Festool - Domino DF 500 (Rating: 5)

I scratched an old itch a couple of weeks ago and bought a Domino. I'm making a bed frame and this was the perfect project for this tool. Lots of slats and rails, lots of domino joints. It needed a slight calibration out of the box but was pretty easy to do, and has been a real force multiplier in saving me lots of time. I still have a ways to go on it and the domino work is mostly done, but it really has surpassed all of my expectations. It really is simple to use and as accurate you would want it to be. You just have to make sure its being held firmly down on the work otherwise it will move and elongate the mortise. The tenons are fairly affordable, I'll buy them instead of making them myself. The sustainer came with all five sizes of cutters, I do think it's kind of silly they don't include that with the tool but as an accessory. Ergonomics are very good, not too much resistance in the plunge motion and the power button is right where it should be and snaps back to off when pushed down.

I think the only real hang up I have with it is the fence up and down adjustment for board thickness. This assembly is all aluminum and the fence slides up and down on a milled track. It seems fairly rough like it's grinding over a rough surface, expecting to see aluminum shavings falling out but none have appeared. It does work though, and locks down securely. I'm not too worried about tit.

Product Wood Rectangle Ingredient Cuisine


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The tool is expensive, a lot of folks are hung up on it and bad-mouthing festool for it. Well yea, it is overpriced to be sure. And until someone comes up with a tool that does the same thing in a different enough way to skirt the festool patents, this thing is not getting any cheaper. I happened to have the cash so this is me treating myself for being such a great guy. Looking forward to the next project.

UPDATE

I called Festool Support about the rough movement of the fence. The phone rang, made two menu choices and in seconds a guy answers. An American guy, who spoke English even! And furthermore, he was not some phone operator reading from a list of canned answers, he was a hardware tech with lots of first hand experience on the tools he's advising on.

Astonishing!

Anyway, it turns out that the locking lever needed a small adjustment to give the fence enough room to move free in the ways. It took 5 minutes. Great tool and the service is what every company should aspire to.

Wayne