Domino Justification Video

[DynaGlide]

My initial gut reaction was correct. I don't use it often but when I do it's the right tool for the job. I'm always coming up with oddball situations where it helps save me. Like these Locking French Cleats

In my book those French Cleats are all the justification required to buy a Domino! ;-)

Now you just need a Zeta P2 to...something...something...something...!

Oh I have one of those. .I've got it bad. That one gets used even less than the Domino but I keep it around for its versatility.

 

[alltracman78]

Not to criticize the video, because most people don't want an exhaustive into the weeds comparison; there are other scenarios and possibilities for the domino that aren't mentioned.

I don't have a DF500, just the DF700.

Joining face/side grain to face/side grain you'll need a completely separate tennon. Domino/dowel works best here.

Groove/mortise length isn't limited to the width of one Domino cut. The Domino just needs to be slid over, length is as long as you want it.
Even if you're doing a full length tennon the Domino can be used to cut just the mortise.

The Domino can be used to cut larger mortises. I have a jig with the position of cut marked for each side. I can butt this to a low "fence" that my Domino then butts to. The Domino gets moved along the fence as far as necessary, plunging for each cut. Gives you pinpoint accuracy to the edge of the hole straight down as deep as you need (to the Domino max). Depth is in one cut instead of several with a router.

Because the Domino is stationary vs having to slide the router there is less chance of damaging the hole. Having to move the router while cutting introduces more chance of a slip. Especially if you're cutting larger holes vertically.

The DF700 will cut to 2 3/4 (70 mm) with the 14mm cutter. Not many router bits (if any?) will cut that deep. Especially if you're not just plunging the router but are sliding it (any kind of a guide bushing or bearing will take up depth of cut). Anything that will is 1/2, so no small routers.
The largest boring router bit I've seen has 2 1/2? cut depth. It's definitely possible there are longer though.

 

[luvmytoolz]

My initial gut reaction was correct. I don't use it often but when I do it's the right tool for the job. I'm always coming up with oddball situations where it helps save me. Like these Locking French Cleats

In my book those French Cleats are all the justification required to buy a Domino! ;-)

Now you just need a Zeta P2 to...something...something...something...!

Oh I have one of those. .I've got it bad. That one gets used even less than the Domino but I keep it around for its versatility.

They're such a great complement to the Domino's, and when they're useful, man are they useful. The build quality is probably the highest of any tool I own, including the Domino's.

 

[ChuckM]

Snip.

Its one of those things you almost look for excuses to use it. I like making picture frames from scrap, and 4mm dominos. I actually wish they made a slightly smaller domino than the 4 for the small frames.

For smaller frames, one option is to use the 4mm tenons as splines:

[attachimg=1]

 

[Crazyraceguy]

My initial gut reaction was correct. I don't use it often but when I do it's the right tool for the job. I'm always coming up with oddball situations where it helps save me.
Or table buttons, or attaching hardwood lipping to a plywood or MDF shelf.

I do pretty much the same, though I do use it as "intended" to build face frames often too, along with mid-panel joinery, panel alignment of architectural features, and laminate countertop joinery.

Bottom line, it gets used a lot. I don't use the Lamello nearly as much, but it is not as versatile either. It's advantage is the ability to pull the joint together, as knockdown or permanent.

You can tell how often I use mine by simply turning the T-loc on the Systainer. It has nearly lost its detent feeling. The Systainers for MFT clamping elements and one of the MFK are nearly as worn.

 

[Mini Me]

The largest boring router bit I've seen has 2 1/2? cut depth. It's definitely possible there are longer though.

I have never looked but metal working end mills might be longer. 

 

[Crazyraceguy]

The DF700 will cut to 2 3/4 (70 mm) with the 14mm cutter. Not many router bits (if any?) will cut that deep. Especially if you're not just plunging the router but are sliding it (any kind of a guide bushing or bearing will take up depth of cut). Anything that will is 1/2, so no small routers.
The largest boring router bit I've seen has 2 1/2? cut depth. It's definitely possible there are longer though.

