So, bought a Domino 500 finally and naturally a few comments/questions arise

[Wuffles]

First up, amazing. It's what I hoped it would be in terms of quality and operation compared to the ropey German sounding (but not engineered) old biscuit joiner I have been using. Tatty bye Einhell joiner.

It was clearly designed by a southpaw though right? The extractor hose connection is in my way as a "righty" unless I'm doing something fundamentally wrong. Just checking.

Presumably you don't sharpen the bits yourselves? Are they sharpenable? Is sharpenable a real word?

Am guessing that for the face dominos you are performing a delicate balancing act akin to what I am used to with a biscuiter - clamping some stock material behind to give something to balance on better right? Or is there a clever trick I am missing.

And finally, there was talk on here of some kind of Domino "extra manual" written by a FOGer. Try as I might, I am unable to find a link to it on here. I know I'm just not searching for the right thing, but if someone could post a link I'd be grateful.

Thanks everyone.

 

[dicktill]

And finally, there was talk on here of some kind of Domino "extra manual" written by a FOGer. Try as I might, I am unable to find a link to it on here. I know I'm just not searching for the right thing, but if someone could post a link I'd be grateful.

http://www.festoolusa.com/media/pdf/domino_df_500.pdf

Welcome to "the club".

Regards, Dick

 

[Wuffles]

Bon, rest of the questions still stand.

Cheers fella.

 

[RC]

I've used my Domino so little (abt. 600 joints) so can't say much about sharpening except that I haven't had to sharpen a single bit yet. Best way of getting the different sizes is to purchase the Domino selection systainer which comes with a set of blades.

A typical beginners mistake is to leave the board you are cutting on top of a table or 'balance' material as you put it and end up with non-aligning mortises. You should be referencing from the fence i.e. top face of your workpiece and if one side of the joint is leaning from underneath it will be higher than the mortise that was properly referenced. You don't need to kill the machine to keep it in place, just plunge in a slow steady movement and don't force it. Keep a steady pressure on the front knob and support the weight of the machine from the back near the power cord.

 

[Wuffles]

Roger that, I get you completely. Done the same thing with a biscuiter many times - even though I tell myself each time not to.

Always hang the end off the table with some dogs holding it in place, no mistakes then. Feels much less like it wants to jump out of your hand than the biscuiter too. Very smooth. Managed to move it from one cut to the next whilst on and apart from the gyroscopic movement you feel, it's easy to handle. I bet the 700 is a different story altogether.

Actually, re-reading your response you might be talking about the face plunges, and yes I get that too. My bits above still stand with the edge cuts though, I'll leave them there in case anyone else newer reads them and do someone a favour sometime.

Good to know it's not needed sharpening though. I reckon I'll be using the 5mm bit most, and luckily I have two as I did go for the SYS with the extras. So one #5 in the machine and another #5 in the SYS. Sweet.

Cheers.

 

[Jeff Zanin]

I am left handed and it works fine for me, so there may be something in your idea that it was designed for southpaws.

But also you should be holding it with your strong hand (left for me, right for you) at the very back of the housing, even partly on the plug-it connector.

For a face mortise near the edge of a piece you will be placing the bottom of the fence on the edge of the piece, and the face of the tool (where the cutter protrudes) against the face.  For 18mm material you shouldn't need a support.

There are also aftermarket fences and accessories that can be used with the Domino.  I have been using the Seneca Woodworking DomiPlate which fastens to the bottom of the tool and provides the correct offset for centering the mortise in either 1/2" or 3/4" nominal plywood.  In this mode the tool is used "upside down" with the regular fence folded and not in use, and thus the hose is now on the right side.

Regardless of which fence is used it is important to index from the reference edge of both pieces so the mortises align properly.

I have never heard of anyone sharpening the Domino bits.  Eventually they can be replaced, but for maximum bit life always use maximum dust extraction and make the plunge slowly and smoothly, be sure the bit is fully retracted before moving the tool.

Jeff

 

[PaulMarcel]

A lot of FOG and otherwise Domino knowledge is gathered up on the Festool USA blog here: http://blog.festoolusa.com/post/2012/06/28/The-Ultimate-Festool-Domino-Guide.aspx

I'm a righty and not very ambidextrous, but I've never found the Domino to be awkward to use as a righty; you'll get used to it.

Bits aren't user-sharpenable for the most part; diamond file to knock off a bur on the outside if you get one is about it. They last a long time and I've even hit some nails and staples with one I still use (was refacing stairs and you can't imagine how many nails they shoot in them).

If by 'face domino' you mean standing it upright to mortise into the face of a board, you should be using the base widener that came with it; it screws into the bottom of the fence giving you a wider foot for the Domino to stand vertically.  Watch some of the videos on using it in different ways and I think you'll find your answers.

Dick already gave you the link to Ick's supplemental manual; it is based on the stock manual, but re-read it cover to cover because some stock portions of the manual have useful details.  Memorize the fence-bottom-to-bit-center measurement (10mm).

Go practice; every tool needs it!

 

[Wuffles]

Bingo.

Thanks everyone. I'm clearly holding it too far forward, try it, you'll see why I was querying it.

Paul, I've watched all of your videos with the exception of anything Domino related (I didn't want to overuse my jealousy muscle at the time) and really enjoyed them, will go back and see what's going on there and take it on board.

Really appreciate the help on here. This is the first Festool I've actually had trepidations about taking out of the box and trying on some spare material as I really had no idea what to expect - I'm enjoying it by the way - obviously the plunge saw, well, that changed my life, but the rest of the things I am lucky enough to own are fairly straightforward to use, just a bit more refined, and a lot more "raily" than the other offerings.

Thanks everyone once again. Really appreciated.

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Dick already gave you the link to Ick's supplemental manual; it is based on the stock manual, but re-read it cover to cover because some stock portions of the manual have useful details.  

Did you write that just to see if I was paying attention, Paul-Marcel? The factory manual is actually copied from my first release of the Domino manual years ago. Festool owns the rights to my manuals, so when they rewrote the manual for Rev 2, they used my older manual as the basis.

 

[PaulMarcel]

Dick already gave you the link to Ick's supplemental manual; it is based on the stock manual, but re-read it cover to cover because some stock portions of the manual have useful details.  

Did you write that just to see if I was paying attention, Paul-Marcel? The factory manual is actually copied from my first release of the Domino manual years ago. Festool owns the rights to my manuals, so when they rewrote the manual for Rev 2, they used my older manual as the basis.

Can't get anything by Rick's filters

 

[mastercabman]

Is sharpenable a real word?

Yes it is!