Birdhunter said:
I watched a video on the machine…. Excellent. My first impression is that the machine would be great doing lots of the same thing, but not for small one off projects. The set up is complicated. I would have to pull out the manual after not using the machine for a while.
This is exactly why I sold the Hybrid Pantorouter. If you're setting up for a whole bunch of matching M&T joints it was great.
If you're setting up for a quick, one off type thing, not great. You're spending the same amount of time for the setup which sometimes can take well over 10 minutes of fiddling.
Once it's dialed in you can crank out a bunch of matching joints, M&T, dovetail, box, etc. You're also reliant on templates - those sold by the Pantorouter guy or DIY.
It's great on stock, small to large. I did my deck railing all M&T with the Pantorouter.
Now that I have the Domino machines I would have used those and saved a lot of time.
The Domino would also be the more practical tool for sheet goods. The Domino 500 is definitely designed with that type of work in mind.
Like lots of tools, it really comes down to the type of projects you work on and your style.
If I had more time/patience I would have kept the Pantorouter. It made all kinds of fancy, tight fitting joints accessible for even someone like me with little prior experience.
It would also be great for doing crazy, compound angled joints in furniture using the tilting table feature.
