Festool domino

I cant justify the price either!!! I just set up a jig and use my router. if I had to make mortise and loose tennon joints more often, I would get one!!

-- I didn't go to college, I was too busy learning stuff - Ted Nugent

Take a look at the Mortise Pal. The end result, a loose tenon, is essentially the same. However, the Mortise Pal allows for more variety in sizes.

The Mortise Pal requires you to cut the mortises using a your router and bit and the Mortise Pal jig. It is a little slower and a little less convenient than the Festool domino, but it is a lot cheaper and the end result is just as good, if not better.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

I have a domino. It was expensive, but I believe I have gotten my money’s worth from this tool. I use it on almost every project. It is very versatile with different size cutters and matching loose tenons. pkennedy

-- P Kennedy Crossville, TN

Festool too expensive ?? Check out this advertiser ;-)

-- Fred

Check out some of the higher-end dowel jigs. Trimming misaligned
parts can almost be a thing of the past with accurate doweling.

Everybody wants to obsess about joint strength – and for exterior
doors I would use nothing but mortise and tenon – but all these joint-strength
tests and one-upsmanship is a little silly for most work. Doweling,
if done right, can make stuff that’s plenty strong for most uses.

Fred – I think you have the solution… if only I still had hair…and a waistline…and a nice car…aw shucks!!

I like the woman I have just fine anyway.

I use a router and floating tennons. Michael Fortune published a great mortising jig in FWW a while back, and that is what I made. He uses 2 flute aluminium cutting end mills 3/8” so you need a special collet adaptor, or just go for the 1/4” spiral carbide.

I covet the festool Rotex 150 sander, but at 495.00 @ McFeely’s I cannot justify the price.. or 950 with the CT22 vacuum :-O !!

-- “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Mark Twain

Dave – I am very happy with the Rotex 125 and the Midi dust extraction unit. It’s still pricy, but quite a bit less than 950.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

SL,

Please be cautious about the dowel systems. I don’t want to start a debate or a lecture. Please investigate the usefulness and longevity of dowels joints on your own. You will probably decide NOT to rely on them.