Domino for Dummies

Everyone talks about how fast and easy the Festool Domino is but I found it SO CONFUSING. For those interested, I figured out everything a beginner needs to know to get started and made a single video so you don't have to go through tons of videos to learn about it.

🧰 TOOLS I MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO (affiliate) 🧰

🙏 Thank you to the top-tier Patreons: Dave Meyer, Shane Cleavelin, Tim Epperson, Michael Downs, John Shiesser, Louis Brooks, John Lee Clair, Cameron Bryant, Linda Mizak, Aaron Geller, Matt Outlaw from @731Woodworks Wayne Miller, Malcom McCutcheon, Matthew Goode, James Engelhardt, Troy Hall, Liam P Burke, Corey Davoll, Steve Thompson, Kevin Boatswain, Brad Logston, Dan Holley, Davin Ohms, Devin Perkins, William Taylor, Klay Jones, Jacob Boehme, Gulzeb Niazi, Mike Masterman, Ashley Woodward, Nathaniel Allard, Kristof Vannotten, Tony Tillman, Michael Jones, Thomas Sasala, Tracy Bachman, Kevin Jones, Jason Hagen, Braden Boex, Vincent Chov.

DISCLAIMERS:

[MinuteWorkshop]

Sorry, slow getting to this. Great vid, and thanks so much for the mention Drew! Yeah, Domino can be pretty divisive, but I’ve never met anyone who’s bought one and regretted it! It’s the most versatile of all the hand-held jointing machines - and for the record I have them all! It’s also a ‘free’ tool - provided you keep it for a few years you’ll get your money back if you decide to sell it on. 👍

[danielrisberg]

I'm a hobbyist that loves woodworking. After a couple of years I have started to buy a few Festool products and I love them. Professionals buy them to be effective, I buy them because I like the feeling of using really good tools. I do woodworking for pleasure and I don't want to ruin that with cheap tools. I love your videos by the way!

[williamcooper]

Honestly, this is best Domino video I’ve seen. I’ve owned both the 500 and 700 for years. As a ‘no BS’ introduction to the tool, this vid is as good as it gets.

[andydaoust]

I bought one and the first time I used it to put together a drawer box, I told my wife that "I think I bought a Ferrari, but don't know how to shift it". If I had watched your video first it would have gone much smoother! The nice thing about owning one is that I use it for things that one wouldn't normally Domino, but what the heck I can!

[kiheidude]

I love your style and approach, as well as your sense of humor. Your explanations are clear and concise and not overly technical.

[SamWanamaker]

I can tell you what went wrong when you did the fence at 45 and cutting the miter. At 45, the fence cannot go all the way to the base without keeping the black tabs depressed in. So when you pulled the one tab back out and reset the fence, that’s why it was higher when you cut it. You either have to go down far enough where the tabs don’t go in, or push it all the way to the bottom and not be able to use them as reference. Hope that helps!

[rw]

One thing I considered as a hobbyist when buying this machine was how easy and quickly it set up and held the setting. Stopping mid project and continuing the next weekend has never been an issue. I hate spending tons of time getting a tool ready to use and rechecking calibrations and such. The price is something to reckon with but the tool is high quality; the cost could be thought of in terms of the yearly cost over the life of the tool. The tutorial videos Sedge has out on his channel and the Festool live series are something unmatched with any other system out there.

[ashleyirenner]

Best Domino explaination on Youtube, thanks. I am an amateur woodworker and are time poor. I have made cabinets, draws, desks etc efficiently and well because I use Festool tools. I started with Makita but the quality just isn't there for the precision required for cabinetry unless significantly more time is spent on a project. In addition, Festool dust collection is phenomenal and makes a real difference to the time and enjoyment of a project. The only argument against Festool is money and a good argument back is time/health. Thanks for taking on the haters, they mislead a lot of people for no good reason.

[pataulson]

Drew ... this is a really really well done video. I recently bought the 500 and am in the middle of setting up a workshop so have not used it yet. This video was PERFECT. This was, throughout, candid and clear. Thanks so much for creating this!

[marcodebruin]

As a diy-er fixing and maintaining my home who also enjoys working with wood and aluminum (easy to work with materials without expensive specialised tools) I watch these kind of videos to understand how the high-end tools are making life easy.
I then use the concepts applied by those tools to build jigs to achieve the precision/repeatability for the task at hand (time is not so much a factor, but budget and end-results are). Referencing with physical stops always achieves better results compared to measuring, marking and eyeballing a tool against the markings.

[ShopNation]

I learned so much
1) you do, in fact, say “heighth”
2) you own a utility belt
3) that tool is actually pretty rad

Awesome in depth overview

[texasbelliott]

The Domino was a game changer for me. It took my woodworking to the next level and I can't imagine working projects without now. I think you'll experience the same. Enjoy the journey!

[geoffreycoan]

I’ve recently bought a Domino after watching years of Peter Millard’s 10 Minute Workshop using one effortlessly. But even after watching all of Peter’s videos I thought this was an excellent run through of how to use the Domino, thank you.
Peter recommends doing the domino on one side tight and the other one loose, that way you get the wiggle room but the actual Domino is held firmly in place. I think I prefer that than the ‘two loose sides’ approach you showed.
Never seen the Domino cross stop, looks to be useful, thanks

[MajidAlQassimi]

Bro this is a crazy overview of the domino 500! Half of what you shared was not obvious and made me more excited i own one! 🙏🏽 this should be regular viewing for owners that are not using it everyday 😂

[BillJBrasky]

As a new domino owner, this was helpful. I will say I was shocked by how loose the first loose setting is. I'd love one that was only 1-2mm larger than tight.

[richpeggyfranks]

By far, the best Domino video ever. I'm retired and have no use for an over-priced, but excellent machine that's main virtue is saving time. After a long and enjoyable learning process, I am mostly cutting joinery by hand these days. I didn't hesitate to buy an over-priced Sawstop saw, but there weren't any viable alternatives. For joinery, there are many quality alternatives. Thanks for a great, well thought out presentation.

[williamsender]

I was in your spot a few months back. The haters can hate, it's probably the best tool I have in my shop. I don't use it all that often when I do the benefits are immediately apparent. Thanks for putting together this guide.

[thomlipiczky]

I'm a (retired) professional, using the Domino for maybe 15 years. I wish I had seen your video way back then (Festool Time Machine, next?). I'm pretty proficient with the thing, and have made several jigs to improve order of operations. Your video was a great review. As good as "Sedge" Festool videos! Thanks!

[stoff]

As a festool disciple I get lots of people saying yeah there ok but I can buy a different brand for much less to do the same job, but watching your video just proves Festool have covered all those little quirks that unless you take the time to research and learn you would probably never realise
Good demonstration of one of the finest tools out there 👍🏻🇬🇧

[MajorTendonitis]

Fantastic video. I bought their domino joiner years ago and just got around to trying it today . When I tried to follow the manual at the beginning I found it wasn’t helping me much . I was hoping there were videos on it and found yours . You did an excellent job of explaining the unit, learned so much . Some YouTubers drag things out too long and I don’t find it helpful . I find your explanations are excellent, and you are easy to follow and a great teacher .
Liked and subbed