Popular Post rodger. Posted March 30, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 As stated in previous posts, I decided to buy a domino 500 for my shop. The prices go up here in Canada by about 10 percent on april 1, so I decided to take the plunge (pun intended). I bought the 500q basic set (machine, sustainer, wrench, power cord, and support bracket included) and the tenon assortment. In Canada the cost is 931 for the joiner, and 319 for the tenon set. So this is a significant amount of dollars for a hobbiest. The tool is well packaged, and I enjoy the sustainer system. It is easy to get at and store the tool, as well as the zillion tenons that came with the set. I also like the fact that they stack and lock together to be carried as a pair. I read the manual, which was not excellent. The online version is far superior, and includes colour photos. There was also an insert of photographs included with the manual which, as far as I can tell, are not referred to in the included manual. The tool looks nice, but is not as "pretty" as I expected. There were some surface scratches on the face of the tool, and some slight discolouring of the fence. I thought this may have been because someone bought and returned the tool, but when I asked for a second one at lee valley, the next one looked identical. This is not a big deal, as performance is where the "rubber hits the road". I took the tool for its first test drive today. I marked some scraps with a square and plunged some holes to make a standard rail and stile joint. At first I found the jointer pulled to the right when cutting, but this was easily eliminated when I learned the feed rate the tool wanted. Clamping the workpiece is always a good idea, so I will continue to so in the future. The machine has more "grabby ness" than a biscuit jointer. Slow and steady is what I found works best. The clear plastic plate also needed to be fine tuned to line up with the triangle indicators. Again, simple to do. I was disappointed that the set came with a super cheap wrench, and there was no Allen key included. Again, small items, but for the purchase price a bit more "bling" would have been a nice touch. The mortises are extremely clean and well machined. I was surprised at how nice they looked! The bottom is flat and clean. The domino does a far better job than my HCM did. I don't have a festool vac, so I used my regular ridgid shop vac with an attachment to connect to the dust shroud. Dust collection is beyond excellent. Not a speck of dust was in my work, work surface, or tool after cutting 14 mortises in a row. I do find the DC hose clumsy. It works great, but it gets in the way of my hand. I think that this is the result of using a 2.5" hose instead of the festool hose. I will make a smaller diameter pigtail hose to elimate the issue, and place the fitting a few inches down the line so it doesn't bump my hand. I will update this review as I go along, and at the end I will finalize it with subtitles and editing for ease of reading. But for now, it's off to continue playing with the new domino! Part 2------------------------ I got some more time to play with the domino, and made a face framed cabinet, and a picture frame with 45 degree miters. When I built the face frame, I had some alignment issues. All the faces were flush, but the the edges were off about a 16th to a 32nd. I adjusted the indicator again, following Paul Marcel's excellent podcast. After about about 20 minutes of fiddling, I got it just about perfect. I cleaned up the face frame and started on the picture frame. I cut the 45s on my dedicated sled, and clamped it up dry. I drew some lines and cut the mortises. Everything went perfect. This tool is a keeper. One thing I did find annoying was that I needed a torx key to move the alignment window, and it wasn't provided. A torx bit really should have been included, as it would only cost a few pennies, and would save a lot of people a trip to the hardware store. Again, for the premium price, is would have been a nice addition. I tried Paul Marcel's technique of holding the stock with my hand, but I always get slightly skewed mortises when I try this. I will continue to clamp my stock to cut mortises. Part 3---------------------- The wife is going to a wedding shower, and asked me to build a frame for a photo. What another great opportunity to use the domino. This is my third domino project, and I am certainly over the learning curve. All went off without a hitch, and the joints were flawless. I started plunging the tool from farther back on the handle, and this seems to have helped with comfort and use of the tool. Also my speed has doubled after getting used to layout, plunge depth, the millimetre system, etc. Another small thing that festool could have included was a cord wrap. I always box it up after use in the sustainer, and the cord keeps tangling up a bit. A nice festool green cord wrap would have been the fix! I do appreciate the fact that the cord is long, however. This has come in handy with my bench being just far enough away from the outlet to make regular cords too short to use comfortably without an extension cord. With the domino, I don't need the extension cord. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 I use those Velcro straps to attach the hose to the power cord. The smaller hose is much more flexible. I used my small Fein vac with my domino for years. Those Bessey self adjusting toggle clamps are very useful when you have a batch of mortices to cut. I made a fence out of 3/4" plywood scraps and screwed it to a larger piece as a baseplate. I use 1 1/4" pocket hole screws to screw the clamps down . I either screw or clamp the baseplate to my assembly table. I will try to take some pictures tomorrow. You just slap the clamps down and then you have both hands free to handle the machine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Great review Pug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cochese Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 You'll want to look at Paul-Marcel's excellent videos before you do anything else. Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted March 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 You'll want to look at Paul-Marcel's excellent videos before you do anything else. Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk It's funny you mentioned this. I watched all of them before buying the domino. Festool should hire him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 +1 on the Paul-Marcel vids. I'm also using my shop-vac with an attachment that happened to fit their metric dust port (just too cheap for the festool hose I guess). Works great, though a bit rigid. I saved all the attachments from the past 5 (broken) household vacuum cleaners, which all have funky sizes. Never know when one will come in handy. I was lucky in that mine was fine tuned out of the box - no adjustment necessary. Have fun with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cochese Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 I'm using the Bosch hose and it works great. Only problem being that it is too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 Thought my ears were burning Thanks for the compliments! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 I took a couple of pictures today . This jig holds parts vertically. I like to do the cuts where you plunge into the face of the board with the part vertical. Gravity holds the fence or Domiplate to the top edge of the board and you can see to line up with a mark easier. I usually just clamp the vertical jig in my vise. Having both hands free to line up the machine and cut each mortice is so much easier with these. So easy to re-arrange the clamp positions with a few 1 1/4" square drive pocket screws. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 I took a couple of pictures today .image.jpg This jig holds parts vertically. I like to do the cuts where you plunge into the face of the board with the part vertical. Gravity holds the fence or Domiplate to the top edge of the board and you can see to line up with a mark easier. I usually just clamp the vertical jig in my vise.image.jpg Having both hands free to line up the machine and cut each mortice is so much easier with these. So easy to re-arrange the clamp positions with a few 1 1/4" square drive pocket screws. Thanks! Do you plunge the domino using the base at all, using the bench as reference surface? Kind of like using a biscuit joiner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Yes! You can use the base as a reference just like you do with a biscuit machine. Any place you can clamp a straightedge you can place a domino accurately. Actually that's kind of the idea behind the Domiplate. It has 2 sides, one for 3/4" material and one for 1/2" . I use a lot of 5/8 Baltic ply and by adding a 1/16" thick shim it centers the cut on the ply . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Yes! You can use the base as a reference just like you do with a biscuit machine. Any place you can clamp a straightedge you can place a domino accurately. Actually that's kind of the idea behind the Domiplate. It has 2 sides, one for 3/4" material and one for 1/2" . I use a lot of 5/8 Baltic ply and by adding a 1/16" thick shim it centers the cut on the ply . I have to look into a domiplate. Then tool came with a support bracket that is L shaped. Is this similar to a domiplate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 I have to look into a domiplate. Then tool came with a support bracket that is L shaped. Is this similar to a domiplate? Oh! It's not like an L fence at all. Looks like Paul-marcel has a video on it. I'm gonna check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Senacawoodworking has video too I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Updated above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Update 3 added. One more after this one ought to wrap up the rough copy. Then I'll edit it down and sort it out a bit for ease of reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Glad to see you're putting it to use and having fun with it Pug! It's a great addition to the shop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 I just saw a 10% sale on all Festool Domino machines, packages and accessories at The Tool Nut (good May 1-June 30) . Rare that you see a sale so if you are ready to pull the trigger or need a bit go take a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Nice review, and very cool jig, Pug. Those clamps look idea for lining up your pencil lines. You and I are in the same boat with brand new Domino 500's. My initial impression: On a build where I've been insanely meticulous, it's been perfect. Surprisingly, one another smaller chair build, where I've really just been "eyeballing it"....it's still been pretty darn close to perfect. How have you been doing with your top-down plunge cuts (middle of a board, no fence). I'm having a tough time stabilizing the vibration of the machine...not sure if there's an ideal place to grab it. Plus, when I press down on the on button, I run the risk of plunging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Nice review, and very cool jig, Pug. Those clamps look idea for lining up your pencil lines. You and I are in the same boat with brand new Domino 500's. My initial impression: On a build where I've been insanely meticulous, it's been perfect. Surprisingly, one another smaller chair build, where I've really just been "eyeballing it"....it's still been pretty darn close to perfect. How have you been doing with your top-down plunge cuts (middle of a board, no fence). I'm having a tough time stabilizing the vibration of the machine...not sure if there's an ideal place to grab it. Plus, when I press down on the on button, I run the risk of plunging! Stay tuned! That will be in the next update! I'm afraid I can't take credit for the jig, those are Steve's photos and builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Middle of a board you just clamp a strip of wood as a fence to line up on. I start the machine and then set it into place. Your review is shaping up nicely Franklin ! Keep up the good work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Brilliant! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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