To Domino or not to Domino

Hi Bill….My opinion….Get the tablesaw and planer first. You can do so many things with the table saw and some jigsl. The domino only does one thing. Mortise with a router or drill press and chisels. If you have tons of cash and can get it all go for it…. But a tablesaw is a must.

If you have a homeDepot credit card they send 10% off coupons once in a while.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

I would tend to agree with John. Are you making lots of stuff using M&T Joints?

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Bill,

You know I am all about the Domino and will have one soon. As a professional it is a no brainer to get the Domino.

But, I would tend to agree with the other guys about buying the basics first. If your tool usage priveleges are good and not too inconvenient, you might shoot for the Domino. The ease and speed of joinery is very dramatic compared to a mortiser and I have a good floor model mortising machine too. My opinion on the Domino is based on using it in my shop on a real world project and not on a couple of test cuts in the store.

Wayne brings up a very valid point, how many M&T joints will you be making? The Domino would pay for itself quickly if you are doing very many, and by improving your profit margins you will be able to get the other tools any way. Cabinet shops do all kinds of projects and never have to use M&T joints. It just depends on what you plan on building.

I almost forgot to add that you can buy just the Festool hose and hook it up to your existing shopvac. That is exactly what I do and I use an electronicly switched outlet from Sears or Woodcraft. I empty my shopvac 2 – 3 times a day and blow out the filter as needed. The Festool bags would get pretty expensive if throwing them out at that rate.

Good luck with your decision.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

I’d go for the saw, & accessories first. Wait, & get the Festool later. Besides I’m sure the competition may come out later with something that’s comparable bringing down the price.
I remember when biscuit jointer’s first came out, they were pretty pricey.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I agree Dick… The prices will come down once Jet or someone makes their own version..

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Hi Bill,

I have a Domino and it IS the best thing since sliced bread. However, I wouldn’t trade my planer or tablesaw for one. It’s a fantastic tool. It allows me to do things in a way that goes beyond just mortise and tenon joinery. If you look at the Festool Owners Group, you can see the absolute wonderful things that I’m sure not even Festool considered. BUT, and it’s a great big BUT…the tablesaw and planer, followed by a jointer and bandsaw…then the Domino. You see, there alot of things that have to happen before you can join wood. Dimensioning it is the real big one. Good luck with your decision!

Tom

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Just a quick thought, Dick. How long after Lamello patented the biscuit joiner, did the first copies start hitting the market? I ask, because I have no idea.

Tom

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Bill I’d go with the saw and jointer. A table saw could be used for 4-5 hours a day every day. The Festool would not have that utilization

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Bill, I think it’s unanimous. Whilst a great tool, the Domino is probably the last power tool you would purchase.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Bill, I agree with everyone else. You may want to check out the last, WoodWhisper podcast where they ask about the Domino and http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/wood/story/data/1178129509968.xml&catref=cat5610002, where they discuss loose tenon tools. I think you will find it very informative and helpful in your decission.

-- Jesus is Lord!

Thank you all. I knew I could count on you all to ground me. Sometimes we get an idea into our heads and it can overrule common sense. Basics first, then the niceties.

Thanks for the link Os, it was a nice video. I will be looking for the Wood magazine to see the results of their strength test for these different joints.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Hi Bill. I agree with everyone else. I have a Domino but could live without it. I couldn’t live without my table saw or jointer.

-- Andrew

Bill,

One comment that you made is that you could not get wide boards through your jointer. Sounds like you need a bigger jointer. :-)

A jointer makes a board flat and square to it’s bed. A planer makes two surfaces parallel. Unless you build a special sled for the planer, you will not get flat wide boards with a planer.

You (and probably everybody else) knew all that – I just thought that I would mention it “out loud.”

Anyway, don’t forget to post pictures of your own shop with the new Rigid table saw, Rigid jointer and new Rigid planer!

-- John

Tom’
The years have been going by so fast nowadays, but I don’t think it was too long after.

I ended up buying a Porter-Cable , one of their first ones, for about $65.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Todd,

If you use a secondary on your dust collection you would not fill the bags up so quickly.

-- John

I’m all for the saw and planer.

-- Steffen

Glad that Woodspar mentioned the co-planar function of using the jointer to register an edge and face at ninety degrees followed by the thickness planer.
I probably will never make enough M&T joints (I’m a small box guy primarily) to justify a Domino. But just to add another tool to the basic must have catagory, I would add a drum sander ala Performax-Jet. For highly figured woods and thin wood/veneer, I’m not sure how I ever got by without one. The 10-20 fit my pocketbook and project range beautifully.
Now nearly every bit of rough lumber I true up runs through the sander as a last step before cutting the joinery.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I will probably end up buying a Domino before I buy a planer, although that could all change when I go look at wood for my next purchase, but…

If the tablesaws you’re looking at are under a thousand bucks, consider going with a Festool dust collector, one of the circular saws, and an MFT. That way you start “the Festool slide” (they should trademark that phrase) early, you get almost all of the same cutting you can do with a tablesaw (no dadoes, I use a router, and thin rips may be a little harder) plus much better ability to break down sheet goods, and safety that you’re not going to find in a tablesaw until you get into the several thousands (this last point is important to me because my Dad’s got a few short fingers).

