Thinking about taking the plunge for the 700. Cost is the biggest issue, not only the initial purchase but the cost of the wood dominos. Are there other aftermarket dominos that you have tried, and are satisfied with? will be making oak coffee tables & farm type tables for family. I am probably going to use the 12/14 mm x 100/140 mm sizes.
festool 700 dominos
- Thread starter rusty
- Start date
I make my own regularly, especially the bigger sizes.
By accident I came across the idea of using "through" dominos as a decorative idea. After cutting all my mortises for a cabinet carcass, I absentmindedly assembled it out of order and didn't notice until I had glued and clamped everything that there was no way to put the back on with dominos. My first inclination was to simply glue and clamp it in and be done with it, but then I hit on the idea of simply cutting through the sides and bottom of the cabinet. It was just for the shop, so I didn't care about appearance. I ended up liking the look and will make this "mistake" again.
Then I found this video by a guy who found the same idea:
Then I found this video by a guy who found the same idea:
I cut my own as well. It is not too difficult and much cheaper to use scrap wood as long as you don't count your time.
I have a 700 and it was indeed expensive. But I have not purchased a single tenon. I got a few with the tool from the original owner so I have used some 12mm ones. Nothing at all wrong with them. But the cost, like most things Festool, is silly high for me. Probably a lot more reasonable if you do woodworking for a living. I do it as a hobby.
I do not buy Festool cutters either. Amana cutters seem to be a little better than CMT but I have some of both and they work well.
I sometimes just cut the tenons on the table saw but I am more accurate if I cut them a little oversize in thickness and then plane them to final thickness. I round over the tenons on my router table. You could do it on a hand held palm router. I make up sticks of material 3 feet or less long from scraps. But I also make custom size tenons when the plans call for a wider tenon. I think making my own tenons helps avoid a risk with the Domino. I think sometimes people end up with a smaller tenon than they need because they use the premade Festool tenons. By making my own I know how easy it is and it removes a temptation.
I do not buy Festool cutters either. Amana cutters seem to be a little better than CMT but I have some of both and they work well.
I sometimes just cut the tenons on the table saw but I am more accurate if I cut them a little oversize in thickness and then plane them to final thickness. I round over the tenons on my router table. You could do it on a hand held palm router. I make up sticks of material 3 feet or less long from scraps. But I also make custom size tenons when the plans call for a wider tenon. I think making my own tenons helps avoid a risk with the Domino. I think sometimes people end up with a smaller tenon than they need because they use the premade Festool tenons. By making my own I know how easy it is and it removes a temptation.
Lots of good info. First project for dominos will be oak coffee table, 48" x 26 x 17.
Top will be 1 x 6 flat oak boards. Aprons will be rectangular 1 1/2 x 2 3/4. Planning on double inline #12 dominos 100mm long, should give me 2" penetration with 3/16 to 1/4" gaps between edges. legs will be about 3" sq., with inside tapers. Going to use beech dominos, should be good enough. Will make my own dominos after first project complete. Festool suggests hardwood dominos for exterior application, any thoughts?
Top will be 1 x 6 flat oak boards. Aprons will be rectangular 1 1/2 x 2 3/4. Planning on double inline #12 dominos 100mm long, should give me 2" penetration with 3/16 to 1/4" gaps between edges. legs will be about 3" sq., with inside tapers. Going to use beech dominos, should be good enough. Will make my own dominos after first project complete. Festool suggests hardwood dominos for exterior application, any thoughts?
I guess its none of my business, but for that kind of money, I would have to really examine why I need it, seeing that floating tenons can easily be made with router and an efficient set up.
If you're a production shop, fine, but for a hobbyist - that's a lot of money sitting on the shelf 90% of the time.
It certainly wasn't the game changer I though thought it would be so I sold mine last year for $250 more than I paid for it.
If you're a production shop, fine, but for a hobbyist - that's a lot of money sitting on the shelf 90% of the time.
It certainly wasn't the game changer I though thought it would be so I sold mine last year for $250 more than I paid for it.
When I was in college, I had a part-time job in a production woodworking shop. I spent a lot of time cutting mortises with a router and a series of jigs. Nothing like the Domino tool existed then, but it is still hard to beat a plunge router and a good template for cutting mortises. Mortising machines, are pretty good, too. I have a Powermatic mortise tool, and it cuts accurate mortises very quickly. Making loose tenons is a piece of cake with a table saw and a router table. At $300 or $400 a loose tenon tool would be a lot more attractive than $1600. Once the patent expires, I expect that there will be a lot of clones on the market.
This one looks promising. The size of the router motor and collet that fits it will slow it down but at a quarter of the price...GANWEI 2-In-1 Slotting Adjustable Wood Trimming Machine Holder Eletric Trimmer Holder Bracket for 65mm Trimming Machine
For the price, you can't beat it!
Rusty,
I think your plan for the coffee tables is sound. I recently made two that have 4 inch high aprons and they are attached to the 2x2 legs by two 12mm dominos. I forget the length but I put them further into the aprons than the legs, mainly because I could. For my 4 inch aprons the domino tenons could be spaced out, yours will need to just about touch, I think. In that situation you might want to just make up a wider tenon and do one more plunge of the domino tool. I don't think you need to do this for strength reasons but I find it easier to have fewer pieces to assemble - and it will be stronger. (My apron is so tall because I have storage in the coffee table)
I used my domino to make the joints on a gate to my dock. The gate is made of treated pine and painted. I had some treated lumber that was dry and I made the tenons out of that. If your coffee table will be used outside I would use epoxy or at least Titebond III for the assembly. But I wouldn't worry about the tenon material. If they see water something bad has already happened.
