Dowelmax review...worth checking out

[mino]

This is really a "damned if I do and damned if I don't" situation. The only way to avoid getting into such situation is to buy tools you are going to recommend with your own money in the first place. Chris Schwarz is one of those who do that. But then they are less likely to be a YouTuber, are they?
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Correct.
Another problem is that if one buys tools /purely/ for oneself, the trully bad tools will never get a review. That gets to the extreme where an "almost perfect" tool will have a bad review out - because it was not perfect - while the really bad products would have only paid advertorials out. That is an even worse situation IMO.

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I think it depends on how it is done. I love how Scott Brown channel - which is mostly just a TikTok-ish show otherwise - does it. Sure, I would not take his points at face value .. but by not pretending he is unbiased he can provide a lot of value there. Same with Peter Millard who did a bunch of "ad" pieces, but they were still useful as he did not pretend to be unbiased.

 

[ChuckM]

Snip.
4) He didn't clear the holes from chips/dust before inserting dowels.

I know some pocket screw jigs now have a dust extraction feature. Are there any doweling jigs out there that utilize dust extraction?

 

[Svar]

Also, he failed to mention 3 of the best features of the Domino. No dust, the wide setting and the flaps.

I actually like that you you can use Dowelmax for a quick joint anywhere with any drill without another required bulky machine (dust collector). And the chips aren't airborne.

 

[jbarr]

Also, he failed to mention 3 of the best features of the Domino. No dust, the wide setting and the flaps.

I actually like that you you can use Dowelmax for a quick joint anywhere with any drill without another required bulky machine (dust collector). And the chips aren't airborne.

Sure, but while that bulky DC/shop vac is not needed to make a Dowelmax joint it is certainly needed afterwards for clean up. 

 

[Svar]

Also, he failed to mention 3 of the best features of the Domino. No dust, the wide setting and the flaps.

I actually like that you you can use Dowelmax for a quick joint anywhere with any drill without another required bulky machine (dust collector). And the chips aren't airborne.

Sure, but while that bulky DC/shop vac is not needed to make a Dowelmax joint it is certainly needed afterwards for clean up.

Or you can just sweep them... later [big grin]. Dominio must have an extractor during time of operation.

 

[ChuckM]

I definitely prefer dust over chips and chips over shavings on the shop floor because I can't see it!

Jokes aside, the dust extractor and hose (and electrical cord) are part of the package for an aggressive machine like the DF, a Festool router and tracksaw. Using the DF without dust extraction runs the risk of breaking the 4mm cutter, too. The good dust extraction feature is a major selling point for many of their owners and users.

 

[jbarr]

Also, he failed to mention 3 of the best features of the Domino. No dust, the wide setting and the flaps.

I actually like that you you can use Dowelmax for a quick joint anywhere with any drill without another required bulky machine (dust collector). And the chips aren't airborne.

Sure, but while that bulky DC/shop vac is not needed to make a Dowelmax joint it is certainly needed afterwards for clean up.

Or you can just sweep them... later [big grin]. Dominio must have an extractor during time of operation.

The domino has no clean up afterwards. That's a plus! I've owned the Dowelmax and chips go everywhere including in your vice mechanism and work bench as well as the floor. My main bench is MFT style so chips fall through the 20mm holes as well. I always used a shop vac as well as a brush afterwards to clean everything. So in my opinion and typical usage, they both need an extractor and while the Domino has to use one to prevent damage I would much rather that than any form of cleaning up later.

 

[squall_line]

The domino has no clean up afterwards. That's a plus! I've owned the Dowelmax and chips go everywhere including in your vice mechanism and work bench as well as the floor. My main bench is MFT style so chips fall through the 20mm holes as well. I always used a shop vac as well as a brush afterwards to clean everything. So in my opinion and typical usage, they both need an extractor and while the Domino has to use one to prevent damage I would much rather that than any form of cleaning up later.

Depending on the material, I will sometimes find a small amount of chips drop out of a mortise after I've plunge-cut with my domino.  This doesn't seem to happen as frequently when I'm machining horizontally, what with the attendant difference in gravitational effects on the chips.

 

[ChuckM]

Snip.

Depending on the material, I will sometimes find a small amount of chips drop out of a mortise after I've plunge-cut with my domino.Snip.

The DF dust extraction is pretty much fool-proof, but the situation you described might happen if a very deep mortise is milled with a weak suction at play. I do a lot of vertical mortising with the DF500 -- butt joints, mid-panels and miters day in and day out (ply, hardwood and softwood; no mdf so far).

In most cases, the extra seconds of sucking after the CT is turned off should take care of the remaining bits. It happened only once to me in all these years, and in a horizontal mortising operation, that the CT dust extraction was not enough. As it turned out, my CT15 was blocked:
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-problems/blocked-ct-15/msg701441/#msg701441

 

[rustynail]

I have both, and they both work great for what they are. The money thing can decide what works best for you as the cost can hold some back, but both can get you there in most cases.