Finally caved and tried a Festool domino vs my old doweling jig

Been using a doweling jig for like 8 years on face frames and cabinet doors. Last week I had a job for a custom kitchen in Portland with 16 shaker doors. Borrowed my buddy's Domino DF 500 and it cut my time in half easy. The alignment was spot on every single time, no more fighting with crooked dowels. First three doors took me a bit to get the hang of the plunge depth. But after that it was like butter. Anyone else made the switch and feel like you can't go back?

3 comments

3 Comments

jenniferw8217d ago

Yeah but a good doweling jig costs way less and works fine if you take your time.

thomas_martinez17d ago

I mean, I get that @jenniferw82 says a good doweling jig works fine if you take your time, but honestly, who has that kind of time on a job site? I've seen guys spend ten minutes fiddling with alignment pins and still end up with a joint that's off by a hair. The domino isn't just about speed, it's about not having to redo stuff because your holes didn't match up. And the fatigue thing grace_allen mentioned? That's real. By the end of a long day, I'd rather be packing up than squinting at marks and praying my jig didn't shift.

grace_allen17d ago

The thing nobody talks about is how the domino helps you work faster with less fatigue since you're not constantly rechecking alignment. That alone is worth the switch for me.