I have a project  I' designing.  It's a  six foot long two level book case that may  include drawers and doors.  Or maybe it won't.

It'll end up being painted white.  So I'm still not settled on the material whether I'll use Maple Pine or Poplar.

I'm  planning on using loose tenons for the framing.

 

So I thought maybe I'd look (again) at the domino.

This time I looked hard.

Now you may not know, but I am some what unloving about the brand in general.  It's not merely that  I think that they overcharge insanely to pay for those incredible benefits and vacations.  But, I also had a bad experience with a festertool rep at a show when I dared inquire about a show discount.   His rudeness and insulting tone left me with a very strong  aversion to anything the brand makes.   Of course, I left him  on his knees picking up the pieces of a broken router that I dropped (oops). 

 

But, I re-considered the domino. 

Now, mind you, the thing makes holes.   That's all it does.  It makes holes.

I've seen laboratory  test results of dowel pinned joints and mortise and tenon joints and the dowel pins are pretty darned sturdy. So  in practice a doweler would do everything a domino does. So  the $800 Mafel duo doweler or even the $220 Triton  TDJ600  doweling joiner will do pretty much anything a Domino can do. 

 

The Mafel will let you  install a row of dowels in multiples of two  continually, because it's got locating pins that lock  the hole  locations  (just like a box joint jig)  registering off the holes.  This feature makes the  Mafel  Duo Doweler way superior to the Domino.  Faster too.

 

But there is yet another wrinkle. I already own a milling machine Slot Mortiser ( shop built of course) that makes dead on accurate slots and with the Hammer J/P, I can make loose tenons galore  to fit to any degree of snugness or tightness I please.   Plus I'm not size limited like the Domino.

 

Well   being a tool junkie I just had to go look.

$13250.

That's right  One Thousand Three Hundred and Fifty  Dollars to drill oval holes.

 

Oh my.  But it gets worse.

 

Check this video out  he's showing off his new model 700, but also owns  a model  500 and shows you some joinery done with the 500

 

OK  Looks great huh?

Back up and look at sections 1:12 through 1:20  where he shows you a joint created with his older Domino 500.  Pay especial attention to the sloppiness of the joint at 1:20.

See how the domino tenon seems to be an awful lot smaller than the holes allowing all sorts of wobble?

From the look of it I'd say his domino 500 is worn out and makes sloppy holes

A doweler won't ever  get worn  like that.

Neither will my mortising machine

 

Boy,  when I think of how close I Came to being Festered, I shudder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't pay that much for the '86 Dodge Ram pickup, in the driveway, and it has a horn!

Can't imagine that glue would make up for the lack of fit. I'll stick to mortice and tenon and maybe a Porter-Cable biscuit now and then.

I was flabbergasted at the horrible fit.   Clearly I won't be a welcome guest at the Festool owners group on yahoo

If I owned a tool that ended up performing so badly I don't think I'd be pining to get the new model with the same flawed engineering