Festool Domino DF700 with Seneca's Small Mortise Kit

[Poindexter]

In my opinion, the 500 and 700 are meant for very different scale projects. ....I feel the 700 is just an inappropriate machine for smaller projects cumbersome for some of the small projects I've made with the Domino.

Totally agree with that.  I'm a 700-only user with the Seneca kit and can absolutely see where the 500 would be much more appropriate for a few of the smaller projects I've done.  With that said, I've made the 700 work along with the 5mm cutter just fine.  Alignment, with or without the Seneca plate, is a matter of finesse and dexterity.  I find that my best results begin with a joiner & planer; making absolutely sure sides are square.  Then on to a ruler; marking every cut.  Lastly, using my left hand on the front handle, I hold it tight against my workpiece while plunging, with a light grip, using my right hand. 

Before employing the ruler, I relied on the included stops and found that one small mistake threw the entire thing out of alignment.  I use a Woodpecker 96" story stick for most of my domino marking now.

With all that said, I make custom sit/stand desks where the tops are anywhere from 3/4" to 3" thick.  Dimensions can be as wide as 78" by 48" with boards being as small as 6" in width.  Just as a general rule of thumb I space dominos around 6 inches apart.  I would guess each desktop averages a little over 100 dominos.  One can only imagine what a single repeated mistake can do to a project like that.  And one can only imagine how tiring it is because I usually make 3 to 5 of these at a time.

So again, my secret is marking the cuts.