Domino Issue

[Doug Anders]

I purchased a Domino and received it on the 9th of April. I have been looking forward to getting this unit for months...I purchased a DowelMax a couple of months ago to tide me over until the Domino arrived. I am really impressed with the accuracy and ease of use of the DowelMax and really questioned wether or not to I still needed the Domino.

Anyway, I am not having the same great results with my Domino that others are having. It seems like I have two issues with my Domino...some may be user error, but I'm not convinced yet that's all there is to it.

In the shots below it is a bit hard to see, but the DowelMax joints fit with piston like precision and there is absolutely NO elevation difference between the two pieces of MDF. The ends are also perfectly flush.

The Domino joined pieces are not perfect. There is quite a bit of elevation difference between the two pieces and it looks like when I registrer off of the indexing pins I'm not getting flush ends as I should be. Again, pictures are hard to see clearly, but my Domino joined MDF pieces the edges don't match up exactly.

After reading Rick's manual, I think I can fix the end alignment issue by adjusting the eccentric pin, but I'll still have the other issue to deal with (faces out of level). NOTE: I have not adjusted the pin yet. It looks like some adjustment was made at the factory.

Anyway, I don't think I'm being unreasonable comparing the Dowelmax to the Domino. I REALLY like the Domino dust collection and everything else, but don't know if I got a unit that need a little calibration or if my expectations are out of wack.

 

[Ted Miller]

Doug, When making your tenons how are you holding your wood, is the domino being supported by any work surface, this can make a difference...

 

[Doug Anders]

Ted...

I've been clamping the wood to my MFT (so it is cantilevered off the MFT so that Domino will reference off of the fence, not off of it's bottom).

My only other guess is that somehow there is some racking of the fence (the box was totally screwed up when I got it) but the systainer and Domino didn't show any signs of shipping damage.

If the fence is off somehow (not the same height from side to side) I could see that causing one of my issues...

Thanks,

Doug

 

[cdconey]

Doug,
I had the same issue with mine.  I adjusted the fence to make sure it was a true 90 degrees. Mine from the factory was actually about 86 degrees with the index reading 90, and couldn't get a flush surface for the life of me.  
 
I did not have the end alignment issue after I adjusted the fence either, so I am chalking that up to user error.  

One would think that the Dominos would be adjusted at the factory so they are ready to go without having to 'calibrate' it to acheive the results advertised.

My 2c.

 

[Dave Rudy]

Doug,

By clamping and cantilevering, you seem to have eliminated some of the most likely suspect causes of the problem.  Given physics, if you are registering from the top off of the fence on both pieces, unless the fence either moves or is not square, I can't understand what could cause the problem.  I guess it's theoretically possible that the fence itself is a victim of machining error or factory defect of some kind.  Otherwise, shouldn't the problem be resolved by squaring the fence?

Dave

 

[bill-e]

Doug,

Read this thread, lots of useful info
http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=634.msg

 

[Forrest Anderson]

The Domino joined pieces are not perfect. There is quite a bit of elevation difference between the two pieces...

Could you perhaps run through the procedure you are using to set the height of the fence? Are you using the Board Thickness Gauge to set the height, or the Height Gauge?

Once the fence is set to the height you want, are you locking the fence in position using the locking lever on the right-hand side? Perhaps you aren't tightening it enough, and it is slipping?

Once the lever is securely locked, can you feel any play in the fence?

Forrest

 

[bill-e]

NOTE: I have not adjusted the pin yet. It looks like some adjustment was made at the factory.

Doug,

As to the eccentric pin, your's looks just like mine.

 

[Doug Anders]

ok...just joined a piece of 15/32 plywood using the domino on its lowest height setting (5mm bit) and the face and edges are nut on perfect...I'm starting to think I might have been spazzing out a bit on my earlier attemps and just need to pay a little more attention and keep the weight over the front of the fence...

Thanks to everyone for their input!!!

 

[bill-e]

Great.

 

[woodshopdemos]

Doug,
  If your having success - great. One other thought. Make some joints using the bottom rather than the fence. If you do it on both pieces, there is nothing wrong with this method.  What it does is remove the fence error  and operator error out of the picture. Your joint should be perfect.
  As to misalignment the other dimension and you are using the retractable pins, watch the positioning carefully. If you are cutting 5mm mortises, you will note that the pins (either on the body or on the Cross stop, fit quite precisely...no room for error. If there is any "crud" in the mortise, it can hang up the indexing pin. Push hard against the side of the mortise...and use the cut width that allows a little crosswise latitude.