Originally Posted by
lowell holmes
I have a tenoning jig that has gathered dust in my closet for years. I can cut tenons by hand quicker than it takes to break out the jig. It is a glorious tool, but not worth the effort to set up and use it.
Now see I really like mine. I made tenons by hand and with a dado head before I got it, and I actually much prefer it. I can make fine adjustments as thin as a hair, and I can also use it for splines.
Mortises, I always chopped by hand until I got my Powermatic PM701. I absolutely love that thing! It really has made an improvement in my work. But...
I debated back & forth a dozen times before I got it. It was between it and the 700XL. Obviously I ended up with the PM, for multiple reasons. One, as I said, I am kind of a traditionalist and really like actual mortise & tenons. Two, and VERY significantly, the PM was 1/3 the price of the Festool.
However, as the years have gone by, I couldn't help but think about loose tenons. I tried the router method and was NOT sold, either too many things to go wrong and ruin a piece, or buy (or build) a complex jig that can clamp, adjust to various sizes, and angles, and that I have to find a place to safely store when not in use. So I began looking back at the Domino, but the 500 this time. My PM easily handles all of my big stuff.
Then, after seeing Tommy's swing episode, I was hooked and placed my order.
"I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
Name withheld to protect the guilty
Stew Hagerty