Should I get a Domino?

[Stone Message]

The Domino goes for $850 new (US).  79% of list new price should be a warning in and of itself for a tool that is out of warranty.  I'm 100% with WOW's comments above.  I rarely deal with Craig's List, but on that rare occasion that I do, I go with a friend and both of us are packing (legally).

That is so sad that you have to carry weapons in your own country.

Peter

 

[Sparktrician]

The Domino goes for $850 new (US).  79% of list new price should be a warning in and of itself for a tool that is out of warranty.  I'm 100% with WOW's comments above.  I rarely deal with Craig's List, but on that rare occasion that I do, I go with a friend and both of us are packing (legally).

That is so sad that you have to carry weapons in your own country.

Peter

I'm glad that we can legally defend ourselves here.  As you well know, when seconds count, the police are just minutes away. 

 

[MahalaHomecraft]

Picked up the Domino today, and everything went off without a hitch.  It wasn't actually new, he'd posted a picture from when he'd first bought it.  It is in excellent shape, though.  He also had a full Domino systainer with unused bits for an extra 220.  Twas a good day!  I already ordered the domiplate, any other good accessory recommendations?  I was thinking indexing spacers...

 

[sancho57]

thats awesome, I love it when good things happen to my buds (on line or otherwise)

Now here is a observation from  when I first got it to now,

At first I was very frustrated using it,  and quit  using it for a while, There is a learning curve wiith it.  But after I figured it out (took a while as Im a little slower then most here), I love it. My advice to you is to start using it immediately, do some on line research Paul  Marcels stuff, plus others here have posted some good stuff.
I really liike the tool now and for certain applications nothing better and nothing else will do it.

Enjoy it and please let us know what you think off it or if you  have any questions.
Dont do what I did let it sit in the box for a while due to frustration. Once ya get the Aha monent and it clicks you'll be loving life with  it. Now iff find it indispensable and a necessity or what I do.
Mines just took a bit longer then most :>D
Jobs....

 

[wow]

GREAT NEWS!!!

When you get a chance, post pictures of your bounty?!

(No, Kev - not his booty!)

 

[Stone Message]

Picked up the Domino today, and everything went off without a hitch.  It wasn't actually new, he'd posted a picture from when he'd first bought it.  It is in excellent shape, though.  He also had a full Domino systainer with unused bits for an extra 220.  Twas a good day!  I already ordered the domiplate, any other good accessory recommendations?  I was thinking indexing spacers...

When I bought my Domino I also bought the Cross Stop and Trim Stop. It really does depend on personal preference but I do not reach for the Cross Stop at all - in fact I cannot remember using it for any serious piece of furniture or cabinet work.

The Trim Stop is invaluable. I use it all the time putting slots in the ends of rails or stiles. I also use the Trim Stop with the Domino Fence upwards so that I can do a plunging cut in, say, the middle of a rail to take a piece going at right angles.

I have made up a simple jig for putting domino slots very close to an edge (closer than the fence normally allows) but I do not use it very often.

I have also made up a test block which has a sample cut from each of the 5 cutters at each of the width. It means that I can either measure the width of slots when planning joints or just use the Mark 1 eyeball to envisage the appropriate domino size.

I know a lot of people use the wider slot settings and I once thought that I would. The only time I have used a wider slot was in a breadboard end joint. I find the accuracy that the Domino allows means that the narrow setting works (for me) just fine.

Peter

[attachimg=1]

This is the DF700 block - I could not find the picture of the other one

[attachimg=2]

 

[MahalaHomecraft]

Thanks for all the replies.  I think a trim stop is definitely in the near future.  I did some testing with it last night, following my standard new tool protocol:  DON'T YOU DARE L9OK AT THE INSTRUCTIONS!! Results were better than I expected, but still not "cabinet grade."  I'm gonna spend the weekend watching some domino videos and snowboarding, and then I'll see if I can whip something up in the shop on monday.

