Domino versus Leigh M & T

[Herb Yost]

Bob Marino suggested I post this question on the forum to get some feedback from the members. I already posted it on Woodcentral, and the feedback was very good pro and con....doesn't make the decision any easier!!  Either machine is a big investment, so I appreciate any insights based on your own experience. SO here goes..........

Decisions, decisions! Have a large commission ahead of me, involving a lot of mortise and tenon work on chairs, tables of various sizes, and a lecturn. Arches and U-shaped pillars (for lack of a better word) are a major design factor, so there will be a lot of end-grain to end-grain work involving angles. The chairs, of course, need to have strong joinery.

I was leaning towards the Domino, but the Leigh jig has a big price drop as already noted by members.  Any feedback or suggestions, especially from those who have used both?

Herb

 

[Bob Marino]

Bob Marino suggested I post this question on the forum to get some feedback from the members. I already posted it on Woodcentral, and the feedback was very good pro and con....doesn't make the decision any easier!!  Either machine is a big investment, so I appreciate any insights based on your own experience. SO here goes..........

Decisions, decisions! Have a large commission ahead of me, involving a lot of mortise and tenon work on chairs, tables of various sizes, and a lecturn. Arches and U-shaped pillars (for lack of a better word) are a major design factor, so there will be a lot of end-grain to end-grain work involving angles. The chairs, of course, need to have strong joinery.

I was leaning towards the Domino, but the Leigh jig has a big price drop as already noted by members.  Any feedback or suggestions, especially from those who have used both?

Herb

Herb,

  Others with experience on the FMT will be chiming in, but I would guess the Domino is the reason for the drop in the price of the FMT!

  Bob

 

[Lou Miller]

Herb, try this thread for some info. Rob did a really nice write up on the two tools. I don't know if it'll answer all of your questions, but you're not going to find many better viewpoints out there from people who own both.

 

[bolson]

I have a good friend with the FMT.  It does great work and is relatively easy to use (does require some setup).  I made the decision to get the domino because it is a bit more versatile however, I just got it so I can't really comment a whole lot of the domino.  I have used the FMT for several projects in the past however.

The FMT

DC is abysmal, if you have a big project, expect to be spending a lot of time cleaning up afterward.  After the project I used it for, I was standing in a pile of router chips.

A bit more versatile in some situations that the Domino, a bit less versatile than the domino in others (especially with big workpieces, the FMT is kind of a pain)

Integral M&T joints are probably a bit stronger and can be draw-bored which is nice for big complicated assemblies

As for the domino the big reason I went for it over the FMT was the following...

Much better DC, this is important to me because I am very messy and any help on keeping the shop clean is good

You take the tool to the work.  There are just so many applications where it is much easier to take the tool to the work instead of trying to get the board into a router jig.  In particular, for larger cabinet building it is all but impossible to get the workpiece into a router jig.  Also the domino essentially replaces a biscuit joiner for my needs as well so any application where you would use a biscuit jointer I am going to be using the domino (especially attaching face frames).

Measuring and project layout is easier with floating tenons than integral tenons.

The domino is small and stores away, very important in my shop, I got rid of my dedicated mortiser because it was a pain to set up and I kept tripping over it on the floor.

You really should dedicate a router to the FMT use.  It simplifies the whole process a lot, especially if you only work in standard dimensions, so make sure and add this to your total cost (as you should also do with adding $240 to the domino for the starter kit).

If you are leaning toward the FMT you should also consider the WoodRat, it is a bit more versatile than the FMT, but has many of the advantages of the FMT for M&T type work.  There are also some big disadvantages to the woodrat.

 

[clintholeman]

I make a god deal of the kind of furniture that you are going to make and have found Domino to:  Speed the process;
make very strong, reliable, repeatable joints; be very flexible in how I use it; have a very easy learning curve.

I don't have a Leigh, but I was thinking seriously about one before I got Domino.  I held off thinking that Domino might supplant it and thus far it has done just that.

My 2 cents.