Was totally against buying a domino joiner until I borrowed one for a week

I always thought those Festool Domino joiners were way overpriced for what they do. Then my buddy in Somerville let me borrow his DF 500 for a kitchen cabinet project I had last month. After using it to line up 30 face frame joints in under an hour, I get the hype now. Anyone else cave and buy one after trying it?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrewh431mo ago

Are you sure he borrowed you a DF 500 and not the bigger DF 700? I ask because the 500 is for smaller joinery and thinner stock. It's great for cabinets and face frames, but if he gave you the 700, that's a whole different animal. The 500 tops out around 1/2 inch tenons, perfect for what you did, but the 700 can handle up to 10mm and is really built for heavy timber framing work. I just want to make sure you get the right one if you end up buying because they cost about the same but do very different jobs. The 500 is probably what you want for kitchen work, anyway.

luna_kim401mo ago

Yeah I actually watched a video from some woodworking guy on YouTube breaking down the differences between the 500 and 700. He kept saying the 700 is a beast for big timber stuff but way overkill for cabinets. Sounds like your buddy set you up with the right tool for kitchen work anyway.