Domino 700 XL making me very bitter and twisted.

[Wood Hog]

Got the 700 last week, have tried about 100 holes, I find it hit or miss if they end up in the right place,  the height of the holes seem to be randomly up or down across a 4ft  board, i'm certain its just me.  I'm going to try again this weekend and see if my holes come out better.
Any tips from 700 folk would be much appreciated? After all the great reviews I've read and YT on I think I must be doing something wrong.

 

[stvrowe]

It is hard to tell what the problem is from your description but using the Domino does have a short learning curve.  I suggest the following:
1) Plunge slow and steady
2) Verify your fence is tight
3) Verify the stop calibration is centered on the Domino center. 

If you still experience the problem, I suggest calling Festool, they are very helpful.
Steve

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Woodhog

I am slightly ashamed by the quality of this but about 3 years ago I made a set of 3 videos about the DF 700. The second video may help in this case, here is the link:



The technique may be shown from just over the 3 minute mark.

Peter

 

[elfick]

I originally had a similar problem and, in my case, it was definitely due to technique. I found that I got the best results by using my hip to drive the domino and only using my hands to control the tool. Otherwise I tended to feed it at uneven and excessive rates.

 

[Birdhunter]

Assuming your fence is tight and your 700 isn't defective, I see 2 possibilities for your problem both of which I have  experienced when I first started using my Domino.

1. The Domino isn't staying positioned during the cut. If the Domino's fence doesn't stay perfectly flat against the board, the back end can tilt up or down thus raising or lowering the mortise.

2. If there isn't clearance under the board, the Domino base rests on whatever is under the board and you get oddly positioned mortises.

 

[cgmojoco]

Is the stock your cutting into acceptably flat?
Is the Domino "jumpy" or is there a smooth plunge?

 

[Wood Hog]

Sorry guys I should have included a picture of the issue, a thousand words and all that. Here's  my issue, and I totally think it's me, maybe there something wrong with me lol?

 

[Birdhunter]

Looking at the picture, I'd guess the fence isn't staying fixed. The two mortises on the right look like they are thicker top to bottom than they should be. If the fence isn't fixed in place, you can get oversized mortises and they can drift vertically.

I don't think the vertical drift shown from the mortise placement can be a technique issue.

 

[Stone Message]

The clamping screw handle on the right should fix the height of the fence and it should not be able to move. If you are unable to tighten it sufficiently then it can be adjusted.

Can you tighten that knob fully?

Peter

 

[Birdhunter]

Peter, How does one adjust the fence knob? Both my Dominos tighten adequately, but I'm curious.

 

[Stone Message]

Peter, How does one adjust the fence knob? Both my Dominos tighten adequately, but I'm curious.

I can't get to my workshop right now but will try in the next couple of days.

Peter

 

[tbellemare]

Peter, How does one adjust the fence knob? Both my Dominos tighten adequately, but I'm curious.

Just take the screw out that holds the handle on, pull the handle off, and rotate it a notch. The ID of the handle and the OD of its mount have splines.

Tom

 

[amt]

It looks like that is a fairly thin piece of wood, which IMO is one of the hardest to domino well.  When using small pieces like that, I mount my domino to my work bench, then I actually clamp the wood to the domino. 

[attachthumb=1]

The way I mount the domino is a ~3/8" thick aluminum plate, bolted to the domino where that little stabilizer thingy would go.  Then I clamp the plate to my work bench.

 

[Stone Message]

Peter, How does one adjust the fence knob? Both my Dominos tighten adequately, but I'm curious.

Just take the screw out that holds the handle on, pull the handle off, and rotate it a notch. The ID of the handle and the OD of its mount have splines.

Tom

Thanks Tom - I am away from the workshop for a few more days yet.

Peter

 

[Wood Hog]

Thanks for all the suggestions and Peters video's, I've been swamped recently with my boys wanting take over my work shop for thier cub scouts pine Wood Derby, you wouldnt believe how much room and tools tinny little cars use. Hopefully I'll get back my shop back this afternoon and try some more test plunges, i'll post the pictures when I can. Again thanks I can't believe there are people out there who are willing to give up their own time and expertise to help out a newby. Thank you.

 

[Birdhunter]

Two requests. First, please let us know how this issue evolves. Second, please attach another photo of yourself. This one is disturbing.

 

[Gary in Texas]

Two requests. First, please let us know how this issue evolves. Second, please attach another photo of yourself. This one is disturbing.

LOL.....  Amen!!!  I second the second above!!! All in favor? 

I showed my wife that photo last night and she screamed out loud.  She said something to the effect of "OMG honey, that is terrible, I think I'm going to have nightmares now"....

 

[Wood Hog]

Two requests. First, please let us know how this issue evolves. Second, please attach another photo of yourself. This one is disturbing.

To answer the second question first, you should have seen my picture before the surgery [scared] You guys are funny.
To answer the first question, here is a shoot of some plunging I did a couple of days ago. You can see the holes to the left turned out fine ,the ones to the right were all over the place, I made sure the fence was tightened I took into account all the very useful advice I've been given in this thread, and watched Peters "Brilliant" videos [smile] (Sorry Peter I love it when you say that word, I've found myself using it more often in general conversation even when its was not appropriate,  such as, "that was a brilliant funeral") As you can see the issue has not been yet been resolved as, I'm still not getting consistent results,  I was wondering how it got so many fantastic reviews? However I'm not giving up, and returning it is not an option, as I really need this tool to work for the numerous projects calling its name.

I'm out and about all over the northeast dealing with snow and flight cancellations so I will not be back in my shop to play with it again until Saturday.

 

[wow]

If you were closer I'd volunteer to observe your technique and see if we could figure it out.

The image that you just posted appears to be identical the first, but with a different file name. Was that intentional or did you mean to post a new image instead?

 

[Wood Hog]

If you were closer I'd volunteer to observe your technique and see if we could figure it out.

The image that you just posted appears to be identical the first, but with a different file name. Was that intentional or did you mean to post a new image instead?

Your right thanks for the correction, I'm out of town operating on the road and I thought I had uploaded the new pictures sorry about that, but in essence the same thing is happening except I did a lot ,more holes.