Tell me why I should buy a Domino

[Jon Endres]

Once I'm done building and setting up my new shop, I have a long, long list of projects to complete. Some are simple shop projects, some are cabinets, and some are what most people would consider good furniture. I'm tired of some of the "junk" furniture that we have acquired over the years and I want to replace some of it with higher-quality, solid wood pieces. Although I don't have the immediate need or finances for it, I am considering purchasing a Festool Domino machine. However, I'm not convinced that these are as amazing as they appear to be. Especially given the high cost. Most everything I have built in my life has been either utility furniture (such as cheap pine bookshelves) or decent kitchen cabinets (plywood and pocket screws), and so far have not had the need for something like this. I used to have a Porter-Cable biscuit joiner and hated it, sold it cheap to a buddy of mine.

My preferred style of furniture is shaker or "country-style" - simple lines, strong and solid, clear finishes, natural woods. Most of what I need to build are larger pieces - a china hutch, a sideboard, a dining room table, several bookshelves (and I like barrister-style cases). Just not sure if the loose-tenon method of joinery works well with my goals and desires. For those of you who have one of these, tell me why you bought it and why you prefer it over other methods of joinery?

[Von Bickley]

I can not help you with that decision. I don't have one, don't need one, and can not justify spending that much money for one.

I do have the Jessem Doweling Jig 8350, and the Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. They will have to work for me.

[Wade Lippman]

You certainly don't need one. I made great furniture before I had one with pocket screws, and an old Stanley doweling jig I got at a garage sale for a dollar.

But I love my domino. It is fast, strong and elegant. But there are always a variety of ways to make any joint that don't require a $1,000 tool.

[Prashun Patel]

I like it because it is quick and strong.

The genius of domino is the variable width switch. You can cut one side of the joint to fit the tenon tightly and the other side wider. This little bit of slop allows you to manipulate the fit. This means layout is greatly simplified. You dont have to be that precise about your marks.

the fence can be angled and the depth can be adjusted easily. This makes it versatile in many more situations than a dowel jig.

there are pins on the face of the fance that simplify alignment. This again means layout is simplified.

the depth and height stops are indexed so unlike other jigs, resetting is easy.

Unlike other jigs, you can vary the size of the tenons you use. So it can be used for large and delicate joints alike.

Loose tenon joinery allows you to cut butt joints for all your parts. This again simplifies measurement and cutting.

I appreciate the domino more and more the longer i own it. I do believe it is genius.

i have owned the small and large units and recommend the large one. It is more versatile and with an adapter can do everything the smaller one can.

last, if you do not love it, you will be able to resell it for close to your purchase price.

[John Lanciani]

For me it is about productivity. When I'm doing something for myself woodworking is more about the journey so I use hand tools and traditional methods and enjoy every minute of it. When I'm working on a commission ( or a utility piece for my home or shop) it's all about the destination and out comes the domino (or the Leigh FMT if the domino isn't the right tool for the application) and I get it done and move on with life. The domino is easily 10x faster than doing M&T joinery with machines and 20+x faster than hand work. I can bang out all the joinery for a shaker style side table in less than 5 minutes with the domino and no one will ever know the difference.

The domino is a game changer once you learn how to play to its strengths and avoid its limitations. Mine has paid for itself many times over with its speed and accuracy.

[Mike Henderson]

In general, I do a lot of mortise and tenon furniture. Making tenons is easy on a table saw, but making mortises is difficult except with a horizontal slot mortiser. The Domino is basically a portable mortise maker. I wasn't sure I'd like it but I borrowed a friend's Domino and after using it about a week, I bought one myself. It was a good purchase (for me).

Whether it's worth it for you, only you can decide. If you can borrow one and use it a few days, it will help you make your decision.

Mike

[Cary Falk]

You can cut one side of the joint to fit the tenon tightly and the other side wider. This little bit of slop allows you to manipulate the fit. This means layout is greatly simplified. You dont have to be that precise about your marks.

Not to hijack this thread or badmouth the Domino, but this might help the OP in his decision. I hear the above statement in various forms a lot. It would seem to me that a sloppy fitting domino would defeat the purpose of a strong joint. I see tons of DIY slot mortise, horizontal router tables, Doweling jigs, Mortis pal, etc and never has anybody say they need a sloppy fit. Some people that make handmade mortis and tendons use block planes and chisels to get a perfect fit. I have the Jessem 8300 doweling jig and it is Deadly accurate. I can put 15 dowels in a board and they will line up exactly.

