Thread: DIY Furniture: Dowelmax or Festool Domino?

I'm starting to wonder why you asked the question...

Well, sometimes being provocative is the best way to get people to defend a product, and then you find out things about it.

sometimes being provocative is the best way to get people to defend a product

Seems to have worked well on you

Touché

Have you used either of these tools or just going by the pictures
Try the Domino at a Festool dealer that is set up for demos
The cost is steep but after a while you realize that the tool is exceptional
This is not a marketing ploy that has us Domino fans hooked it is the tool
BTW this is the only Festool that I have... why because I cannot afford any others yet
les

I'd like to see the "extremely easy" method of making your own Domino tenons before deciding.

I had a router book from the library that talked about making "double tenon" joints with a router. The mortices were cut with a suitable shop made jig on the router. The "double tenon" biscuit was made on the router table with a rounding over bit. Pass a long plank through 4 times and then cut off lengths. I would guess you could make a domino in a similar way? You could make a variety of sizes too (never used a domino but from memory you can do different sized nortices with it?)

Peter

Peter's right on the money. In fact you can use a chamfer bit to make it even easier. You can make hundreds of tenons in only an hour or so and in any timber you want to use.

I have to ask if you really are comparing the two for use in your workshop. You seem unable to give any strong points for the Domino, which makes me think you're either looking a pics ( as Les queried) or reading a sales script. If in fact you think the Dowel MAx is that good, why bother with this question. Seems superfluous.

Thanks Peter for the suggestion. LGS, I am inclined to vote against Domino because I believe Australian buyers of their products are subsidising US buyers of their products. When I lived in the US, I saw them to be half the price of what they are here.

So anyway, I was searching for a thread here about making Domino tenons/dowels and instead turned up some offputting stuff, namely:

Inconsistent slot heights
http://woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=68993

Faulty springs (in such an expensive tool, kinda shocking, where's the famous Hun QA?):
http://woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=36288

The Domino: "I am absolutely sick of this tool":
http://woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=51705

2 domino joints failing on one table:
http://woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=52984

So you've made your decision. Why keep on about it?

No, I haven't yet, but those threads are helping. This forum's older posts are a real gold mine of information.

Originally Posted by LGS

So you've made your decision. Why keep on about it?

He's hoping some Festool fan out there will offer to send him a freebie just to change his mind

Peter

(and if there is a Festool fan out there willing to send a freebie PM for my address)

Originally Posted by US-Oz

No, I haven't yet, but those threads are helping. This forum's older posts are a real gold mine of information.

I've gone back to the link in your original post

the front page shows a piece with 60 joints (though I count at least 90) at 5 minutes per joint, that's 5 hours of joint making ! or 7.5 hours (if there's really 90 joints)

Don't know about you, but given the other demands on my recreation time (kids sport, time with the family, church) that would translate to at least 1 whole weekend in the shed, if not 2, and averaging 5 mins per joint would be out of the question (after factoring in start up and clean up time each weekend) so it might even extend to 3 weekends just cutting joints.

when I've used a Domino, timings have been more like 15 to 20 seconds per joint.

you can see where I'm going



ian

Originally Posted by US-Oz

LGS, I am inclined to vote against Domino because I believe Australian buyers of their products are subsidising US buyers of their products. When I lived in the US, I saw them to be half the price of what they are here.

So, you admit that you are not really comparing the two, you are just on a Festool whinge? You won't buy a Domino because they are too expensive in OZ. This is a bit different reasoning than your first post would indicate.