The Festool Domino joiner is the first hand-held machine that can precisely locate and mill well-fitting mortises for floating tenons. The mortise and tenon joint is the strongest way of joining a rail and stile, and a well-filling floating tenon has the same strength as a fixed tenon. But the precision aspect of the machine is as important as the fact it can machine a mortise quickly. It's as important to locate the mortises on both pieces of wood precisely and with speed. Unlike other mortising machinery, it can do this with no real layout and very accurate repeatability.
The updated 2026 version of the DF 500 features the same flip-tab stop system as the Domino 700 XL, for improved fence visibility with better centerline alignment, replacing older metal pins for easier use and better support for thinner stock (such as 1/2" material). If you are someone who has both Dominoes and have wanted the DF500 to resemble the 700 more, Festool has done your bidding.
Other key features of the Domino are the same - they have the same motor power and 24,300 RPM spindle speed. All cutters, tenons, and accessories are the same as before. But the knobs are easier to tighten and loosen, making the height and bevel easier to adjust. The base has increased visibility of reference lines. The pins are easier to adjust, making it easier to work with thinner materials (for example, ½” material). And the aluminum fence is thicker and more stable.
Two very important accessories included in the DF 500 set are the Trim Stop and the Cross Stop. The Trim stop is designed to hold narrow material between 7/8" - 2 3/4" so that you can easily put a mortise in the end of the material. This attachment is typically used for smaller rails. The Cross Stop is designed to let you easily space a series of mortises across a board. What you do is use the stop of the Domino to place the first mortise, and then use the Cross Stop to hook onto the just-made mortise to index the location to the next mortise. This gives you tremendous accuracy and saves having to lay out the mortise locations across the board. Mortise spacing can be adjusted from 3 7/8" - 8 1/16".
For a review of the original version of the Domino by Popular Woodworking:
Click here How the Domino Works:
How the Domino Works:
The Domino works using a rotating spiral cutter (of the thickness of the tenon) that moves back and forth in a swath, cutting the width of the tenon. You push the Domino forward to the depth set by a stop on the machine. There is no kickback. An integrated vacuum port makes it possible to easily attach an optional vacuum cleaner which will suck the chips away as they are generated, giving a clean hole with rapid feed and no mess.
The main reason the Domino works so well is that the results are repeatable. The machine has lots of built in stops, guides, and fences that allow you to adapt to any situation to cut an accurate mortise, all of them easy to see and clamp down rock solid. There are retractable stop pins on the face of the tool so that you can index from an edge or a guide. The fence can solidly lock at any angle from 0 - 90 degrees, but it has stops at 0, 22.5, 45, 67,5, and 90 degrees for quickly setting the tool. A mortise height adjustment sets the distance of the cut from the top reference edge. There are 5 depth adjustments for tenons of different lengths. Of course, a clear viewing window with precise markings will also layout a mortise from guide lines on the work.
One area where you might have questions is how to locate multiple mortises. The first pair of matching mortises must be precisely located on the work. However, with human error and wood movement, a snug fitting mortise may not align correctly in successive tenons. The Domino's solution is ingenious: with a single adjustment, you can make the mortise, fit tight to the tenon or allow for various amounts of play.
The Domino comes with a 5 mm cutter. Other sizes - 4, 6, 8 and 10 cutters - are sold separately, as are the Domino tenons.
