VERY VERY unhappy with festool after domino cross stop

Tis too bad the first post is a negative post and sure wish you would have found this forum earlier.

I don't know where I read it or why it sticks in my mind but somewhere it was mentioned to only use the narrow setting for registration purposes and use a wider setting.

Say what you want about lax tolerances but try pulling a Domino out of a mortise. YOu can't do that with a biscuit or any other mortising type machine. The tolerances are tight.... maybe too tight  ;)

I love my Domino and can't wait to get my CT-22 back so I can once again use it.

Dan Clermont
 
I'm not that happy with the cross-stops either due to the risk of errors due to trapped splinters/chips, but that is not really a machine design or quality of manufacture flaw.  I have found that I (an amateur who does not use his Domino that often) can get excellent, repeatable results by simply using a pencil mark across the boards to be joined.  Twenty-two mortises using the tight setting with 5 mm dominos over ~5 ft for the first try on hard maple with my 60 year old eyes - all fit perfectly. What could be easier and faster and near as accurate?

Dave R.
 
I use my Domino almost every day and use the CrossStop almost daily, as well.  I find it to be an invaluable time saver and very accurate...

That being said, it seems to me that another approach would be to try using this forum to solve the problem in a constructive way.  I'm sure Christian would have been just as anxious to solve the problem and the adrenaline level would have been significantly lower.  Wood working is solving problems, on a continuing basis, for a lot of us.  Try a problem solving approach - it makes one look like a pro, even if you aren't.
 
Out of curiousity, what width hole setting do you typically use Clint?
 
Rob McGilp said:
Brice Burrell said:
  Any of you guys remember watching Festool's videos on the Domino before it came out last year? In almost every video they showed that only the first mortise should be cut with the narrow setting and subsequent mortises should be with clearance to account for minor positioning inaccuracies, remember? Test drive video index.

Thanks, Brice,
As I said, we worked that out a while ago....

Yes, Rob you are right. The point of my post is that there should have been nothing to work out. In the videos Festool shows the proper use of the tool. Anyone that did any research would also have found out how to use the cross stops the right way. A searching this forum would produce this thread. This member had the same issue, and Festool USA was willing to fix it (and did, I know this from another forum).

Rob McGilp said:
I also have to agree with Eli, people who use their first posts to do nothing but "bag" a tool in their first posts leave me in feeling that they are not really interested in anything but venting their spleen. It's been my experience that such people get very little help or respect from other members of the forum in question.

Regards,

Rob

Again we agree, and I'd go even farther, this is not the place for that kind of "venting". Worse yet are some of replies, this guy is unhappy (and he is just venting) so how is antagonizing him going to help this thread? This kind of petty stuff keeps me away from other forums and the lack of crap here is why I enjoy this place so much. Remember when you behave badly the whole forum's reputation (and Matthew's to some extent) is hurt. It is all of our responsibility to keep this a friendly place, please don't forget that.

 
 
You're right, my bad. I accept responsibility for my ungenerous treatment of Mr. Deeds.

Why don't we have a rant section then, for people who refuse to do any research on their own behalf and just want to use the place to complain. Sort of like a grenade range. Explosive, but safe for everyone else. I wouldn't mess with anyone in the confines.

Otherwise I'm bagging game on the open range, I can't help it.  ;D
 
I myself have no qualms with negative posts.

I do agree with the author of this post and have found the cross stops to be inaccurate. I also empathise with his issues with the customer service from Festool. I have brought up on this forum and to Festool service the issue of the TS75 not cutting at the point of entry during bevel cuts. I had a conversation with the Service Dept Head about it and he did not resolve the issue and did not return calls regarding the issue after it was brought to his attention. I was left to engineer a solution myself. Which does not give me any warm fuzies for Festool customer service....But to their credit they did send me a new base for the saw when it wore out prematurely.

To say that the poster is full of --it. is immature. He has his experience with Festool and you have yours. I have mine.

I purchased my cross stops as part of the package deal with the expectation of accuracy. Specifically for stair railing-balluster connections. It failed miserably especially when used for a railing with a top and bottom rail. It has been collecting dust since then. thats my story.

Most of you here know that I love my Festool tools. I can do things with them, amazing things!  But when something doesn't work, it doesn't work. period.

I do take issue with some of the members here that seem to see the world through their green colored glasses.

Eiji Fuller
 
Eli said:
Out of curiousity, what width hole setting do you typically use Clint?

I use all of them.  The end mortises are almost always using the narrow setting, and the interior are usually done with the middle width setting.  I don't use the wide setting very much - though, if I make a mistake [a rarity  ;D ;D  ] it comes in pretty handy then.
 