Jim
I think your plan for the coffee tables is sound. I recently made two that have 4 inch high aprons and they are attached to the 2x2 legs by two 12mm dominos. I forget the length but I put them further into the aprons than the legs, mainly because I could. For my 4 inch aprons the domino tenons could be spaced out, yours will need to just about touch, I think. In that situation you might want to just make up a wider tenon and do one more plunge of the domino tool. I don't think you need to do this for strength reasons but I find it easier to have fewer pieces to assemble - and it will be stronger. (My apron is so tall because I have storage in the coffee table)
I used my domino to make the joints on a gate to my dock. The gate is made of treated pine and painted. I had some treated lumber that was dry and I made the tenons out of that. If your coffee table will be used outside I would use epoxy or at least Titebond III for the assembly. But I wouldn't worry about the tenon material. If they see water something bad has already happened.
Jim
Rusty, did you finally spring for the purchase of the Festool Domino 700? That's a very fine machine and I'm tempted myself now and again, but I find my smaller Domino DF 500 does almost everything I want in small-to-medium size floating tenon joinery. For the larger tenon needs, I know it's heresy among the hardcore woodworking aficionadi, but for an alternative to buying the Festool DF 700, I found my trusty old Shopsmith (yep, Shopsmith!) in horizontal boring mode (with dowels and a set of dowel points) is a fine substitute.
To me the big advantages of the domino are speed, accuracy, and space savings. I have made mortises with a plunge router and they came out nice but there was a lot of setup time before the first was cut. Domino takes a lot less setup. I also used to own a benchtop hollow chisel mortiser. Less setup, about like a domino, but the mortises it cut were rougher and periodically the chisels and bits needed to be replaced or sharpened. They are tool steel, not carbide like the domino cutters. The hollow chisel is also not as versatile. With traditional mortise/tenon joints I needed to cut the tenon and trim it to size with a rabbet plane. That step is not needed with the domino. Lastly, the domino is a very compact tool which stores easily below my workbench. Even the jigs to use the plunge router to make mortises takes up more space. For my little shop, the domino is a game changer.
I did a dresser with through tenons to hold the sides to the front of the drawers. I like it enough I bought a HF dovetail jig and stripped it down to hold the front and sides in alignment for the cuts. I used through dowels similarly years ago. It is a very simple way to make a visually interesting drawer. You have to use 1/2 inch or thinner drawer sides but I normally do anyway.
I did a dresser with through tenons to hold the sides to the front of the drawers. I like it enough I bought a HF dovetail jig and stripped it down to hold the front and sides in alignment for the cuts. I used through dowels similarly years ago. It is a very simple way to make a visually interesting drawer. You have to use 1/2 inch or thinner drawer sides but I normally do anyway.
Attachments
Dr Bob, Like you, even with tape, I, too, often have had the same tear-out experience when using typical domestic (or Chinese import) 5- or 7-ply plywood. But in Baltic birch or Appleply types of plywood (˘≥11 ply), my DF 500 Domino cuts quite cleanly. One solution in getting tear-out-free through-cut Domino holes is to use a backer board. I don't own a DF 700, but I presume it would perform the same even with its much larger cutters.
@Donna, You're probably right. I was using it in good quality prefinished ply, yeah, probably Chinese. But for me it was just an exercise in something new. Production wise, I don't see it worth the effort really. Too much stuff to keep track of, too many chances of a mistake. If I had 20 drawers to make, no way, but that's me.
My experience with the Domino wasn't as good as others. I constantly had issues with alignment, whether registering off table or using fence. I got better alignment with biscuits.
After looking at $$ sitting on the shelf 95% of the time, I chose to sell it, for $200 more than I paid for it. I've never missed it once.
My experience with the Domino wasn't as good as others. I constantly had issues with alignment, whether registering off table or using fence. I got better alignment with biscuits.
After looking at $$ sitting on the shelf 95% of the time, I chose to sell it, for $200 more than I paid for it. I've never missed it once.
Dr Bob, Well, I'd say you found real value in the Domino. Anytime a tool brings more on resale that it cost, I'd say that's a wise investment. When I first got mine, I had some frustrations just as you describe, but the more I used it, I got the hang of it, and now it's almost second nature. For me a Domino (the DF 500 in my case) is indispensable in my joinery work, and I use it in practically everything I make -- though I do confess to lusting in my heart for a Mafell duo doweller, not as a replacement for, but rather an addition to, my Festool Domino.
Premier Sponsor
Our Sponsors
LATEST FOR SALE LISTINGS
-
-
-
SOLD -- $75: Gast moa v113 Vacuum Pump Veneer, 60" bag and board- Started by peterdnight
- Replies: 1
-
GONE: Gladiator 5 cleats, 10 hangers, Paper Towel and Shelf
- Started by peterdnight
- Replies: 3
-
SOLD -- $100 Makita mac700 portable air + grex pin nailer + 2 others + 50' hose
- Started by peterdnight
- Replies: 1