Domino 500, What cutting bits?

[bushwacked989]

I just got this for my bday, and the 5mm seems a tad small for most applications. It seems to replace the biscuit type activities, but not the greatest in a structural situation.

So I am curious, what actual bits I need? I was thinking 5mm and 10mm for furniture building. If I would maybe need more than just the 10mm, I would think I should also consider the tenon systainer setup and just get them all just in case.

 

[Tezzer]

8mm is my most used cutter by a long way. Perfect all rounder, followed by 10, 4 then 5, rarely use 6.

Also Happy Birthday what a ripper present to get. Someone must really love you

 

[Naildrivingman]

I agree with Terry. I bought the sustainer tenon kit and have refilled the 8mm compartments several times while I have barely used any others. Good luck with your new tool. It's really fun to use. If you have any questions, this forum can answer them.

 

[Tezzer]

And you get the added bonus with the 8mm Dominos being cheaper than 10mm.
Even with big panel and table top glue-ups 8mm is structurally strong enough.
10 is what I primarily use on legs and rails 

 

[Birdhunter]

The tenon/cutter kit is well worth the money.

The selection of tenon size seems to be driven by the work.  I use a lot of 4mm and 5mm tenons for the boxes and serving boards I build. I keep extra bits for these two sizes to avoid a work stoppage in the event a bit breaks.

Also, get the Seneca adapter plate for your Domino. It's a great addition.

Practice on scrap and watch some videos. Doing so will shorten the learning curve.

 

[geoffshep]

It depends on what you do most - the recommended tenon thickness is 1/3 of the thickness of the workpiece.  I've been doing a bit of work with 18mm recently so have used a number of the 6mm dominos.

I would second your proposal to get the systainer of mixed dominos, which includes a complete set of cutters so you get a spare 5mm into the 'bargain' - part number 498899.

 

[rst]

I too bought the tenon assortment with the 500.  I recently bought the 700 right before the price increase.  After doing some math, I decided that it would be better to buy 750mm lengths and cut to size as needed.  I also bought CMT cutters to save as they were 50% less than the Festool version.

 

[ear3]

You end up using all the sizes in my experience, so the assortment is a good investment IMHO.  The 4mm is probably the least used, but it is the only one that will work for the occasional 1/2" job, or where you just need a small piece for alignment, like on a face frame.  As the previous poster said, the CMT cutters are a good alternative if you're looking to save, and then just buying the tenon sizes as needed.  From an organizational standpoint, however, it's nice to have the systainer to keep them all together.

 

[bushwacked989]

thanks for the help guys! Yes, my wife seems to love me more than I thought ... Although I am going to say its ulterior motives and her wanting some other furniture built haha.

How are the CMT cutters quality wise vs festool? I can get a set of 3 (6,8,10) for almost the price of 1 festool ($66)

Also,https://www.festoolusa.com/accessory/498899---ds-456810-1060x-bu#Overview
Is that 1060 for each tenon? or 1060 tenons total?

trying to do the math and see whats cheaper .. buying that or just buying 1 offs

 

[ben_r_]

Just get the Tenon kit, it really is a good deal and youll have all the cutters.

 

[Cheese]

FWIW...the size I use most often is an 8, followed by 5's, 4's, 6's and 10's.

It seems like sooner or later you'll probably use every size, especially if you have the dominos and cutters on hand. The Systainer is nice to have. Along with the dominos, I also keep several glue brushes and a small Gladware bowl for glue-ups in the Systainer.

 

[Dick Mahany]

The domino set with a full set of cutters in a systainer is a great deal.  You'll likely find yourself using a larger range of dominos if you have them.  If you are in the US, you can get the complete set for less than $200 including shipping direct from Amazon.de in Germany.  My last order got to the CA desert from Germany in 4 days.

 

[bushwacked989]

The domino set with a full set of cutters in a systainer is a great deal.  You'll likely find yourself using a larger range of dominos if you have them.  If you are in the US, you can get the complete set for less than $200 including shipping direct from Amazon.de in Germany.  My last order got to the CA desert from Germany in 4 days.

WOW! This is amazing! I can get it for 190 with $30 shipping HAH! That actually makes it an amazing deal! I wonder if I should buy all my festool products in germany then

 

[Midnight Man]

WOW! This is amazing! I can get it for 190 with $30 shipping HAH! That actually makes it an amazing deal! I wonder if I should buy all my festool products in germany then

If you live in the USA, probably not a good idea.  The US runs on 110 volt, Germany runs on 230 volt.

Unless you want a really really fast sander....

 

[bushwacked989]

WOW! This is amazing! I can get it for 190 with $30 shipping HAH! That actually makes it an amazing deal! I wonder if I should buy all my festool products in germany then

If you live in the USA, probably not a good idea.  The US runs on 110 volt, Germany runs on 230 volt.

Unless you want a really really fast sander....

oooooh ya forgot about that. Ok, maybe I will stick with the accessories then and double check I am not paying 50-100% markup over Germany pricing