The Festool Domino makes its cuts with a single oscillating cutter, like a router bit, that makes plunge cuts for your mortises.
The DF 500 Q ran $775 in 2010. The Domino consists of a single router-bit-like cutter. When the machine is turned on, the cutter spins and oscillates side to side. Like a biscuit joiner, the cutter is plunged forward into your material, resulting in a mortise. The unit comes with a 5mm cutter. Additional cutters are available at about $35 each, up to 10mm.
The Domino is one of the few mortises that can make vertical mortising cuts in the middle of a larger piece as well as the edge.
The Domino is very fast and easy to use, and it cuts deep mortises, providing the speed and ease of use of a biscuit joiner, while overcoming a biscuit’s shortcomings. Accessories are available such as the Trim Stop, $50, that makes it easier to locate small parts on the machine, and the Handrail Fence, $60, which lets you put a tenon into hand rail corners.
