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Here’s a new Fast, easy way to create rock-solid, loose joinery with the tenon joinery. Festool Domino

Ten seconds — that’s about all the To do this, the Domino cuts There are larger bits and Domi- time it takes to create and assem- a perfect, accurately sized mortise noes available, as shown in the ble a solid, long-lasting joint using by and oscillating at the photo at the top of the opposite the Festool Domino you see below. same time, as shown in the draw- page. But you’ll find that the stan- For more information on where ing on the opposite page. The two dard size works just fine for most to purchase the Domino refer to mortises are then connected by a furniture and cabinet joints. Sources on page 51. loose tenon called a “Domino.” Metric. One of the first things How it Works. If you’ve ever Dominoes. The shape of the you’ll notice is all the gauges and used a , you’ll find the Domino tenon, milled from solid adjustments are in metric mea- overall operation of the Domino , is similar to a game dom- surements. While this is a little joiner to be quite similar. You ino. The standard Domino tenon is unusual, I found that after work- 3 1 create an identical mortise on both 5x28mm ( ⁄16" x 1 ⁄8") and is sized to ing with the , it was easy to halves of the joint and then add match the mortise created by the make the adjustment to inches. a manufactured tenon to connect 5mm bit that is sold with the joiner. Adjustments. There are a num- the two workpieces. (Dominoes are sold separately.) ber of settings on this joiner that

Dial adjuster makes it easy to Power switch adjust mortise width Mortise depth adjuster sets mortises between 12 and 28 mm

Adjustable features detents for common angles for making mortises in beveled edges

Locating pins can be used as Fence can be set manually or reference points to position a “locked in” to the center of standard stock mortise along any workpiece thicknesses using a built-in ShopNotes No. 95 10mm } Domino Size. The standard size Domino is 5mm (left). Four additional < Operation. The 8mm sizes range from 6x40 6mm mortising bit rotates to 10x50mm. and oscillates simultaneously to 5mm make an accurately sized mortise. { Mortising Bits. Additional bits can be purchased separately to match different size Dominoes.

allow you to make A dial on the top of the tool, allows instruction manual. It should be a mortise at almost any for three preset widths. This available soon on their web site. angle and depth. The Domino has adjustment is handy when you’re Accessories. There are a few an adjustable angle fence to make using the joiner to edge glue two accessories that come with the accurate mortises referencing from or more workpieces. There’s more joiner, including a stabilizing sup- any angle (0° to 90°). information about panel joinery port that attaches to the baseplate. The height of the fence can also on the following page. This support keeps the joiner from be adjusted to let you set the posi- Instruction Manual. The manual tipping when you’re making a tion of the mortise on the thickness that comes with the Domino cov- vertical cut. And there’s also a of the workpiece. I was able to ers the basic anatomy of the tool. small wrench included to separate place the mortises exactly where Unfortunately it doesn’t provide the motor from the baseplate for I wanted them using this. You can all the details I would expect for access to the bit. This same wrench also set the depth of the mortise some operations. A couple of those is also used to remove and install 1 1 from 12 to 28mm ( ⁄2" to 1 ⁄8"), using are some key setup tips, which are the bit in the tool. the depth adjuster. detailed in the box below. On the next page you’ll fi nd a Finally, the joiner has an adjust- But don’t worry, Festool will be few basic tips for putting this tool ment to set the width of the cut. publishing a more comprehensive to work in your shop. Set-Up & Calibration

After making a couple of rail and stile joints with the Domino joiner, I noticed the pieces didn’t line up quite fl ush. After talking to the folks at Festool about the problem, I learned there are a couple of calibrations you may need to make to get the best results. Horizontal Sight Gauge. The fi rst thing is to adjust the horizontal sight gauge on the fence. This gauge is { Sight Gauge. You can adjust { Locating Pins. Loosen the set used to line up the center of your workpiece with the the horizontal sight gauge by screw with an Allen wrench and center of the Domino bit and therefore the mortise. loosening the torque screws on then adjust the eccentric bushing To calibrate this gauge, loosen the screws on the either side of the gauge. with a screwdriver. gauge, as shown in the fi rst photo at right. Then turn the tool upside down and align the centerline on the side is housed in an eccentric bushing, which can be gauge with the centerline on the baseplate. Once it’s adjusted in small increments. aligned, tighten the screws and recheck for accuracy. To check the accuracy of the pins, I cut a mortise on Locating pins. The second adjustment that needs the edge of one workpiece using the left pin as a ref- to be made is centering the locating pins (far right erence and on another workpiece referencing from photo above). These pins, which are positioned on the right pin. If the two ends aren’t fl ush when you either side of the bit, can be used as a reference for join them, you’ll need to adjust the right locating pin making cuts on a workpiece for different joinery situ- a bit. Then just repeat the test cut and fi t after each ations. The left pin is fi xed, but the pin on the right adjustment until the two parts are fl ush. www.ShopNotes.com