Is the Domino worth it

[Deke]

Frank does bring up an interesting point. I could say the same thing about my Mortise Pal. It was about $300 with bits and can cut larger mortises than the Domino and dowels too. It did a fine job, but when building a garden box for my wife and after using it to cut over 60 mortises I thought, "This isn't fun and I am doing this for fun." So, that was what prompted me to buy a Domino. Now, I can do almost anything the Mortise Pal could, a lot of things the Mortise Pal can't, but I really don't do these things all the time. When I make chairs, then I that may change.

So, Frank is keeping us all honest here, but I can tell you that of all the Festools I own, it is top down my favorite. I have had some guilt at the cash register over all of them, but with the Domino it disappeared the quickest.

 

[Sparktrician]

I appear to be a voice crying in the wilderness here, but I guess that is what I should expect on a forum with so many Domino users. 

Frankly (no pun intended), it's refreshing to hear from someone that hasn't drunk the green Kool-Aid.  I think it helps me keep an open mind to consider possible alternatives.  I'm not so sure that I'd classify the Domino as my all-time favorite Festool, but it's right up there.  MarkF really said it all. 

[smile]

 

[TJ Cornish]

Some of the Festools are good, some world changing, a few are only OK, and all of them are expensive.  The Domino is nearer the wold changing end of the spectrum.

The Domino was my second purchase, after the TS75.  If you desire to do mortise and tenon jointery (or want to stop or reduce some other kinds of jointery like pocket screws, doweling, biscuiting, etc.), then you will use the Domino a lot.  Is it worth $800?  As others have said, that's impossibly subjective. 

For me, the $800 tool was money well spent even as a hobbiest - it's a tool that allows me to increase the quality of my output, and do it faster than with other techniques.  I'm a fairly beginner woodworker, coming from a general construction background (well, actually I'm a computer guy who moonlights as a home improvement addict), and any tool that maximizes my limited shop time and allows me to pretend that I have some woodworking skill earns big points in my estimation.

So far, I've used it to align cabinet face frames to each other during installation, to build an entire cabinet carcass, to attach the front edging trim to my countertop, to build a panel glueup and face frame for a laundry chute, to build a couple shop jigs, and to put some skis on the bottom of a church pew in my hallway.  In essence, nearly every project I've worked on since I bought it in August. 

I sold my biscuit jointer after I made the first Domino joint and haven't looked back.

 

[kfitzsimons]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet. The Domino has got to be the cleanest jointing machine going. I love cutting dozens of domino slots and there isn't a speck of dust on my workbench. I use a Midi or Fein vac with it. I wish my TS55 were that efficient in dust collecting. I used to have a Dewalt biscuit joiner that I liked, but it created a lot of dust even with the dust bag. It's been sold.
Another huge advantage of the Domino system that hasn't been mentioned yet - You can pre-assemble the piece to check fit and squareness before glue up. You can't do that with biscuits or pocket screws without using a lot of clamps. With the dominos, you can assemble the piece and the tight fit of the dominos holds the assembly together.

 

[flair woodworks]

Yes.  I am a professional and it paid for itself very quickly.  Sometimes joinery is fun, such as when cutting dovetails for a small box or when cutting tenons for a trestle table.  But when it comes to joinery for a dozen drawers or carcasses, it's no fun.  I want to get the joinery cut and the boxes assembled.  I can't think of a better tool than the Domino.  It's probably the fastest thing out there (tied with a biscuit joiner or the Mafell dowel joiner but the joint is more sound.

For me, it means fewer occaisons to set up a dado stack in the table saw.  And less time sweeping the floor.  It's also a problem solver.  I've used it to cut mortises in cabinets for drawer locks.  My biggest problem with it is that by trying to keep up to the Domino, I make mental errors and have to take corrective action.

 

[semenza]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet. The Domino has got to be the cleanest jointing machine going. I love cutting dozens of domino slots and there isn't a speck of dust on my workbench. I use a Midi or Fein vac with it. I wish my TS55 were that efficient in dust collecting. I used to have a Dewalt biscuit joiner that I liked, but it created a lot of dust even with the dust bag. It's been sold.
Another huge advantage of the Domino system that hasn't been mentioned yet - You can pre-assemble the piece to check fit and squareness before glue up. You can't do that with biscuits or pocket screws without using a lot of clamps. With the dominos, you can assemble the piece and the tight fit of the dominos holds the assembly together.

And along the same line.... it makes it much easier for one person to do glue ups with large pieces because the Dominos will allow a cabinet side or somehting similar to stand up on its own while you get another piece or drive the screws.

Seth

 

[kdzito]

Well, after going back and forth for over that past year and a half I bought one.  I'm going to use it to join cabinets and corner/abutting trim details around the house.

I'm a hobbyist; however, my day job is as a commercial carpenter.  One of these baby's would be lifted from the jobsite in a heartbeat and our company buys the millwork already fabricated as it's dry fit in a shop environment before field installation.

I'm working on a large veneer paneling project now (over 4,000 SF) and its joints are made up of a loose reveal piece which floats behind the panel.  We talked the architect out of biscuit joints due to seasonal movement as the panels span over 160 lineal feet in the wall's length.