The limiting factor may turn out to be the router anyway. There are a lot of them out there that cannot plunge that far.

 

[smorgasbord]

More than a ¼ century ago I built my own front door, using Mortise and Tenon joinery. I cut the mortises with my Bosch 1613EVS plunge router. To get the mortise depth I wanted (something like 2&¾"), I ended up using three ½" diameter bits of varying lengths. The passes with the first bit were pretty straight-forward. Then the second - longer bit - to cut deeper. Then the third bit, which was over 4" long (and yeah was a intended for metal) was so long that even with the plunge all the way up it was still protruding through the pase. I recall that was pretty hairy especially on start-up, but I got the mortises done and the door is still holding up just fine (I used epoxy to glue up).

A DF700 would have made those a cakewalk.

 

[derekcohen]

I write this as an amateur woodworker with a different set of targets than professionals and likely most other amateurs. It is just an opinion.

I purchased a Domino 500 several years ago to make loose tenon joinery for door frames in a kitchen build. The first thing I learned was that the size of the dominos was limiting insofar as their width was not ideal. I am used to traditional M&T joinery, where one makes the width of the tenon to suit the circumstance. The Domino in the kitchen build left me with either the correct thickness (1/3 rule) and too narrow for sufficient rigidity, or (as I ended up) using thicker dominos for increased rigidity and less twisting. The Domino went onto a shelf for some years.

In recent years I have resurrected the Domino as a mortiser. It is pretty good for making mortises of any width. I even came up with a jig to accurately measure and position a mortise width of choice. I make my own custom dominos from scraps of the same wood.

I've come to like this machine - recognise here that I come from 30 years as a traditional, hand tool-orientated amateur woodworker. Time saving is not a big factor for me. Yes, I do have limited time in the workshop, but building with a eye on wood movement, aesthetics and traditional, time-proven joinery is far more important. And here in lies an issue ...

A question you have to ask yourself is whether you design around the joinery envelope of the machine, or whether you design joinery to match your need. The Domino (and biscuit joiner), if using the supplied, factory-made joiners (domino and biscuits) will limit your designs.

You cannot simply double up dominos for added strength since the pieces you use then need to accomodate dimensionally. I see furniture produced this way using styles wider than I would prefer.

What happened to haunched shoulders? These frame-and-panel doors ...

... use mitred haunched tenons ...

What about case construction? Butt joints and mitres can look good, but what about dovetailing in various styles? Are you going to take the easy way out?

Mitred and rounded through dovetails below ...

There is an important place for loose tenon joinery. One big advantage is that you can select the wood grain direction for your loose tenons. This was driven home to me when building these chairs - the first set I build was discarded as the tenons had too much runout.

Slender and yet strong ...

My intention is writing this is not to be critical of the Domino, which I think is a great tool. It is to raise awareness that one needs to bring a tool to your work, rather than the work to the tool. Consider whether you are limiting your efforts this way.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Mini Me]

I think a bit like Derek, the Domino can be used in ways Festool never intended or possibly thought of.

 

[ChuckM]

Woodworkers are well known to be resourceful, and they always find ways to use tools well beyond what manufacturers design them to do. Examples include using a table saw or band saw to cut circles, turning a jig saw upside down to use it like a scroll saw, or mounting a circular saw upside down to use it like a table saw.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Woodworkers are well known to be resourceful, and they always find ways to use tools well beyond what manufacturers design them to do. Examples include using a table saw or band saw to cut circles, turning a jig saw upside down to use it like a scroll saw, or mounting a circular saw upside down to use it like a table saw.

I did that last one when I was a teenager with a 9" Makita in a very crude self made cabinet and zip ties and blocks of wood holding it all together, it didn't end well!

That and a few other things made me quickly realise good tools are worth the spend in usually more ways than one!

 

[HighlandMarine]

Accuracy, repeatability, and efficiency. 500, 700, and the zeta p2 tick all three boxes. I’d even go as far to put the Origin in this same category.