7/24/2019 Domino Review

1/6

Because of its strength,the mortise-and-tenonis one of the most im-portant joints used in furnituremaking. Its perfect for con-

necting table aprons to legs,

the rails and stiles of a door

frame, and chair stretchers tolegs. Through the years, Ive

learned to cut the joint with a

variety of techniques and tools,

from backsaws and mortising

chisels to bandsaws, tablesaws,

routers, hollow-chisel mortis-ers, and manufactured joinery

jigs. These tools and methods

can work well, but I always

thought they involved eithertoo much finicky setup or a lot

of test cuts (both in some cas-

es) to produce a snug-fittingtenon with tight shoulders and

flush faces.

Thats why I was excitedwhen Festool introduced the

Domino, a revolutionary

handheld

mortising machine, in 2007.The tool has a spiral bit that

plunges into the wood to

create a perfect mortise withround ends. You cut a mortise

on both parts of the joint, and

use a ready-made slip tenon,

which Festool calls a Domino,to tie the two parts together.

Its a very strong joint, and

best of all, the Dominois much faster than any

other mortising tech-

nique Ive used, requir-ing very little setup to

get perfect joints.

The Domino has changed

not only how I cut mortise-and-tenon joinery, but also

the way I design furniture.

Because I know thatany two parts that

touch can be joined

with a Domino, I let mycreativity run free without

worrying about the joinery.

Ive learned over the yearsthat if you combine the Dom-

ino with a simple jig, you

end up with a very power-

ful tool, capable of makingaccurate joints quickly and

Tips and techniques for a

revolutionary joinery system

B Y T I M C E L E S K I

Change bits for

different tenon

thicknesses.Tenons for most

furniture fall between 14in. and 58in.

thick. The DF 500 cuts mortises for tenons

between 532in. and 38in. thick. The XL DF 700

(above) ranges from 516in. to 916in. thick. Bits

arent interchangeable between machines.

Domino Changes th

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