Domino

[Rutabagared]

,

 

[chrisrosenb]

I have had my Domino for over a year & only had one issue with it. A small part broke on the fence shortly after I got it. 
Festool sent me the part right away. I have not had any problem since.
You need to remember one thing. Most people do not post about problems they do not have.

 

[wnagle]

I've had my Domino about a year now and have had no problems.  Everything works perfectly.  Easy to use, perfect mortises, no broken bits, no alignment problems, no fence problems, haven't made a bad cut yet.  And don't forget, you have 30 days to try it out.  If it doesn't perform, return it. 

 

[Sparky977]

I think the minor problems that some are having with it are very far and few between.  Think about it, if you buy this new tool that everyone is raving about, and somehow, you end up being one of the unlucky few to get one that has issues, it may cause you to be pretty vocal about it.  Plus, this being a forum devoted to Festools, its not unusual that people looking for info on a problem that they have with a Festool tool will find their way here.  That's a good thing, because there are some very knowledgeable people here that can offer good advice on what to do to fix it.  So I wouldn't let the fact that there are a few threads here about issues with the Domino stop you from buying one.  If it is a tool that you will use, you will not be disappointed, I'm sure of that.  I've had mine for over a year and have not had any of those issues you mentioned.  I had a problem with mine that Festool wasn't sure what it was doing, and they replaced it without hesitation.  The new one works perfectly.  And the highest praise I can bestow on it, it helps me make money by doing jobs faster, easier, and smarter.

 

[Dixon Peer]

Great tool, the Domino.  The only problem I have  with it is the end stops, which are supposed to give repeatedly accurate placement of mortises down the line don't do that.  Now I know that's a tall order, but that was the way the tool was represented to me.  Repeatability with accuracy.  Even with the cutter set to cut a wider slot than the Domino, after cutting mortises down a pair of boards to be joined together, flipping them around to be mated up, the slots don't match up properly.  A biscuit joiner is much more forgiving in this case.

 

[wnagle]

Dixon,

I'm not sure how your doing it but when I do it they match up fine... Are you referencing from the same end on both boards?

 

[paulgordon]

No problems with mine except for user error, file under Id10T protocol.  If this is an issue, the only difficulty I have is when using the small hole selector and trying to get the domino back out when dry fitting, because its tight.  Now that I have more practice with the tool, I don't dry fit as much.

 

[wnagle]

paul,

try this for dry fitting.  Take a set of appropriate size dominos and touch them on both sides on a belt sander... this will make them fit looser for an easy dry fit.  When done, save them for dry fit only and use unsanded dominos for your glue up.

 

[JJ Wavra]

I had one problem with my domino.  When I got it the fence was not at exactly ninety degrees.  The mortises were a little off and some were right on.  I called festool and they walked me through the adjustment and in five minutes time it was perfect.  It is an amazing machine and makes m&T  simple.

JJ

 

[wnagle]

I shoulda called Festool.... I adjusted all my squares!!!  Dang......

 

[Pete Pedisich]

I have a different perspective, I've used Domino tenons, but not the Domino machine.

I use a homemade mortise jig to do loose tenon joinery, and I got a couple of Festool router bits for domino sizes.

The 8mm HSS spiral bit is the cleanest cutting bit I've used in recent memory, the router barely has to work.
This bit had a razor sharp edge from the first tenon to the last. (in white pine - not a real test!)

But any method that brings the tool to the workpiece is going to be much quicker and efficient.
The Domino does not make larger mortises, like I was looking for for one project, but because setup is so quick, you can cut 10 mortises with a Domino by the time I've done 1 on my jig.

With hindsight, I'd definately go with the quicker method!

good luck, 

-pete

 

[johnbro]

I think it's a great tool. No problems with mine...that said, it does take some technique to get perfect results. Nevertheless, Festool has a great return policy. Get it, try it, and take it back if for some reason you don't like it.

 

[keefer]

I bought mine shortly after it came out and have nothing but good things to say.  I use it on virtually every project I do and the only problems I've had were user related (indexing off the top face on one part and then the bottom face on the mating part, etc.).  The only complaint I have is not with the tool, but with one of the accessories--I personally did not find the Domino Cross Stop up to Festool standards.  I know this has been debated in detail previously so I won't go into it.  In practice I've found I don't really need it anyway, so not a big deal to me.

In my opinion this is one of those tools (at least for me) that has made a revolutionary not just evolutionary change to woodworking and I *highly* recommend it.

 

[Dan Lyke]

Another rave here. The Domino makes all sorts of amazing things possible. I haven't tried the "long series of aligned holes" thing that people complain about with the stops, and, frankly, for edge joining alignment I still use a biscuit joiner, but the ease of "that looks like it needs a tenon" (and, after a while, everything does) makes the Domino my favorite Festool.

 

[stevelf]

The Domino joiner was my first Festool, and I just happened to get it right after it came out over a year ago. It has substantially upgraded the quality and speed of all my finish carpentry joinery. I am nomadic and had to let some normal always-have tools go. My PC biscuit joiner was one of them ( along with a larger joiner ...).
  I'm a self-admittedly-metrically-challenged  , so THAT aspect did take some hair-pulling out (for me...)
  I can only speak with the highest praise and appreciation  for the Domino!! I just can't imagine not having one !!
                    Festooled

 

[stevelf]

hear, hear!!!!