Domino setting from factory off?

[rjwz28]

One thing I noticed about my Domino is that the preset detents for the height adjustment from the top of the substrate to the center of the mortise isn't accurate when using the fence in the normal down position plunging into an edge of wood..  When I set it at 20mm which is now supposed to place the mortise center 10mm below the top of the piece, it looks like 9mm.  Could my machine be a little off or is it my procedure?  I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right.  My horizontal center was a little off too, but I corrected it by moving the center line on the clear plastic gauge maybe a half mm to the left.  I just got it recently and I'm just getting used to it.  BTW it is a new Domino.

Thanks,
Rob

 

[ajones]

Hi Rob mine is the same the scale is out by about a mm it can be a pain I have never bothered to to anything about mine.

but as you have excellent service in the US it would be easily remedied

I do think there is a lot of room for improvement with the fence of the 500

 

[rjwz28]

I understand that this is not as important as other adjustments like being able to repeat that same height on subsequent plunges so the mated pieces come out flush on their top surfaces but I thought being a Festool and reading so much about these excellent and not inexpensive tools that it would be spot on from the factory.  I still love it and wouldn't give it up.

Just a thought.

Rob

 

[ajones]

I understand that this is not as important as other adjustments like being able to repeat that same height on subsequent plunges so the mated pieces come out flush on their top surfaces but I thought being a Festool and reading so much about these excellent and not inexpensive tools that it would be spot on from the factory.  I still love it and wouldn't give it up

Just a thought.

Rob

.

Same here... But I would like to see a completly new 500 I'm sure that festool must at least be thinking about it..

 

[semenza]

Not saying you are wrong or did not check these things. Just want to get as much clear info as possible , so that you get the best help possible. 

Is the work piece actually 20mm thick?

Did you measure to see if it looks like 9mm or is 9mm?

Does it look like 9mm on the work piece or do you mean that it looks like 9mm on the fence scale?

Also it has been discussed before that using the presets can cause a slightly crooked / twisted fence or other wise of. Because the locking lever is only on one side and the preset stop is on the opposite. When you tighten the lever and "push" it down tight , that side gets a hair lower than the other since the stop keeps it from moving on the stop side.

I did have this problem, and found an easy way to combat it that has worked for me.  Drop the fence to the preset stop. lightly tighten the lock lever, just enough to hold the position. Back the preset stop off so that it no longer holds the fence up. Then tighten the lever the rest of the way and be conscious not to push down on the end of the lever. Use more of a twisting motion as though it were a knob, instead of a lever. This immediately cleared up the trouble I had with the fence being off its setting.

Seth

 

[Brice Burrell]

Rob, this is normal.  The plastic piece with the preset detents for the height adjustment isn't meant to be a super precise means for setting the height, but rather just a quick setup feature.  Remember, this is  just a piece of plastic.  For it to be precise it would have to be made of metal and precision milled for each individual Domino machine.  As long as you keep track of the reference surfaces it doesn't matter that these setting are slightly off.

If you really need precision you can always set the height with the scale on the millimeter  side of the Domino.