I thought of buying a Domino once but all of the "sloppy" comments made me pause. What I always get from these discussions is it is supper easy to make a sloppy joint. What else am I missing?

[Doug Hepler]

I have been at this seriously (30+ hours a week) for 15 years and do not own a Domino. Most of my work involves M&T joinery. I admit it took me a while to get used to making mortises with shop-made mortise jigs (most of that was getting used to using a router). Soon, however, I was very efficient cutting mortises . I eventually bought a Trend M/T jig for a few hundred dollars. It is very convenient for cutting mortises and even makes decent tenons, now that I have given up my TS. I believe that PVA glue joints are at least as strong as the wood, but I still don't fancy loose tenons.

I also use an inexpensive (Wolfcraft?) doweling jig on the few occasions when I want to use dowels.

Mainly it's the opportunity cost. I can think of many things that I would rather have for the price of a Domino.

People who have them seem to love them, so maybe I don't know what I'm missing. That's just as well because I can't (won't) play the Festool game.

Doug

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

It would seem to me that a sloppy fitting domino would defeat the purpose of a strong joint. I see tons of DIY slot mortise, horizontal router tables, Doweling jigs, Mortis pal, etc and never has anybody say they need a sloppy fit.

He didn't say sloppy fit, and it's not a sloppy fit.

The Domino is incredibly precise. So much so that there is no play at all, so if your two mortises are off by 1/64", then your parts will be off by 1/64". The Domino lets you cut the mortise slightly wider, so you have a little side to side room for alignment.

Say that you use 8mm x 25mm dominoes. The wider slot option will give you something like 8mm x 28mm (just guessing off the top of my head).
The domino is 8mm thick, and still fits very tightly. It just gives you a little room to adjust the side to side alignment of your parts.

[Andrew Hughes]

I like the Domino,I bring the tool to the work instead of the work to the tool.But it is expensive it's really a professional tool.Someone who needs things joined together fast and accurate.If your just starting out probably won't need it.Theres lots of ways to join wood together with confidence .

[Brian Henderson]

Honestly, unless you have a really immediate need for it, don't buy it. In a few years, there will be plenty of Domino-style machines out there that cost a fraction of what Festool is charging. The same happened with biscuits, people were paying through the nose for Lamello machines and then anyone could make them and they became very affordable.

[David Eisenhauer]

To build some of the furniture (as opposed to rougher, quicker shop stuff) you have described above, some form of M&T joinery will be required. M&T is another three or four steps above pocket screws (pocket screws are not applicable to butt joinery in furniture) and a step better than using a single dowel (which can allow twisting) at a butt joint. You can use hand tools to create both the M and the T, a combination of a TS or BS to cut the tenons and a mortising machine or router to cut the M, or use a router to cut two mortises and add in a loose tenon cut with a power tool of some type. You can also use a multiple dowel setup at a joint, but that gets trick to line up. You have stated that you did not care for the biscuit joiner, so that is out. If hand tools is also out, then you could also use a Domino. Maybe you can get somewhere to see a demo or someone to show you how a Domino works and that could help you decide if that is the power M&T method you prefer. If you already own a router and are comfortable with it, loose tenon joinery is fairly close to the Domino and works well. The key to loose tenon joinery is having a decent mortising jig. This may be a cheaper (but still very viable) alternative to the Domino.

[Richard Shaefer]

Honestly, unless you have a really immediate need for it, don't buy it. In a few years, there will be plenty of Domino-style machines out there that cost a fraction of what Festool is charging. The same happened with biscuits, people were paying through the nose for Lamello machines and then anyone could make them and they became very affordable.

Because track saws have gotten so much cheaper since non-Festool variants came out? Yeah, you can buy a cheap Grizzly one, but every other reputable brand is in the same price bracket.

[Rick Lizek]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2RQcClMWeh4

Can't beat this in cost or simplicity

[Brian Henderson]

Because track saws have gotten so much cheaper since non-Festool variants came out? Yeah, you can buy a cheap Grizzly one, but every other reputable brand is in the same price bracket.

Track saws are still relatively new, but yes, there are plenty of cheaper options out there that work just as well as Festool, or at least do work that people need done for lots less money. In another year, there will be lots more.