Fastcap Domino Sled
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Michael Kellough
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I use the Domiplate a lot, more than the fence. I know the mortise will be exactly the same distance from the reference face no matter what the fence has been set to in the meantime. My Domiplate is so old (one of the first batch I think) it’s just plain milled aluminum.
PaulMarcel
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The Domiplate's audience was cabinet shops. Never needed to worry about the fence moving (which was a problem back then) or not being parallel to the cutter centerline (a problem mine has). Plus a cabinet shop leaves it on the Domino. A separate Domino would be used for anything where the Domiplate wasn't attached (or leave the guys to remove it). A lot of shops really liked it for exactly that use. For home shops? Not as necessary.
I use both the Bigfoot and Domiplate depending on the situation. They both add to the tool. I bought the Bigfoot for vertical plunges with the DF700, it does really make the tool more stable than the included bracket.
The Domiplate is similarly useful for being able to plunge either vertically or horizontally without any reconfiguration of the machine.
Having additional reference and support options is definitely handy, though surely not required.
The Domiplate is similarly useful for being able to plunge either vertically or horizontally without any reconfiguration of the machine.
Having additional reference and support options is definitely handy, though surely not required.
PaulMarcel said:
It's not a scientific assessment, but of all the video clips I came across in which the Domiplate was used, the users there didn't seem to be using it in any production shop environment. They all pretty much seemed to be hobby or average DF500 users like me. And I doubt that they all had the first generation of DF500s which fence was said to drift (I have no idea of how common that problem was).
Frankly, if a shop could have two Domino Joiners to use, it even makes the need for a Domiplate less. Just set one fence locked for the 3/4" stock at all times (assuming that's what the cabinet shop deals with mostly), and use the second DF500 for all other needs.
Just to be clear, we're discussing this in the context of the DF being a (very) self-contained machine.
Chuck,
The included bracket doesn't have a handle like the Domiplate; so I don't think you get quite as good a grip to make sure that the machine doesn't tilt. The Bigfoot, which I think of essentially a better version of the included bracket does have a handle and maybe obsoletes the Domiplate to some extent. I don't if that the Bigfoot existed in 2017 when I bought the DF500/domiplate.
I don't see the need for the Fastcap sled. From the video, the connection they're using seems a bit wobbly and not as precise as other accessories (including the domiplate, bigfoot, cross stops, or trim stop).
Charles
The included bracket doesn't have a handle like the Domiplate; so I don't think you get quite as good a grip to make sure that the machine doesn't tilt. The Bigfoot, which I think of essentially a better version of the included bracket does have a handle and maybe obsoletes the Domiplate to some extent. I don't if that the Bigfoot existed in 2017 when I bought the DF500/domiplate.
I don't see the need for the Fastcap sled. From the video, the connection they're using seems a bit wobbly and not as precise as other accessories (including the domiplate, bigfoot, cross stops, or trim stop).
Charles
rmwarren
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For casework, Steve Rowe posted a technique years ago that's basically idiot proof. I can attest, even I can't muff it.
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/...ino-for-casework-joinery/msg292071/#msg292071
RMW
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/...ino-for-casework-joinery/msg292071/#msg292071
RMW
cpw said:
You're quite right about that, Charles, but there're two ways to address that stability concern (one may or may not be better than the other, depending on the situation -- If I'm in a sitting position, the second method is better for me, otherwise (standing), the first:
First way (hand on the support bracket):
[attachimg=1]
Second way (start from 8:56):
With a little bit of practice, one can master either method easily.
Attachments
Richard/RMW said:
His method cleverly employs the approach that we normally use for milling mid-panel mortises. 3/4" sheets are known for their variance in thickness among sources or batches, and it means that there may be a need for a new spacer to be made between jobs if the variance is great.
Crazyraceguy
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I guess it's just a difference in approach? But I don't do either of those methods, preferring to have the whole thing on top of the table. I would clamp a thicker piece of stock against the end of the part, as a stop, and turn the whole machine around. This registers the bottom of the DF500 against the top of the part to be cut, and places the center of the cut 10mm down from it, just like the 20mm setting of the fence would. No stability issues at all, no additional parts to install and then remove.
I don't see the need for any of it. I have only ever installed the standard stabilizer foot thing once or twice and that's because it was there. I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
I don't see the need for any of it. I have only ever installed the standard stabilizer foot thing once or twice and that's because it was there. I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
PaulMarcel
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While I have the Big Foot (sold as Sasquatch in Canada?), I never used the Festool stabilizer more than a handful of times. Don't need it. BF makes it nicer the few times I've had several to do. It's kinda like the Domiplate: you don't need it, but you might like it and you're not wrong.
I think that third-party Domino accessories probably enhance and improve the use for some. However, the question for me is whether any of the accessories are worth the additional cost when the Domino can do the same job without the accessories. For me, while I do have some accessories and use them periodically, it's generally easier not to and I get the same result. Production work might be a different scenario, but that's not what I do. So, I think it's a personal matter, at least partly depending on the frequency of need for repetitive work and what types of wood products you make. There is no question that, for some like me, the Domino really is a stand-alone tool and does everything I want it to without non-Festool accessories.
I totally forgot all about this Fastcap product and video, and now that I watched it again, I couldn't believe the product really made it past the drawing board stage.
The Fastcap sled -- as any competent DF500 user can tell from the video -- really succeeds in making what otherwise is a simple, straightforward butt joint process a clumsy, inefficient and error-prone operation. I wouldn't use it in my shop even if it (with track) was given free to me because it would only slow down my work.
I say this as an owner of some of Fastcap's products that I value a lot, such as its ZC tape for my Kapex, million dollar stick and little lipper. I'm sorry to see something like that coming out of a company with more a track record of being innovative and practical.
The Fastcap sled -- as any competent DF500 user can tell from the video -- really succeeds in making what otherwise is a simple, straightforward butt joint process a clumsy, inefficient and error-prone operation. I wouldn't use it in my shop even if it (with track) was given free to me because it would only slow down my work.
I say this as an owner of some of Fastcap's products that I value a lot, such as its ZC tape for my Kapex, million dollar stick and little lipper. I'm sorry to see something like that coming out of a company with more a track record of being innovative and practical.
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