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Here’s my first thoughts about that router jig that emulates a Festool Domino.
Last month, I described some router jigs that enable trim routers to cut mortises like a Festool Domino. Like a lot of woodworkers, I’d love to have a real Domino, but can’t justify the cost (about $1,200), considering how infrequently I do loose tenons.
So, I figured what the heck and bought one of the jigs to try out, with the promise that I’d let you know how it worked. So far? It hasn’t.
Not saying it’s junk; in fact, it’s very well made. Aside from some greasy fingerprints, the fit and finish is quite nice. It’s solid, the handle is comfortable to hold, and the plunge action is very smooth. Once I have it together, I’m confident it will do the job. But that’s the catch. After fiddling with it for a few hours, I still don’t have it ready to go.
First of all, the “user’s manual” – a 5″x8” slip of paper – has scant instructions on how to put it together. There are some photos, but they’re microscopic. They’d have to be three times bigger just to be thumbnails. (Photo 1) One of the first steps refers to a “positioning bar,” which this jig doesn’t seem to have.
My trim router was easy to mount (Photo 2), but then things got more difficult. There are a lot of set screws, with little indication of which is which, and the tiny photos and minimal text aren’t much help. There are some graduation marks on the support rods (Photo 3), but setting the collet height using them is still a matter of eyeballing everything. Setting up the side-to-side motion necessary to rout mortise slots has no marks of any kind, so getting mortises of the desired size will be strictly trial and error till getting it right.
I finally got things kind-of, sort-of set up and was ready to cut a test slot to see how far off it would be but stopped when I went to connect the router to the jig’s power-control handle.(Photo 4) Oops. The jig’s plug doesn’t accept polarized router plugs.
Bottom line was that I got fed up and decided to get other work done. I’m disappointed not being able to do my initial testing, but I’m still jazzed about getting it to work. Stay tuned.
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