my XL when working with plywood. Would love to have a different option on the thickness gauge(s).

I love the weight of my beast. I tried the 500, but didn't feel the control I did with the XL. I also love the "full line up" flexibility. I may never use the big dominos other than on my kids bed project, but I will always have it if I do!!

I assume you are talking about the Domi-Shims and not DomiPlate.
Domiplates on the little 500 feel comfortable holding the machine is most any position where the XL machine feels a bit awkward if not held in the upright or normal position.

 

[mleung]

Ron, I really appreciate the accessories you have been making. They are well thought out. I was hoping that your imperial height guide would be available but did not see it. When do you plan to have it available?

I have a set of machined prototype DF700 height gauges here that I'm evaluating.  We need to make a few final tweaks to the design...then they should be available in our store, probably in late January.   Next week I should have a blog post on our site that better describes the direction we're going with the height/thickness gauges for the DF700.  Because the existing Festool height gauge only has 5 index positions, but the fence covers a wide range of offset, we're going to have several options available for an imperial height gauge replacement so that each person can buy what best fits their needs, depending on how they use the Domino XL.

Sounds good.  I was thinking it would be great to have an adjustable height gauge so users can set what they use the most often.
for example, have the basic 3/8", 1/2", 5/8, 3/4 and 1" on the base and then have cap screws on each step to raise and customize for your specific needs. This would give users a bigger range and also fine tuning capability.

 

[mleung]

Hi mleung,

Welcome to the FOG!  [smile]

You can definitely  double up the dominos if you want to. Depending on the overall design I am not sure you will really need to though.

Seth

Thanks for the welcome Seth.  I can't wait to start using the 700.

 

[promark747]

What would happen if I use my domiplate with the DF700.  I will know tomorrow morning.  ;D

Did you ever test your plate on the XL?  I just got my bit adapter and shim plates from Seneca. Big fan of the bit adapter, the plates are nice, just not so much on the attachment process.

The Domiplate will bolt up to the Domino XL, however, the offsets won't be correct since the df500 and df700 have different offsets from base to cutter center line (10mm vs 15mm).  I've had quite a few emails about the Domiplate XL we prototyped a while back (and at the time decided not to take to production).    Because of this, I'm probably going to get a small production run done so we can get some feedback from users.    However, we're also going to release an Imperial Thickness Gauge for the DF700 that will work in conjunction with a shim (one of the Domi-Shims) to provide quick adjustment for centering on common ply thicknesses (1/2", 3/4" etc) so I think that will again negate most peoples' need for a Domiplate XL.

Ryan,

Did you ever make this small production run of XL Domiplates?