The Domino XL 700 with the seneca adapter for 500 cutters ?

[Svar]

Outside of the Us and Germany, Domino’s are insanely expensive tools. 

Where do you get this? Prices in Euros at current rate of DF 500 Q-plus:
US - 818
CA - 861,
UK - 918,
DE - 949,
NL - 982,
AU - 1012
It's roughly 900 +/-10% worldwide.

 

[Steven Owen]

Outside of the Us and Germany, Domino’s are insanely expensive tools. 

Where do you get this? Prices in Euros at current rate of DF 500 Q-plus:
US - 818
CA - 861,
UK - 918,
DE - 949,
NL - 982,
AU - 1012
It's roughly 900 +/-10% worldwide.

We pay $2000 CAD for a DF 700 and $1500 CAD for the DF 500.  Domino’s are a pretty penny.  The Seneca adapter is a godsend for many people at those prices.  All you need to buy so the DF 700. 

 

[Svar]

Outside of the Us and Germany, Domino’s are insanely expensive tools. 

Where do you get this? Prices in Euros at current rate of DF 500 Q-plus:
US - 818
CA - 861,
UK - 918,
DE - 949,
NL - 982,
AU - 1012
It's roughly 900 +/-10% worldwide.

We pay $2000 CAD for a DF 700 and $1500 CAD for the DF 500.  Domino’s are a pretty penny.  The Seneca adapter is a godsend for many people at those prices.  All you need to buy so the DF 700.

My point is US and Canadian prices are nearly the same (5% difference).

 

[Motor]

Hello all,  I do mostly cabinets and small furniture.  I have been told that the domino 500 is the better tool for me between the two.  Who out there has used both the 500 and 700 as well as the 700 with the seneca bit adapter?  If so,  is getting the 700 with the seneca adapter and 500 cutters the better route to take.  I am planning to make doors and larger items and just don't want to buy the 500 and wish I had bought the 700 instead.  I can only buy one so I want to choose right.  Is the 700 much harder to handle or burdensome to handle with the smaller material,  or is it so well balanced and smooth that it is not that big of a difference from the 500?  I would greatly appreciate all comments and thoughts on the two.

I just went through this process (check out my recent thread on the 700). I just used the 700 for the first time yesterday. While it is heavier than the 500, it is ergonomically superior. There are a couple things that I like better on the 700 as well. I used it for a 3/4" face frame. If I ever decide to make knock down cabinets then I will buy the 500 connector set.

That said, I never used the 500. Just took it out of the box and decided it wasn't what I needed. (I don't do much work on materials under 3/4".)

 

[rmhinden]

I have a Domino 700 XL and the Seneca Small Mortise kit.  Plus the 4, 5, and 6mm 500 bits and matching sized dominos. 

Overall I have been happy with this combination and have used it on 3/4" and 1/2" plywood.  I like the ergonomics of the 700, the preset depth of cut limits, and that you can change the mortise width with the machine off.  It is hefty, but the 500 isn't a featherweight either.  Also, the larger sustainer has storage for dominos and/or extra bits and adapters.  I store the 700 in the sustainer with the Seneca plate installed, it's a little tight but works.

One issue I have had with this setup is the preset depth of the mortice doesn't match the domino when using a shallow depth mortice using the 500 bits in the face of a board.  I solved this by making a spacer out of PVC tubing.  This is described in the 500 supplemental manual, but works fine for the 700 XL.  Took a while to get the right length, but works fine.  I talked to Ryan at Seneca who suggested this idea.  Great support from Seneca.

With the Seneca adapter on the machine, it introduces some possible parallax error using the sight gauge.  I get around that by using the line etched on the domino instead.  Works fine for me.

Overall this combination works for me. 

 

[brentasmith]

I ended up buying both. While I am sure the seneca adapter works great, I felt that festool made 2 different units for a reason. Yeah, it cost me significantly more. However, I hate screwing with things and I felt that I had to go through to many hoops (adapters, shims etc) to make the 700 do something it wasn't designed to do for 90% of my work. I just felt that the money spent on the seneca adapters would be better spent on the 500. I don't regret the decision.

FYI, I'm a hobbyist, with a lot of other hobby's.

 

Yes Festool made 2 different units for a reason... its called a PROFIT !!! And guys like you keep Festool screwing the average Joe !!!

 

[Vondawg]

Brentasmith - I know you’re new but this kind of comment isn’t what the FOG is about. Ask yourself why you are here.

 

[chrisrosenb]

Yes Festool made 2 different units for a reason... its called a PROFIT !!! And guys like you keep Festool screwing the average Joe !!!

Companies are in business to make a profit. They make profits by selling products that people want to buy.
No one is forced to by any companies products. (Except maybe insurance in some places) How is the average Joe getting screwed? 

 

[DynaGlide]

And to the point of cost. . I imagine for anyone doing this for a living the one time cost of a Domino, either 500 or 700 or both, is soon recouped in time saved and quality of work produced. The average hobbyist has no 'need' for a Domino. It's a luxury. Plenty of people built things at home long before 2007.

 

[glenn storey]

from Lee Valley's Canadian website.
A. Domino® DF 500 Q Joiner
$1,329.00

   
B. Domino Cross Stop
$105.50


C. Domino Trim Stop
$105.50


  Domino® Joiner DF 500 Q Set (A, B & C)
$1,439.00

not 1,500.   

 

[ChuckS]

I'm Ok with Brentasmith's comment, which I took as an expression of frustration.

In fact, if Festool released a new DJ (similar to the DF500 in weight and size) that could do all the cutting depths of both the DF500 and DF700, I would sell my DF500 and get the new DJ. For the record, the DF500 is good for 95% of the kind of project I do, so I don't foresee getting the DF700.

 

[Steven Owen]

And to the point of cost. . I imagine for anyone doing this for a living the one time cost of a Domino, either 500 or 700 or both, is soon recouped in time saved and quality of work produced. The average hobbyist has no 'need' for a Domino. It's a luxury. Plenty of people built things at home long before 2007.

Most people can make joints of similar strength to a domino with their router, a dowel jig or a beadlock kit from Rockler.  The biggest advantage of the Domino is speed and flexibility. 

The Leigh Mortise and Tenon Jig is about the same price as a Domino but it’s slow and it can’t handle big pieces.  The Dowel Max makes great joints at 1/6 the price of a Domino but you’ll feel the time pass you by making 1 joint for every 10 made by a Domino. 

The Domino is the accuracy and speed Champion of the wood working world.  If you need to build furniture that can break down for moving or packaging, the other jointing methods don’t offer any options.

I highly doubt Festool is target it’s products directly at home users.  A lot of people don’t even know what a Domino is until you show them a picture on your phone.

 

[Michael Kellough]

“A lot of people don’t even know what a Domino is until you show them a picture on your phone.”

Somehow, you always crack me up  [wink]

 

[msnelling]

Hi all I did consider getting the D500 but instead decided to create a morticing jig using the D700 and a Seneca adapter to cover the full range of bits for both machines.https://www.dropbox.com/s/36ibzv02m1w7zq8/DomiStation.pdf?dl=0 Previously I had mounted a Jessum router lift in the CMS -VL with the OF1400, to this I added a plate that locks into the guide bush adapter and uses the rise and fall of the lift to change the centre line for the cutters. The D700 sits on top of the plate and a Wixey digital readout enables you to zero the center line to the bed of the jig. The lift has a range 0 - 80mm which enables me to create Domino’s in most of the material thicknesses I use. Personally I find the D700 heavy for prolonged use so being supported by the plate alleviates this to a great extent, it also helps avoid many of the hand held errors that can occur and generally improves overall accuracy.