Question for those who chose a Domino 700 over a 500

[Andy Shearon]

Okay, here's a targeted question for those who pondered buying a 500, or getting the 700 with the Seneca RTS-500 bit adapter to have access to the full range of domino sizes, and bought the 700 w/ RTS-500 adapter and adapter plate for 3/4 sheet goods...

Now that you went with the larger tool and have a little experience with it, any regrets in not buying the smaller machine for working with 5 and 6 mm dominos? Maybe 90% of my work would be fine with the smaller domino, but I have ~20 chairs in my near future which would really benefit from the deeper tenons I could get from the 700. The rest of my planned work would be just fine with the 500 series domino.

Andy

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Andy, I went the other way. Pondered the 700 a lot, and went with the 500. I decided I didn't need the bigger tenons often enough to justify the extra cost, and when I did I could do them another way. Turns out, I've never wished it made bigger tenons. I know I'm not the respondent you are try to catch, but that's my $.02 anyhow.

[Prashun Patel]

I own a 500 and if $$ was not an issue, I'd pick a 700. I would appreciate the flexibility to use it on tables and chairs. Chairs especially, since the first is usually fun, the next 5 are just tedious...

[Mike Henderson]

Chairs especially, since the first is usually fun, the next 5 are just tedious...

My sentiments exactly. Making a set of chairs is tedious.

But given that, I have the 500 and haven't had a situation where I wanted a bigger unit.

Mike

[Erik Christensen]

I have had the 500 for years - buy domino's in case lots but use 5mm more than the other 3 sizes combined. Most often for cabinet case work.

That said I have some doors I want to make and I really lust after the 700. Of all the WW tools I have the domino is a game changer - more so even than my discovery of high quality hand planes. It does things so easy that are all but impossible with any other tool that you forget what it was like before you owned one.

if you do more plywood casework then the 500 is the best choice

but if you do doors, chairs, post & beam structures, etc then the 700 would be the way to roll

[Mike Leung]

I have recently purchased a 700 and was going through a similar situation. Most of my projects will use 6 or 8mm tenons but I plan on building a couple of outdoor gates. I need to make deeper tenons sometimes for strength. After Seneca introduced the reground 6mm bit, I made up my mind and placed my order for the 700. I didn't want to buy both tools so I am happy that I will be able to cut 6,8,10,12 and 14mm wide mortises. Most importantly I can able to cut deep 70mm mortises. The retractable pin system on the 700 is superior to the paddle and round pins on the 500. The angled handle is more comfortable for me to plunge with. The extra weight of the XL is not an issue for me as I only use it in my shop and it also is known to add stability when plunging. If you can afford it get the 700 and the Seneca accessories for the most versatility. The only advantage I see with the 500 is the price and weight.

[Sam Babbage]

I own the 500 personally, but use both at work. Despite my usual tendency to recommend overkill in case of necessity I think the 500 is much better for furniture, I use it virtually every day. The 700 I would be lucky to pick up once a month. The 500 is just a lot better size for 90 percent of furniture.

I've made over a hundred chairs with the 500 (from the early pin days) and have yet to have a failure. Unless you are pushing the envelope with cantilevered designs etc, 56 mm tenons are fine.

[Kevin Jenness]

Given your plans, the 500 would be your best choice. You can gang up smaller tenons for your chairs, and for smaller scale work the 500 is more handy. I have used both machines. The 700 has been very useful for certain doors and casework with thick components, but is a bit unwieldy for smaller parts and has a largish distance from the bit to the tool base which makes it less effective for small scale casework. I prefer my stationary slot mortiser for large frame tenons, but the Domino machines make panel t-joints as easy, stronger and more precise than a biscuit joiner. Not that I have given up on biscuit joiners.

[Andy Shearon]

Hmm. Sam, were any of the chairs you built bar stools? Your argument's pretty convincing given the experience of using both. My underlying concern is the large lever arm of my son leaning back on the bar stool stressing the joints.

I should clarify that my fallback for doing large M&T joints is to go back to the quasi-manual route - no mortising machine in the shop. Also, the reason for getting the Domino is the same as you professionals out there - my time is limited in the shop, so productivity is more important in the near term until some needed projects complete, and the wife stops bugging me to finish projects -probably 4 years or so of targeted projects are already in the queue for the new house...

Andy

[Sam Babbage]

I've made mostly traditional dining chairs, in a variety of styles, and carvers. I've made a few dozen dominoed stools, some with backs, never had a problem with them either. I assume the joint you are concerned about is the side seat rail to rear leg, as this is the joint that usually fails in chairs. In a traditionally proportioned chair there just isn't enough material in the rear leg to take any advantage of the greater size of the 700 sized tenons. Don't be afraid to make your own domino stock, you can make them in any of the three "widths" and dock them to 56 (54 actual) if you want slightly longer ones. That said I don't think I've used anything but standard 8x50 dominos, two in each joint, supported by corner blocks under/supporting the seat.

[mreza Salav]

I just finished building 31 interior doors and finished a large entry unit a few months ago. I wish I had 700. I have the 500 and would swap that out with 700 in a heart beat and will pay on top.

[Andy Shearon]

I've made mostly traditional dining chairs, in a variety of styles, and carvers. I've made a few dozen dominoed stools, some with backs, never had a problem with them either. I assume the joint you are concerned about is the side seat rail to rear leg, as this is the joint that usually fails in chairs. In a traditionally proportioned chair there just isn't enough material in the rear leg to take any advantage of the greater size of the 700 sized tenons. Don't be afraid to make your own domino stock, you can make them in any of the three "widths" and dock them to 56 (54 actual) if you want slightly longer ones. That said I don't think I've used anything but standard 8x50 dominos, two in each joint, supported by corner blocks under/supporting the seat.

That's the joint! Hmm, Collectively it looks like the primary argument for getting the larger is to support projects larger than chairs, which isn't even in the mid-term future for me. Anyone else want to throw in their two cents? Amazon is calling my name for a weekend of Domino experimenting!

Andy

[Bill Orbine]

As some have said, your choice of the machine would depend on the size of the mortise and tenons needed. For a majority of my work, I use 6 or 8 millimeter bits. Sometimes 10 and 5 millimeter. Rarely I need anything larger, but if I do, I resort to other methods of joinery. With that in mind, I'm happy with the 500. When the 700 came out, a few years later after I purchased the 500, I pondered the thought of having the larger machine. I thought that if I didn't have either machine today, the 500 would be my choice simply because it does job and the 700 is quite a machine to be lugging around the shop for smaller tenons.