Mortise Width Adjuster Stuck

[maguiredan]

The width adjustment dial on my Domino 500 is stuck in the standard setting and won't turn to the wider settings.  How do I release it?

 

[Paul_HKI]

It won't adjust when the machine isn't running.  Have you tried turning it on and then changing it?

 

[Birdhunter]

The adjuster will turn if the machine isn’t running but the gears may not mesh. The gears can be damaged if they don’t mesh.

The 700 is just the opposite. Weird.

 

[ChuckM]

The manual recommends changing the width while the DF500 is running. Try that as Paul suggested.

For the record, my width dial can turn freely even when the machine is not running.

If your dial stays stuck even after you've turned on the machine, get it in for Festool service.

 

[Paul_HKI]

The adjuster will turn if the machine isn’t running but the gears may not mesh. The gears can be damaged if they don’t mesh.

The 700 is just the opposite. Weird.

Possible, but the owners manual instructs to adjust it on the 500 while the machine is running, but not during a plunge cut etc.  On a circa $1000 machine, I just do what the manual says.  Works for me!  [big grin]

 

[ChuckM]

Possible, but the owners manual instructs to adjust it on the 500 while the machine is running, but not during a plunge cut etc.  On a circa $1000 machine, I just do what the manual says.  Works for me!  [big grin]

I followed the manual to the dot in the initial years, but I lost some of my marbles [eek] somehow, and thought the dial could only be changed when the machine wasn't running. I must have been doing that incorrectly for another year or two, before I realized that I had misremembered the proper procedure. Luckily, my machine has suffered no damage.

 

[Svar]

I've done it both ways (running and not) many times, because I forget. Worked both ways. I find DF500 instructions strange. Typically on a geared mechanism you fully engage gears first, then start spinning.

 

[maguiredan]

I've done it both ways (running and not) many times, because I forget. Worked both ways. I find DF500 instructions strange. Typically on a geared mechanism you fully engage gears first, then start spinning.

Thanks to all for your replies!  This is an amazing forum.  I turned the machine on and was able to adjust the width.  Earlier I had been able to adjust it while the machine was off - not realizing the instructions call for it to be running.  Probably a gear meshing issue. 

 

[Cheese]

I couldn't remember if the DF 500 needed to be running or not so I figured there was less risk of potential damage to the mechanism if the setting was changed while the machine was off. So it turns out that's the way I've been changing the Domino width for the last 10 years.

Besides, 80%-90% of my mortices are cut at the narrowest setting.