Triton TDJ600 Doweling Joiner


BillyJack

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It might not be fair, but Triton is a brand I avoid.  I was given one of their large routers, that was supposed to be good for use under a router table.  I think it might have been one of their first such models.  The guy that gave it to me never got along with it, and told me maybe I could.  I used it for some years, but I never really liked it either, after decades of being a Porter Cable fan.  It was quite fiddly to keep the plunge mechanism working, and never ran that smoothly.  I finally just stopped using it.

I just never had any desire to even try anything else they made.

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15 minutes ago, Tom King said:

It might not be fair, but Triton is a brand I avoid.  I was given one of their large routers, that was supposed to be good for use under a router table.  I think it might have been one of their first such models.  The guy that gave it to me never got along with it, and told me maybe I could.  I used it for some years, but I never really liked it either, after decades of being a Porter Cable fan.  It was quite fiddly to keep the plunge mechanism working, and never ran that smoothly.  I finally just stopped using it.

I just never had any desire to even try anything else they made.

Interesting, I have one of their larger units fit in my router table and have been very satisfied with it. I think that is the only triton tool I own, unless I'm forgetting something. 

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2 hours ago, Woodenskye said:

There was a multipart review of this tool I watched on YouTube and if I remember it wasn't very good.

I saw that one also.  At least part of it.  The guy doing it could have run a quicker pace to his review.  I got bored and left, but I do remember him not finding a lot of good in it.

2 hours ago, Mark J said:

Sure would be nice to have more choices than just the big and small Domino.  Anybody know when the Festool patent runs out?

I think there will need to be caution when the time comes.  There will be many companies trying to jump on the band wagon a start throwing some real crap products out there just trying to get a price point.

 

BillyJack - When Marc was messing with this on his show, I remember there being a fair amount of slop in the adjustments and the cutter was smoking when he made the plunge.   I have an older Porter Cable biscuit cutter that has always been nice and easy to set up and use and Marc's demo didn't look like this tool was anything close to my biscuit cutter in fit and finish.

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I'd probably do a router based floating M&T before i did dowels of any sort again. Personally the big advantage to the M&T style is giving a bit of play one way or another. That doesn't work with dowels. Maybe some people get dowels to work great but i didn't like my results.

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ExtremeWoodworker (Steve) did a video comparison of this. His intention was to give it away at the end since he has the Mafell version. It was so crappy he couldn't even give it away and feel good about it. Not fair comparing it to the Mafell, but the thing couldn't make a repeatable joint in the hours he played with it. I think he went through two of them trying to give it a shot.

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From what I've seen the reviews on this out there have not been good. Doesn't stay locked into whatever setting you have it on, lots of slop in the holes, flimsy construction, etc. I have the big 3.25hp triton plunge router and LOVE it so I was more than a little disappointed when I saw the reviews on this item. Until I can afford a Domino, I'll stick to making my own loose tenon joinery with a router or using my dowelling jig.

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Hi there,

In France we have a saying : (don't trust) the man who saw the man who saw the beast.

I own a TDJ600. This is not the best quality ever, (what would you expect for the price tag ?) but mine works fine.
I mean the holes are drilled in the right place, and joints are flawless, dowels are hold tight.
Some precautions by the way : I check the fences with measuring tools and I don't trust the graduations.
You really need to push hard to dig into the wood. It's not about poor quality bits, but about the spring which is ways too strong !
This is a sign of poor engineering. You really need a strong workbench to hold the pieces while pushing. (maybe 60 pounds of pressure ?)
This is definitely not a woman friendly tool !
The foundry parts are barely deburred. The tool is functional, just comfortable enough to be hold.
This is not like a Domino you can set then drill with confidence. With the Triton you need some test parts.
But once the set up is done, you can work pretty quick. I probably drilled thousands of holes within a year with no issue.
I would expect the spring had released a bit but nope, the machine works as new. I really need a proper spring.

Note: the bits are compatible with Mafell's (+-20 bucks per set) so you can have 6mm ones.

With Triton, the quality is not constant. Some tools are great, like the TRA001, some are just acceptable. The TDJ600 stands in between.
Some comes directly from China manufacturer's general catalog, like the oscillating drum sander or the super jaws.
You can't buy with confidence, get some owners advices first.

I saw the video Mafell vs Triton.
Well, to me this video smells like scam. First, is comparison between the best Cadillac versus a first price car fair ?
Probably not. You need to compare things with the same price range. Unless you want to deliberately kill the cheapest's reputation or magnify the best.
Second, before drilling the first hole the guys is already dismantling the Triton. So strange isn't it ? Who would do that in real life ?
So we don't know if the problems comes from the Triton or from the guy's early "repairs".
Let's be objective: after more than a year using mine, none of his 5mn judgments matches my experience.
Some of my friends bought a TDJ600 after testing mine, with comparable experience.
I know the Mafell which is obviously a great tool, ways better, at first sight you know it.
There's a small chance he get the worst TDJ600 on earth. Maybe...

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On 1/22/2018 at 4:03 PM, Jean [Fr] said:

Hi there,

In France we have a saying : (don't trust) the man who saw the man who saw the beast.

I own a TDJ600. This is not the best quality ever, (what would you expect for the price tag ?) but mine works fine.
I mean the holes are drilled in the right place, and joints are flawless, dowels are hold tight.
Some precautions by the way : I check the fences with measuring tools and I don't trust the graduations.
You really need to push hard to dig into the wood. It's not about poor quality bits, but about the spring which is ways too strong !
This is a sign of poor engineering. You really need a strong workbench to hold the pieces while pushing. (maybe 60 pounds of pressure ?)
This is definitely not a woman friendly tool !
The foundry parts are barely deburred. The tool is functional, just comfortable enough to be hold.
This is not like a Domino you can set then drill with confidence. With the Triton you need some test parts.
But once the set up is done, you can work pretty quick. I probably drilled thousands of holes within a year with no issue.
I would expect the spring had released a bit but nope, the machine works as new. I really need a proper spring.

Note: the bits are compatible with Mafell's (+-20 bucks per set) so you can have 6mm ones.

With Triton, the quality is not constant. Some tools are great, like the TRA001, some are just acceptable. The TDJ600 stands in between.
Some comes directly from China manufacturer's general catalog, like the oscillating drum sander or the super jaws.
You can't buy with confidence, get some owners advices first.

I saw the video Mafell vs Triton.
Well, to me this video smells like scam. First, is comparison between the best Cadillac versus a first price car fair ?
Probably not. You need to compare things with the same price range. Unless you want to deliberately kill the cheapest's reputation or magnify the best.
Second, before drilling the first hole the guys is already dismantling the Triton. So strange isn't it ? Who would do that in real life ?
So we don't know if the problems comes from the Triton or from the guy's early "repairs".
Let's be objective: after more than a year using mine, none of his 5mn judgments matches my experience.
Some of my friends bought a TDJ600 after testing mine, with comparable experience.
I know the Mafell which is obviously a great tool, ways better, at first sight you know it.
There's a small chance he get the worst TDJ600 on earth. Maybe...

Kinda what I wanted to hear. Comparing it no, but on it's own for the money it sounds okay...

As I stated before I use a couple Domino's at work and their not perfect with positioning either but that's another story...

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