ONE-TIME tools - Parallel Guides & Domino Offset Base

HarveyWildes

HarveyWildes

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Joined
May 3, 2016
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984
You can order them for the next 4 weeks.  (I just beat Shane to the punch on letting you know about this???  [eek] [eek])

I can see the value of parallel guides.  How do the Woodpecker Parallel Guides compare to Festool, Seneca, or others on the market?

I don't have that much trouble lining up my Domino just as it comes from Festool.  Why would I want the offset base?
 
The offset base helps to better center in imperial thicknesses.  I've thoroughly enjoyed the ease of setup when using the Seneca version on my 700XL.  But the Seneca has a height gauge that works with the base. 

I join large/long strips mostly and would love to have as precise a guide as the Woodpeckers one that is only for the 500.  Currently I'm using the 96" story stick to layout the lines without using any of the Festool accessory attachments.  One slightly off cut makes all other cuts off when you rely on the previous cut to make the placement of the next cut.  But this Woodpeckers system doesn't seem to rely on the previous cut for placement of the next cut. 
 
HarveyWildes said:
You can order them for the next 4 weeks.  (I just beat Shane to the punch on letting you know about this???  [eek] [eek])

I can see the value of parallel guides.  How do the Woodpecker Parallel Guides compare to Festool, Seneca, or others on the market?

I don't have that much trouble lining up my Domino just as it comes from Festool.  Why would I want the offset base?
Click to expand...

Shane usually provides a link with his Woodpecker posts:
http://www.woodpeck.com/df500obs17.html
http://www.woodpeck.com/pgs17.html
 
I ordered the parallel guide kit, I was wanting the Festool version but I have so many woodpecker tools at this point I have come to believe that if they offer it, then it's going to be a quality superior product.  We'll see when it arrives :P

 
I purchased the parallel guide the last time it was out (ONE-Time Tool, huh?) It looks as though the extensions of the Domino jig are the same.  Can anyone verify that?  they're called Triple T-Tracks for the parallel guide, but are called Outriggers for the domino jig.
 
Tony from Pandora said:
... It looks as though the extensions of the Domino jig are the same.  Can anyone verify that?  they're called Triple T-Tracks for the parallel guide, but are called Outriggers for the domino jig.
Click to expand...

The outriggers are not listed at Tool Nut but are listed at a competitors site and at Woodpecker's site. Tool Nut can probably get them
 
Tony from Pandora said:
I purchased the parallel guide the last time it was out (ONE-Time Tool, huh?) It looks as though the extensions of the Domino jig are the same.  Can anyone verify that?  they're called Triple T-Tracks for the parallel guide, but are called Outriggers for the domino jig.
Click to expand...

You're correct that many Woodpeckers OTT products use red anodized versions of their DP track (triple T track).  However, in each application the position and orientation of engraved scales and differ.  For example, with the parallel guides, the scales are meant to be read from right to left on both sticks.  The Domino outriggers start with a middle segment that has a center scale and goes out 6 inches on each side.  The story sticks use the other side of the DP track for their scale (single track side up). 
 
Are both these tool a re-release of a previous design Or an improved version? 

I read the parallel edge guide takes about 15 min. to setup /align; but once set, it is easier to use than the Festool version. I recall the reviewer was hoping for a version 2 mod with faster and easier setup.  Can anyone who used it comment here?

With respect to the domino jig, it seems it would be awkward handling a tool with a 52-inch storystick/fence attached. I would think aligning the 1st domino to a tight fit, and the others with left to right clearance could easily be done with adequate accuracy using layout lines. If I had to joint hundreds of boards or panels, or knockdown assemblies with potential replacement pieces,  I could see a benefit in something similar. However, I'm looking for the advantage to investing $400 in this jig. 
 
Cincinnati said:
Are both these tool a re-release of a previous design Or an improved version?
Click to expand...
YES! They both were built and sold in the past. Dunno if they improved them. Longer bolts with hex heads and stops would be good improvements for the parallel guides though.

Cincinnati said:
I read the parallel edge guide takes about 15 min. to setup /align; but once set, it is easier to use than the Festool version. I recall the reviewer was hoping for a version 2 mod with faster and easier setup.  Can anyone who used it comment here?
Click to expand...
It probably takes me about 5 minutes to set up and be ready to use. I did modify the system though so I do not have to set to zero unless I want dead accuracy and even when I do check to make sure it is correct, I have not needed to adjust it yet. Switching between long and short tracks doesn't seem to change things either.