 

[Gary in Texas]

Seriously, you're gonna snowboard when you have a brand new Festool, a Domino no less, in your shop just aching for attention?  Glad the purchase went off without a hitch.  A little practice, and remember slow, steady and balanced plunge results in the best mortise.  I don't think its that big of a learning curve when the Domino is used in conjunction with the domiplate. Using it this way will give you some good practice and a base to move on to freehand type mortises.

Peter P, as usual, you continue to offer excellent insights and set up for Festool products!!!

 

[Scorpion]

ON'T YOU DARE L9OK AT THE INSTRUCTIONS!! Results were better than I expected, but still not "cabinet grade."  I'm gonna spend the weekend watching some domino videos and snowboarding, and then I'll see if I can whip something up in the shop on monday.

I think everyone has a different learning curve. I spent the first three hours with mine by thinking about fixturing and how to get repeatable cuts where I wanted them.  That time investment turned out to be valuable and I was building cabinets with in the day. I can't say I've had a problem with it yet except maybe two

1) I've learned that not all of my materials are perfectly square and some of the fixtures that I created to use with my domino are exposing that some of my cuts are off by a 16th.  Previously the small variance didn't make a difference because I would compensate when assembling the cabinets but now, with the domino being a 16th off, it made parts visibly not line up by a 16th. so, as it turned out, getting the domino cause me to go back and figure out how to get square cuts. The adjustment wasn't the domino the adjustment was the other processes to suit the domino.

2) when I first started using the domino or use the smallest lot for all of the cuts. With patients all of the holes are lined up perfectly between two pieces. When I began to realize is the accuracy wasn't necessary and that I only needed a single small slot to get (for example) both horizontal and vertical alignment of the peace and then use the larger slots on the rest of the dominoes to maintain horizontal alignment down the board. That made all but the first one not critical in position which save me a ton of time and thinking.

I can safely say that the domino might possibly be one of the best woodworking tools that ever purchased from a optimization and quality perspective. No doubt though, it was a must-have.

 

[Doug S]

Well done on getting the domino, it will change the way you work. People seem to talk about a learning curve with the domino and make it sound complicated, it's not at all. The beauty of it is its simple repeatability, and you just find more uses for it the longer you own it. The only downside is that once you realise how good it is you will "need" a domino XL so you can build bigger stuff!

Doug

 

[jacko9]

I don't think that you will find that you need a larger DF700, you will want one since these machines are so darn great.  I bought the DF500 when that first came out and I couldn't wait for the DF700 to be released in North America.  For me these are the best woodworking tools to hit the market in years.

Jack

 

[Zoofish]

I don't think that you will find that you need a larger DF700, you will want one since these machines are so darn great.  I bought the DF500 when that first came out and I couldn't wait for the DF700 to be released in North America.  For me these are the best woodworking tools to hit the market in years.

Jack

I always had problems with the biscuit joiner getting the miters to align well, not to mention holding the joint firm during glue up.

samsung galaxy note 3 tasche

 

[jacko9]

I don't think that you will find that you need a larger DF700, you will want one since these machines are so darn great.  I bought the DF500 when that first came out and I couldn't wait for the DF700 to be released in North America.  For me these are the best woodworking tools to hit the market in years.

Jack

I always had problems with the biscuit joiner getting the miters to align well, not to mention holding the joint firm during glue up.

I agree, my Lamello biscuit joiner is gathering dust in my shop (well not so much dust now that I use Festool).

 

[Stone Message]

I sold my Lamello soon after getting the Domino - I have never regretted that at all.

Peter

 

[Giff]

YES…..and YES. I have 2 periods in my woodworking. BD and AD that's before Domino and after Domino. Speed and accuracy are the key points.

 

[jmac80]

I have 2 periods in my woodworking. BD and AD that's before Domino and after Domino.

;D ;D

 

[itchy]

Should I get a domino?

Yes.