The Domino

[Coop]

2 hours ago, Keggers said:

Congrats, Ken. I have a new one also. I bought it for myself for Christmas. I need to build something so I can take it out of its box.

Thanks Kent. Yeah, take it out of the box and turn it on a dozen or two times to get the feel and reassurance that it’s not going to jump out of your hand and drill a hole in your leg! 

[Chet]

12 minutes ago, K Cooper said:

reassurance that it’s not going to jump out of your hand and drill a hole in your leg! 

You know your allowed to hold the machine with both hands Ken.  Its in the manual. 

[Coop]

Clamps to hold the wood, probably from HF, will be my next purchase 

[JohnG]

I've found myself seriously considering buying a Domino. I'm not too excited about spending $1k on it though. Would you all consider buying one used from Craigslist or would it not be worth the savings? Is there something that goes bad on these that I should look out for if I do buy used?

I check festoolrecon occasionally, but haven't seen one on there yet.

[Chet]

7 minutes ago, JohnG said:

I've found myself seriously considering buying a Domino. I'm not too excited about spending $1k on it though. Would you all consider buying one used from Craigslist or would it not be worth the savings? Is there something that goes bad on these that I should look out for if I do buy used?

I check festoolrecon occasionally, but haven't seen one on there yet.

If you find one on craigslist there usually isn't that big of savings because they hold their value real well, so you would be ahead of the game by buying new because you would have the warranty.  You can set your self up to get notices on he recon site which is a good way to go because when things show up there they go fast, especially the dominos.

[Chestnut]

Just now, Chet said:

If you find one on craigslist there usually isn't that big of savings because they hold their value real well, so you would be ahead of the game by buying new because you would have the warranty.  You can set your self up to get notices on he recon site which is a good way to go because when things show up there they go fast, especially the dominos.

They don't come up on the recon site. I've seen them maybe a couple times in the last year and they were gone instantly. The only thing to move faster was the Pro5 ltd that popped up for $78.

[Brendon_t]

14 minutes ago, JohnG said:

I've found myself seriously considering buying a Domino. I'm not too excited about spending $1k on it though. Would you all consider buying one used from Craigslist or would it not be worth the savings? Is there something that goes bad on these that I should look out for if I do buy used?

I check festoolrecon occasionally, but haven't seen one on there yet.

I bought mine used on CL. 600  for the 500 with the huge assortment of Domino's. I'd do it again today

[wdwerker]

I bought mine used around 1/2 price  during the recession from a company going under. It's one of the original version. I've used it in my small custom pro shop for at least 8 years now. I broke a part once and Festool sent me a new part second day air at no charge. It gets used constantly. 

If you use plywood or 3/4" stock much get the "Domiplate" by Seneca. Great accessory !

[JohnG]

Well, I had worked myself up and convinced myself the purchase would be worth the price tag. Drove to the local Woodcraft all excited, but they were sold out. Guess I should have called ahead.

Are there any good charts/info on selecting bit sizes and tenon widths and lengths for the domino? I know that generally traditional tenons are recommended to be sized 1/3 material thickness. 

[Brendon_t]

I have the 500 and primarily work with 4/4 and 8/4. I have 5,6,8, and 10mm CMT bits. 90 percent of what I do use the 5 or 10. Only reason the 8mm isn't brand new is because I used dual 8's instead of a ten on a more structural load piece.  If there are charts that tell you what to use, it won't be as good as your eyes looking at the piece and knowing what you need. 

[wdwerker]

I used 4 mm tiny dominos with 1/2" Baltic Birch for a while then I switched to 5/8 Baltic (which is actually 15 mm) and use 5 mm dominos to build basic plywood drawers. 6 mm dominos with 3/4" stock & ply.  8 mm w 5/4 stock. 10 mm w 8/4 stock.  

I used 8 mm dominos stacked in 2 rows for a really strong joint in 8/4 stock. So it was 4 tenons in a 8/4 x 8" wide area, right angle butt joint.

If you want the max from a 500 machine I make tenon stock to fit all 3 of the cutting widths. Drum sand the stock to an exact thickness then round over the corners on the router table. I make them about 1/16 th loose to allow for glue & ease the fit some. When ever you need a wider tenon make all 3 widths for that thickness out of whatever scrap hardwood is handy in 18" - 24" lengths. 

[JohnG]

2 hours ago, Brendon_t said:

I have the 500 and primarily work with 4/4 and 8/4. I have 5,6,8, and 10mm CMT bits. 90 percent of what I do use the 5 or 10. Only reason the 8mm isn't brand new is because I used dual 8's instead of a ten on a more structural load piece.  If there are charts that tell you what to use, it won't be as good as your eyes looking at the piece and knowing what you need. 

This is helpful. I primarily use 3/4-4/4 stock and had assumed the 5mm would be fine for this. But when I saw the 5mm tenons at the store, they looked a bit wimpy and I started to doubt my assumption. I know the 5mm will be more than enough for panel alignment. I was mostly trying to avoid starting a project and having to stop in the middle of it to go buy a different sized bit for the domino. I'll probably just stick with the 5mm until I find that I need something else.

 

2 hours ago, wdwerker said:

If you want the max from a 500 machine I make tenon stock to fit all 3 of the cutting widths. Drum sand the stock to an exact thickness then round over the corners on the router table. I make them about 1/16 th loose to allow for glue & ease the fit some. When ever you need a wider tenon make all 3 widths for that thickness out of whatever scrap hardwood is handy in 18" - 24" lengths. 

I had seen you recommend this in another post and took note of it. Great idea. I'll have to see if the roundover bits I have are close enough.

[Chet]

3 hours ago, JohnG said:

I know the 5mm will be more than enough for panel alignment.

When it comes to panel alignment I just use the small 4 mm dominos.  Your not using them to provide any strength and the more space you take up in the edge with dominos, the less glue surface you have... Technically. 

[Chestnut]

The manual from festool and their use guide are very helpful in laying out tenon choices and placement.

[JohnG]

I did a thing...

Picked up the DF-500 and tenon/bit assortment this morning. Had one last moment of panic and doubt when they gave me the total, but I'm glad I got them. Now I just need to find some time to use it!

[Chestnut]

The panic and doubt skills subside when you get a few projects done. Don't forget you can use it as a mortiser and make tenons the old fashioned way. I've been doing this a lot more lately.

[JohnG]

Good tip, I’ll probably do that.

I don’t at all regret buying it, it just adds up quick, and I bought some other things as well. Before I knew it I was at the price tag of the DF-700.

I’ve received a lot of requests (family and friends) for some of the smaller projects I’ve done recently, so I’m going to do some small batches of pieces to sell. I’ll make far less $/hr than in my normal work, but it’ll be nice for my shop to generate a bit of cash I can put into new tools or lumber for my own projects. The Domino will make this feasible, and will be useful for my own projects as well.