More in this thread below.http://festoolownersgroup.com/festo...-against-seneca-and-precision-dogs/?topicseen

Cincinnati said:
With respect to the domino jig, it seems it would be awkward handling a tool with a 52-inch storystick/fence attached. I would think aligning the 1st domino to a tight fit, and the others with left to right clearance could easily be done with adequate accuracy using layout lines. If I had to joint hundreds of boards or panels, or knockdown assemblies with potential replacement pieces,  I could see a benefit in something similar. However, I'm looking for the advantage to investing $400 in this jig. 
Click to expand...
Don't have a Domino yet, but it is on the short list (Still making do with a biscuit joiner). I can say the parallel guides get unwieldy, with two hanging off a track that flexes. Best to keep the tracks/rails/etc supported as much as possible.
 
[member=9212]Cincinnati[/member]  Concerning your question on whether it's worth it to invest in the Woodpecker Offset Base jig . . . I would agree that the outriggers are a questionable investment (from personal experience). However, I almost always use the base and the spacers with the DF500. I found that it's just easier to hold in place while plunging with the offset base attached. It provides more surface area on the face of the wood and keeps the Domino from shifting (even a minute amount).  While I don't always care if the slots are in the middle of a wood thickness, sometimes I do want that and sometimes it just satisfies a need to be "perfect". So, I do use the base and the spacers.

I also am considering buying the taller spacer set as I did a project awhile back with thicker wood for which I could have benefitted from these. Since I recently acquired the 700XL and Woodpecker's now sells adapter spacers for the 700 I will probably buy that also. No reason not to be able use the Base with the 700 also; especially for only $9.99.

I do woodworking on the side and for enjoyment. Because the Offset Base somehow makes use of the Domino more satisfying for me, it gives me more satisfaction with my work. For me, that's the most important thing about woodworking - to create high quality work and enjoy the work. The outriggers don't do that for me so far.
 
Personally I'm debating the base itself.  The outriggers just add too much to the cost to the whole set for questionable function, and if in the future one REALLY felt like the outriggers were needed, you could DIY it with some DP track and scales. 
 
If you're mortising a 90* is there any way to have more than just a tiny bit of registration on the face you're mortising?  I've been using a domiplate for cabinets, and for one piece, have the domiplate against the 3/4" edge of plywood, but the large part of the original Domino fence is against the large flat face of the plywood.  For the other piece the original Domino fence is against the 3/4" edge, but the large Domiplate is against the large flat surface.
 
Would love the parallel guides and the Domino base, but they are just way too overpriced for my taste. The Woodpeckers version of parallel guides offer nothing over the Seneca version from what I can tell, and the Domino offset base looks like something I could mill myself out of some 1/4" thick sheet aluminum and stainless bar stock.
 
LOL....Ben I don't think this stuff is targeted at folks who have the ability to accurately mill metals. 
 
even though I have the Precision parallel guides, I am thinking of getting the woodpecker one.  Its all the same thing but I like the idea of getting it all into a systainer at the end of the day.  The Precision ones, I am always looking for a place to put the long Incra rails.  I just wish they didnt have that ugly black systainer.

As to the base, if I ever really need to center a domino I will think about it but I am not sure why being in the exact center is so important as long as you keep track of the top of the work piece and pencil lines are good enough for me.
 
live4ever said:
LOL....Ben I don't think this stuff is targeted at folks who have the ability to accurately mill metals. 
Click to expand...
True. Which actually surprises me a bit though as a good hobbyist mill that could be used to make stuff like this doesnt cost any more than we pay for a couple Festool tools or a nice cabinet saw, or bandsaw, or dust collector, etc. Im actually surprised more people arent into metal machining.
 
Am I missing something? Is there no way to rip a board narrower than the guide rail with the Woodpeckers parallel guides like you can with the Precision Dogs or Seneca kits?
 
ben_r_ said:
Am I missing something? Is there no way to rip a board narrower than the guide rail with the Woodpeckers parallel guides like you can with the Precision Dogs or Seneca kits?
Click to expand...

I think you are.  It's the rod that fits into the flip stops, and then the scale that's engraved on the side of the tracks.
 
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