New Woodpeckers DF500 mortise depth sleeves?

[PeterK]

Just got an email about a new offer of a set of depth control sleeves.
https://www.woodpeck.com/dominodepthsleeves.html
Do you see any use for these? I guess on thin material maybe but I personally wouldn't use a Domino for that. Curious if you see real usage from this accessory.
Pete

 

[peter halle]

I actually will need to adjust the depth setting for my 500 today.  I will by a piece of pac pipe as suggested in the supplemental manual. 

Peter

 

[Sparktrician]

Well, so far, I've never encountered a situation that mandated the use of something like this.  Nice concept, but not so useful in my world. 

 

[tiralie]

Well, so far, I've never encountered a situation that mandated the use of something like this.  Nice concept, but not so useful in my world.

Agreed.
The Domino is an extremely well designed and built tool and these additions while creative don't add a lot of value. Out of the box, and used properly the Domino will serve you well without anything other than the accessories Festool supplies.
Tim

 

[Lancelot]

I received an e-mail today from Woodpecker announcing their new "Domino DF 500 Depth Sleeves" accessory. There's an early bird pre-order sale price that expires 8/15/2014, so I thought I'd mention it to the group. (Note that is a "regular run" tool and not one of their One Time Tools.)

What do people think? Useful?

 

[zapdafish]

I haven't come across a situation yet where it would have been helpful yet but can think of a few where it might come in handy. I just get goose bumps thinking about how I am going to shorten any tenons if I didn't have a bandsaw.

Next time I order something from woodpeckers, I can see myself adding the adjustment shims to the order for just in case scenarios.

 

[semenza]

I haven't come across a situation yet where it would have been helpful yet but can think of a few where it might come in handy. I just get goose bumps thinking about how I am going to shorten any tenons if I didn't have a bandsaw.

Next time I order something from woodpeckers, I can see myself adding the adjustment shims to the order for just in case scenarios.

I have used a plastic miter box and hand saw. I have also clamped the domino tenon to a flat surface and cut with a hand saw. A small Japanese type saw works well. If I needed more than about 10 though, that would get to be a nuisance.

Seth

 

[Wooden Skye]

Couldn't you take a decent length piece of scrap and do a shallow mortice of each size tenon, and then insert one end into the mortice you made and then mark where you want the mortice trimmed at the bandsaw.  This should keep your fingers away.  You may need to back up the cut so you don't get tearout.

 

[fdengel]

I don't really see enough value in the full depth sleves, but as others have pointed out, for thinner stock, or in some corner cases, I could see the shims as potentially being useful.

$2 in savings isn't enough for me to jump on them right now though.  I'll hold off until I discover a situation in which they would be more useful to me.

 

[NiteWalkerGR]

I just get goose bumps thinking about how I am going to shorten any tenons if I didn't have a bandsaw.

I trim the same way I cut my own loose tenons; on the table saw with a crosscut sled, stop and I use the eraser end of a pencil to hold them in place. I learned the trick from david marks (woodworks). Very safe and under control.

That said, I might jump on the shims, but not the full set, as it's priced very disproportionate for what you get, as is typical with a lot of woodpecker products.

 

[GPowers]

Do Dominos require that degree of accuracy, that you would need a 1 or 2 mm shim?

 

[Ivanhoe]

Shims can be beneficial on the xl 700 when using (5x30mm dominos) plunging into 19mm ply when 15mm is the shortest plunge depth. I like the 12/18 ratio instead of the 15/15.

 

[Lancelot]

...it's priced very disproportionate for what you get, as is typical with a lot of woodpecker products.

True. I think Woodpeckers has the problem so many companies that make a quality product has these days. Remember the good old days of Sears "Good, Better, Best"? There was a time where enough people wanted the Better and Best that it was still economical for companies to make and sell such.

Today all people care about is cheap prices a la Wal-Mart. Even "Good" is too expensive. They only want to pay for things that are in the cost range of "Less than Good" and "Really Bad Quality" (to coins some terms). The market for "Better" and "Best" is severely diminished. So based on the law of supply and demand, companies like Woodpecker (and Festool) that want to sell a quality product have to raise their prices to stay in business. That then reduces their market a bit more, meaning they have to adjust even a little higher. The end result is people that want the "Better" and "Best" have to pay through the nose for it. The book Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture does a great job of exploring the subject. Check for a copy at your local library! (My good friend is a librarian, so I have to plug the Public Library whenever I can )

 

[Oso Rojo]

Do Dominos require that degree of accuracy, that you would need a 1 or 2 mm shim?

I could see some situations where the standard settings wouldn't give you the precision you might desire. How about a butt joint where you have odd sized materials and you don't want the domino to show.

 

[sancho57]

I got them for that odd sized piece we all get every now and then. Being a one time tool I figured get them now cuz I may need them in the future and not be able to get them

 

[Jesse Cloud]

I keep a piece of 1/2 pvc around to make those.  Just saw off a length that's the amount you want to shorten the cut, then saw a gap in the middle so it can straddle the arm that the Domino slides on.  A cheap solution, but the Woodpack set does look way cool!

I shorten tenons, if there are many to do, buy Dominoing a mortise the full depth of cut in a piece of scrap, then cutting the scrap flush with the depth of cut on one side and then to width for the final length of the tenon.  Now you can just stick a domino in, cut it flush, and push it out the other side with a screwdriver or something.  Goes very fast when you are making a bunch, and very safe.

As to the question of do Dominoes really need to be within 1mm, well a mm too long would be a problem as the two pieces wouldn't fit together.  Too short is a little less of a problem.  I usually wind up doing this when I am joining chair parts together as the real estate for joinery is very limited.

 

[grbmds]

I would agree that they would be used only rarely. For that rare use, I think something like the solution offered in the Domino Supplemental Manual would work as well; cutting a collar from PVC pipe. The table in the Supplemental Manual gives some great information. I love Woodpecker's tools, but I don't think this is particularly useful. Possibly, if I were a production user who specialized in a product which required a regular repetitive non-standard depth, maybe.

 

[Mitchwood]

For the UK guys, you can use inserts for push fit polypipe water pipes, they are the right internal diameter to fit on the DF500 sliders, cost pence and can be cut with a fine blade hacksaw to whatever length you want.
I have used them on angled joints with thin wood to stop breaking through. I just keep a couple in the domino box so if needed they are to hand. Something similar must be available in the States.
See picture.

 

[grbmds]

Yes, the Domino Supplemental Manual by Rick Christopherson provides a table with the relevant information and suggests using 1/2 PVC pipe (or tubing) which is commonly available. It is on page 19 and even provided sleeve length for various plunge depths.

 

[Sparktrician]

What nobody has mentioned so far is that if you shorten the plunge on one end, you have to lengthen the plunge on the other end to make up the shortfall or be prepared to use a bandsaw or the like to shorten the domino before assembly.  While I really like Woodpeckers' quality, for me this is a solution in search of a problem.