Domino on the way - Do I need my mortiser anymore?

[wubears71]

A new Domino will be arriving tomorrow from Bob Marino and the first project I'm using it on is plantation shutters.  I was originally going to use M&T joinery to join the rails and stiles, but since purchasing the Domino, I'm going the Domino route instead.

This got me thinking.  I don't really like using my Delta Mortiser and I can see using the Domino all the time in it's place.  Am I being overly optimistic thinking that the Domino can replace the need for a mortiser completely?

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[ohkipp]

Tim,
I would keep the delta. Mine still gets some use like through tenons.

 

[rwdawson]

Tim,

I was in the same situation and debated with myself about the relative merits of buying a Domino vs using a router and jig to cut mortises.  In the end, I opted for a Domino and will keep the router and jigs I have.

Since there are many ways to join two pieces of wood, each of us tends to gravitate toward what he/she thinks works best.  I agree with Kip; keep the mortiser for a while and see what you gravitate toward.  It's possible that you will abandon one or more previously employed methods in favor of the Domino simply due to the gravitational effects just mentioned.  This may take some time.

Assuming the Delta machine is of reasonable quality, you will probably find uses for it in the future.  If not, it will become obvious as to what you should do.

Regards,

Richard

 

[Toller]

I have never owned a mortiser and haven't missed it.  Before I had a domino I used dowels.

If you have plenty of room you might as well keep it since it probably doesn't have much resale value, but otherwise...

 

[Brian Livingstone]

Sell it.  I sold my FMT, Dowelmax, and PC Biscuit Joiner.  Individually I liked them all.  The FMT had a certain "panache" of coolness.  It is an amazing tool, just way slower than a Domino.  To tell the truth, I didn't use any of them once I bought the Domino.  Festool refers to it as a revolutionary tool, in my opinion this is not an exagerration.  I am a cabinetmaker, and I use it exclusviely to build cabinets.  I think I am going to list my Kreg pocket screw jig.  Less is more.

I love the Domino.  I like to tell people how many mortise and tenon joints are in each cabinet.  One of my last projects, a 5' by 7' CD/DVD Cabinet had over 140 m/t joints.  Probably overkill, but it took like an hour to cut them.  Each one fit perfectly.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

This got me thinking.  I don't really like using my Delta Mortiser ........

Tim,
You answered your own question.  Lose the mortiser.  Life is too short to spend time with tools you don't like!

I sold my mortiser, my fmt, biscuit jointer, and pocket screw jig (got way more for this than the Domino costs). Only one I have missed at all is the biscuit joiner, but that was for an obscure use.  If you want to sell your mortiser, try Craigslist.  I post regular stuff for about half of current retail price and it always moves.  Of course, I would probably ask 90 or 95 per cent for a used Festool. ;D

 

[Greg_R]

I think this will depend on your style of woodworking.  If you are make a lot of pinned or through mortices then you should keep the Delta (or a router setup for making the holes).

 

[wubears71]

Thanks for all the replies.  Since the mortiser doesn't take up much room, I will probably keep it in the event I do need a thru mortise or a very large mortise. 

As far as the Domino goes, I had the opportunity to use it for this weekend and it made the plantation shutters a breeze.  There were a total of 18 rail/stile joints that I'm guessing would have taken me 8+ hours to complete (at best) using a mortiser, tablesaw and tenoning Jig.  With the Domino, I was able to complete all 18 joints in just under 2 hours.  Now that's a major time saver.  In addition, the joints fit perfectly the first time, whereas the M&T joinery would have required a lot of fine tuning to get that perfect, tight joint.

I can see my mortiser and tenoning jig collecting quite a bit of dust now that I have the Domino.