If you don’t have a saw/rail combo or a tablesaw yet, then, yeah, you’ve gotta get something to cut the wood before you worry too much about joining it.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

I agree with Dan on the Festool plunge cut circular saw and the MFT You would be amazed at how quickly you can set up and use this saw, and how accurate it is. You can use the MFT every day in an amazing number of ways. If you get the Festool dust collector, make sure you look at the 22 or the 33. as the mini does not take the HEPA filters.

-- John

and don’t forget that going to Dad’s to use his tools gives a good reason for a visit…

I’m with the “how often will use the tool” question

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Just for full coverage, even though I’m a Festoolie myself, take a look at the Hiltie saw with the EZ Smart rails, too.

However, once you go for the dust collection you’ll have trouble looking back. You could, for instance, just buy the Festool saw and the MFT (with a set of rail joiners, you get one rail with the saw and one rail with the table, the rail joiners give you enough length that you can break down a full 8’ sheet, and some of the clamps), but even when I have the option of cutting outside I drag the dust collector along now.

Must. Stop. The. Evangelical. Verve… But that comes from two things, one that I’m really happy with my Festool purchases, and admittedly everyone’s working style is different and there are up sides and down sites to every set of tools and every direction in technique, but it also comes from having seen the downsides of a table saw mishap (second hand), and realizing that a SawStop or euroslider is cheap in comparison. There are a couple of threads right now over at the Festool Owner’s Group on what you can and can’t do with a saw on a rail versus a tablesaw, give those a look.

Oh, and this planter box was Saturday evening’s project. Did I mention that it was done in the living room, over a wool rug, where we have four computers? Cutting with tools hooked up to Festool’s medium sized dust collector (which also doubles as our vacuum cleaner).

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

good question Bill. You have gotten some good advice. I’m waiting on some competition for Domino. There is no way that the little tool couldn’t be duplicated in another brand name and sold for $200. I’m just waiting I guess. I saw the same thing with the Lamello when it first came out.

-- Mark DeCou - Kansas Flinthill's Artisan

Well, Bill you’ve certainly gotten a lot of talk going. I keep looking at the Domino. I’m pretty friendly with teh owner of the Wood Craft in Boise. He is a big proponent of it (of course). I tried a similar idea called Beadlock which cost about $50. It works but is almost a bigger pain in the butt than cuttin the mortises by hand. A pretty good mortise machine is half what the Domino costs and you can get a tenon guide for your table saw for about $75. The up side is the Festool line it self. I don’t think there is a better line of tools out there. (check out Wood Shop Demos). John Lucas has really put them to the test. I tend to trust John to tell it like it is and he is really high on the Festool line. I’m with Mark, I’ll wait for the competition.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Bill,
I do not have the Domino, but it is on my list. I would have to agree with the consensus, table saw and jointer first. I do not know if you have a Rockler near you but they have a Jet contractor’s table saw with cast iron wings for $499 plus a free $50 Rockler card on sale right now, very good deal from my eyes! I have that saw and love it.

http://www.rockler.com/index.cfm?cookietest=1

Dale

-- Dale, Pittsburgh PA

Well the Domino has been a helpful tool indeed. The last end tables I built were done with the Domino. It made it much easier than doing the mortises by hand.

The one thing I liked about the Domino better than a dedicated mortising machine was I could cut mortises in a variety of positions and lengths of wood that might not be handled in the mortise machine.

Someday, someone will probably have a competing product. I do not know how long that will be, but it may be a few years. Until then, I am enjoying the Domino.

I am still waiting on the table saw, but since I am working in my Dad’s shop, I already have access to a Ridgid table saw.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

I would get the domino after having one… You have access to the table saw already right… I just got mine and it is very cool…

Drew

-- Drew, Pleasant Grove, Utah

Congrats Drew. What have you made with it? I made a couple of end tables, used it for my print stand, and have used it on the potting table I am working on. It takes me longer to set up the work, mark the spacing, etc, than actually using the tool. It is sure a time saver, as well as a work saver.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

I don’t know enough about the Domino to make a comparative response, but I can say the Ridgid TS3650 table saw has been a nice thing to have and priced right as well. When I got mine it was priced $550, with an added 10% off for putting it on a new home depot account. Have had no complaints at all with it.

-- --==[ Pappy ]==--