Eiji F said:
Most of you here know that I love my Festool tools. I can do things with them, amazing things!  But when something doesn't work, it doesn't work. period.
Eiji Fuller

Definitely no argument there, you do amazing things with them. Period.

What about when it works only as good as promised? Is that still not good enough? You want it to work to your specs, but the cross-stop really only works as good as they made it. And they were clear about how well it works, in their cryptic German way. It works really very well. There is plenty of evidence. Not to mention you were trying to use it for stairway railings by your own admission. They make a special attachment fence for that. I haven't tried it, but I bet a brick to London it works better than a cross-stop. DD was trying to use it outside specs as well. Small wonder it didn't work the way either of you thought it would.

AFA green glasses, which I'll go ahead and assume you're talking about me in part, yep, I'm a nut. I considered carefully knowing I'd only be able to buy a tool once in most cases. I think I bought the best, but using them is only as good as I am, and use makes master. They are no doubt the best. Whenever I've made a real world comparison between these and anything else, I've chosen these. (with the exception of the Fein Multimaster, another incomparable tool). They do the job the best, and when they rarely don't, there are other solutions. To argue that the cross-stop is crap is a ridiculous argument. What are you comparing it to? You can want it to be better than it is, but it won't be until they change it, and then it will be better.

Doesn't work for you guys, fine, sell it, somebody will buy it despite your lack of endorsement.

underused said:
If he had have come on here, congratulating festool for the cross stop, he would have been welcomed? ???
We are all here because we own/use festools...sometimes (not often) there are problems with them and the service provided to us. This IS the place to share our experiences with Festool, positive or negative? ???
Rant off :P ;D
cheers!

I don't have any issue welcoming people with criticisms of the tools. There are some really very valid criticisms that have come to light via this forum. Of course we get more interested in praise than criticism. True, this forum isn't really geared towards talking about how bad the tools are, but in this case, I don't think anyone's brought anything new to the table.

If they make any tools that aren't as good as other options, so be it, I'd go with the better off brand tool. If they make things that don't match their claims, fine, you've got grounds to bitch. This was neither, despite what you guys want to think, they've been quite clear on limitations that the tool does have.

AFA service goes, there are probably almost a hundred examples of really excellent way beyond "normal" service right here on the forum, and a good (but pretty small still) percentage of those examples start with a bitch. DD could have accessed this excellent connection to Festool and found that out for himself long ago, probably before his second email to his rep. But he saved up all the crap part of it for us instead of asking for help. I'm not asking for much, just make it rational and don't curse the cross-stop from the top of the grassy knoll.

Having wasted all that hot air, I still think someone who can find their way around a tool can make a .3mm problem into a .3mm solution.

I'm way done.
 
underused said:
If he had have come on here, congratulating festool for the cross stop, he would have been welcomed? ???

I don't have any issues w/ posting problems, you can learn as much from a thread about a problem as you can on a how-to thread. On the different forums I watch problem related messages make up the majority, but as I said in my earlier post, the tone of the message was counter productive.  I've seen these type of messages spiral out of control to the point where the forum suffers.  One of our greatest strengths is the positive tone and helpfullness of this forum! 

Messages that bash the product, as well as messages that bash the basher are both counter productive to the good health of the forum.

Fred
 
clintholeman said:
Perhaps it isn't what, but how...

Exactly Clint.  It's not what you say, but the way that you say it.  Several folks have paid little attention to the way that they say it.  Tsk, tsk.  Be nice, people.
 
dirtydeeds said:
its all ok having a festool owners group telling festool that their gear and their service is great

wrong.........  their service is diabolical and they treat their customers with total contempt 

the domino cross stop is a totally useless piece of junk. after six dominos its 2mm out (reading the tape)

i didnt believe it was a festool problem until id tried it a second time

then i put the vernier caliper on it, the stops are .3mm different left to right (hence 1.8mm out at sixth domino)

are festool interested, are they hell, they couldnt give a flying stuff

i talked to the area rep, to get the problem resolved. it took him 3 weeks and aparantly 4 emails before he got a single reply from germany

all they did was confirm it wasnt accurate and they are going to do nothing about it

by the way the rep was reminded not to tell me the tool is innacurate

how stupid do festool think their customers are. i know their machining is innacurate because my vernier caliper confirms what my tape says

Let me start off by saying that I am in no way an expert (not even a very good novice).

I am not sure that I understand the problem that you are having with the "offness" of your mortise placement.  Are you saying that the mortises that you are making are off .3 mm from the initial mortise that you are making?  If this is the case, I was just watching the Domino video (as I am looking to make over 30 wooden storms) and it said that you make the first mortise a tight fitting mortise and the following ones are supposed to be made larger than the original to accommodate "offness".  Shouldn't this correct the issues that you are having?

Regards,
Chuck
 
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