Festool Domino (Cheating on the Blog)

Well Os has the right idea if you can not afford the Domino. I have been thinking of the beadlock for awhile, since I do make floating tenons at times. A Domino would be great, but there are other higher priority items for me right now.

Love the idea… The thing that sucks is I know a bit about Festool and they (at least one of the VPs and several other employees there) are religious bigots… (I don't say such things lightly) so I am conflicted about owning one. I have been avoiding them for years but this looks like the kind of think I would love to have in my new shop.

Drew

Wow.. religious bigots.. that's two ugly words in a row. I know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, but I hate "religious" people. They tend to be more religious than spiritual. And bigots to boot… I know they'll have to answer for that one.

Drew… to thine own self be true. If you buying their tools, is a conflict of spirit… don't buy one.

Click on this, Domino, to look at video demo.

Thanks for posting the link to the Domino, I just finished watching it. I will admit it is a pricey tool upfront, but after trying it out, I see the potential for it very quickly earn it's keep.

I also understand that I work out of my shop on a more serious level than many. My budget is not necessarily bigger than the others, it's just that I can't afford to NOT buy tools that will make me money. I could have dramatically decreased my labor on the sofa table that I just completed.

I like the looks of the product as well, but will wait. I just bought a Leigh jig with the M&T attachment, so I will be trying that out first. I am expecting a large improvement over my current method of drill and chisel. If I can get mortises that look as good as Obi's coffee table joints, then I will be happy (for now).

They're having a Domino demonstration at my local Woodcraft sometime next month. I'm looking forward to seeing this thing in action.

You guys won't believe how easy it is to do joints. Imagine M&T joints as easy as a biscuit joint. It is amazing! And I fully trust the joint after using it. It is a money maker if you do any work out of the shop. If you can get a commission or two and just get this tool out of the job, you will never regret it.

I dont want to hijack the thread… I hate people who wear their religion on their sleeves so to speak… Posatively or negatively… I dont what to know who you like or don't like when it comes to where you go on sunday or for that matter saturday morning. Show me what you believe by how you behave and if I am interested and impressed… Ill ask. When people walk in somewhere and because there are is a predominant religion in an area they ask if you are a whatever and then change their behaviour based on that it pisses me off. (I don't ask nor do I offer what my beliefs are even at work to people I have known in that setting for years… Perhapse it is a German thing?) Aside from that I think the domino looks Dang good. I saw a demonstration on line somewhere and the thing I was really interested in is cutting the mortise with the domino and the tenon with a router. That looks interesting… I hate it when anyone creates anything where you have to use a proprietary consumable (Like HP Color Laser Printers). (BTW anyone know what the tennons cost for the Domino?)

Drew

I did get prices on the domino tenons. They ranged in price from $ .26 to $ .52 each. Even at $.52 for the bigger ones, which would be used the most I figured, you can't beat the speed. They are still a great deal.

I had a great opportunity to try it out on a real world project in my shop, and I am sold because of the great combination of speed, accuracy, and strength. I need this combination to make money.

Drew's input aside (which I appreciate - and I agree, live by example…) It makes me think we should have invested a little in the company. Sure to get a huge bump in business now that they are selling in the USA… we'll I missed that boat. I wonder if they'll offer router bits so people can make their own dominoes as with the beadlock, but as Todd pointed out, with the speed they are offering, and the time they're saving you, you're making money with that thing.

I'd like to say I will be getting one… just not right now… I'd get a "real" lathe first, and a better tablesaw (one that didn't cost me $70 brand new a few years ago)

My own dilema with myself - would I feel like I'm not giving myself the chance to fully develop some of the fundamental skills of woodworking (i.e. mortise and tenon joinery) if I were to try and save/beg/steal/borrow to get the Domino?

With a little work, I could probably get one. With a little work, I could probably improve upon the cutting of my tenons and mortises.

Unlike Todd, I'm strictly a fun-loving hobbiest woodworker (who sells the occasional piece and still finds it hard to believe that people pay me to do what I love doing), so Time isn't Money for me.

The more I practice and try my hand tool skills, the more I enjoy that connection I'm making with the wood.

But that's the woodworking "mode" I'm in right now. I think if I were to ever take the up to more of a full-time (or at least income supplementing) level, I might have to re-evaluate my needs and buy something that so obviously increases your productivity.

I think right now my main need is to feel that connection with each piece I make.

I do appreciate the point that Ethan is making. We all have something specific that we want to get out of woodworking, and knowing the basics of creating the joints is fundamental to developing craftsman level work.

I certainly do have a certain context in which I make my decisions for buying a tool, and not everyone buys in that context. I do hope that the information and various points of view will help others to make an informed decision.

I do want to make things faster, but not to the point where I will compromise the integrity of the product. I do feel that this is a valuable tool for my level of work, and I would be able to warranty my work with confidence.

I agree with you, Todd. We all have our own approaches to woodworking. That's one of the things that makes this site so great!

And regardless of what I said in my last post… I'm still pretty dang jealous you got to give that Domino a spin! How'd you ever swing that, by the way?

The local distributor was offering for the pro shops to test drive it for a day. I was in buying supplies and they suckered me in with, "Hey, have we got something neat to show you." The great thing about it was that I didn't just cut a couple of practice joints, I had a real life application to test it on. The tool pretty much sells itself.

I just read in the latest edition of American Woodworker they are offering three Domino's for the top 3 woodworking tips submitted. Here is everyone's chance to get a Domino for free. Page 16 has the details.

Wouldn't a jig for a router work just as well for floating tenons? The cost would be less, wouldn't it? Even with the beadLock system, if you route the holes, instead of drilling, the mortises the beadLock tenon material will work well, because the shape gives the glue somewhere to squeeze out. With my SuperShop I can use my drill press as an overhead router/ shaper. Maybe I'll have to try it in this configuration to make mortises for floating tenons and see how it works. I could also use the horizontal boring configuration for this purpose, hum?

Nothing is as fast and accurate as this tool. The cost of cheaper up front is usually more expensive in the long run. In the case you are pointing out, it would be more costly time wise.

You would have to refer to my comments earlier, I have a certain context in which I buy tools, and that is as a professional trying to make money. So I do understand it would not be for everyone.

Something that you would be able to compare it to, is the purchase of your sander. It all of a sudden changes the way you work. You can work faster, and deal with materials that you never could before (difficult grain). You can now take on projects that you might have turned down before. The context in which you operate just changed. You have a different set of operating parameters. That is what the domino would do, is change the parameters for being able to make money.

Domino tenons sound expensive at $.52 @ for the biggest ones, which we would probably use the most. But, I can't make them fast enough to justify doing it myself. The pattern on the domino tenon is also going to be superior to grabbing and holding compared to the smooth floating tenons that I make (think warranty issues).

A person would have to measure the return on investment and what they want to achieve, against the cost. I bought a $1,000 hollow chisel mortiser and a WoodRat with a router, another $1,000 for M&T production. I will still get the Domino, it's that fast and good. By the way, I love my other two pieces of equipment just mentioned.

I am a architect,
a architect from Denmark,
I have to learn to make some fantastic mortise and tennons,
even only with my handtools.
So!
Even I am a BIG Festool fan,
I will have to tell my self again and again,
this tool you will not buy until you master the skill,
or get a job where you can earn the money…
But when this is said - it's a fantastic tool, and if I was a pro, I would not wait a second!
I simply love it.

I have two of their tablesaws, router, sawtable, lots of accesories and the MFT3 table aswell, and for your gadget guys out there, don't even get startet, it's a bad habbit. Festool simply rocks, and for pro's it even 'bucks'.

A handy but expensive tool, seems like all the good ones are!