| Festool Domino technical overview. |
Strong, Fast, Precise and Easy to use.
The Domino Joiner is truly a revolutionary woodworking tool. This machine cuts a precision placed mortise in two mating surfaces and uses a loose or floating tenon to attach the two pieces. These tenons or Dominos are made of solid beech and are available in five sizes.
This is truly a unique design and the best way to describe it would be a combination of a biscuit joiner and a router. The bit on the Domino Joiner spins at 25,000 rpm AND oscillates side to side to cut mortises. This results in a joining system that is faster, stronger and more versatile than a biscuit joiner. It has accessories that allow you to cut narrower stock for face frames, chair rungs and railings as well as stops and fences that allow you to perfectly position these joints without the need to layout and measure.
The tool also allows wider mortises to be cut to allow for wood movement and to compensate for user error. The Domino Joiner makes joints as precise as dowels, as easy as a biscuit joiner and stronger than either method!
The Joiner:
The Domino is like nothing else that you have used; however, the tool is relatively simple. Like a biscuit joiner, you have a referencing face that can be moved from 0-90 degrees (with detents at commonly used angles) and a fence that can be moved up and down to place height of the mortise cut. This vertical placement has a scale that indicates the height of the center of the cut and a stop that references six commonly used board thicknesses.
The depth of plunge is controlled by a 5-position depth stop that allows the Domino Tenon to be centered or offset across the joint. (Offsetting is handy when joining materials of different thicknesses).
The width of cut is determined by the mortise width dial. There are three settings: Standard (tight), +6mm (wider), and +10mm (widest). The standard width will cut the mortises tight for all Domino Tenons (difference in width is automatically factored in by the diameter of the cutters).
The Cutters:
There are four different cutters, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm and 10mm for five differently sized Domino tenons. (The 8mm D tenon is available in two lengths).
The bits thread on to a special shaft and can be changed in just seconds. Domino cutters can also be resharpened as many as three times to extend their lives. Domino cutters will bore between 4,000 and 15,000 mortises before they require sharpening. On average, 4,000 mortises into end grain on hardwood, and 15,000 mortises into side grain on soft wood.
The Domino Tenons:
Domino tenons are pre-manufactured from solid beech. These tenons incorporate specially designed ridges to assist in spreading glue and have fluted edges that relieve pressure that can occur when inserting an object into a blind hole. They fit TIGHT! They are resistant to swelling, but as with any natural wood product, we recommend storage in a relatively dry environment.
Cross Stop and Trim Stop:
The Domino Joiner is available with or without these two accessories. We recommend purchasing the unit with the Cross and Trim Stops as you will find these very useful.
The Trim Stop is a set of two fences that attach to the bottom of the face of joiner. These allow repeatable accurate placement of mortises in the end of narrow material. The Trim Stop will facilitate centering and offsetting of the mortise.
The Cross Stop is a set of adjustable spring loaded indexing pins mounted on the two outrigger arms. The Domino incorporates two indexing pins on the face of the machine that will allow a greater distance between mortises. Mount these arms to the right or left side of the machine, cut your first mortise, move the indexing pin into that mortise to index the next. These indexing pins’ placement is adjustable in 1mm increments.
Can’t find the answers you’re looking for? Call
800-443-7937 and ask for our Product Support Department or
send us an email.
Products Mentioned in this Article