Domino DF500 - first reactions

[Crazyraceguy]

This comes up every once in a while, with the usual results. You either get over the offset and get used to it, or you go with one of the alternative 3d printed versions.
There is also the option to file some material off of the 20mm stop, of the original unit. That would cost nothing.

 

[luvmytoolz]

This comes up every once in a while, with the usual results. You either get over the offset and get used to it, or you go with one of the alternative 3d printed versions.
There is also the option to file some material off of the 20mm stop, of the original unit. That would cost nothing.

I did try the mind numbingly futile method of centering the domino's when I first got it, but found it was just chasing my tail pretty quickly.

 

[Stevenski]

I don't mean to bump a dormant thread but I think this is worth sharing.

In a recent video, Peter Millard linked to an Uber-interesting video by the actual Festool engineer who created the Domino machine. It's in German but I watched it with subtitles.

I took the liberty of posting a comment asking him what the rationale was behind not including an 18mm setting...and he replied. He was so nice he even replied in Polish! I'm posting here a google translation of his answer and a link to the original video.

""We built the pendulum gear as compactly as possible, and ultimately, the smallest milling depth we could technically achieve was 10 mm. There's also a stainless steel plate underneath, just 1 mm thick, which we would have liked to make thicker – but there simply wasn't room.This means that you can't achieve an exact center at 9 mm with this machine.However, this also has an advantage: we designed the design so that the distance from the pressure flap to the center of the cutter and the distance from the support side of the guide frame to the center of the cutter are the same.This creates a 20 mm step, and from there, you always mill to a depth of 10 mm – regardless of whether you're orienting yourself on the base plate or the flap. This simplifies many applications, such as milling centered sides.And frankly, even if it were technically possible, in practice it wouldn't be ideal. Particleboards vary in thickness – depending on the manufacturer, coating, or veneer, the difference can be as much as half a millimeter. Therefore, always mill from a reference edge – this will ensure a perfect fit, regardless of whether the board is 17.5 or 18.5 mm thick. I hope I answered your question. Best regards, Wolfgang"

Here's the VIDEO

 

[smorgasbord]

Thanks for pointing out his reply.

However, Millard was asking for an 18mm setting on the height block, which already has a 16mm and a 20mm setting, so there shouldn't be any reason not to have an 18mm setting. This is different than the offset from the bottom plate, it's from the fence.

We already have a thread discussing the video here:

J

Post in thread 'Video from the Festool Domino Product Manager'

Monday at 4:42 PM

The OCD in me wanted to miter the ends of both dominos so they gave equal strength.

Am I my own worst enemy or what?

I've done it. Don't think it is worth the effort. Depending on the amount of overlap, there might be an argument that the Domino cut is stronger.

I have also made a wider apron and gone high and low with the mortises.

• jeffinsgf

• 

And there are aftermarket height blocks with an 18mm setting:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1707939136/festool-domino-df500-common-metric

So, clearly, it's do-able. Just have to be careful no to use low setting with big bits.