Unpacking and first impressions of the Domino. (I’ve been slow to get online so these pics are a few weeks old and I am working to get caught up on my backlog)

I was chosen to be one of the first 25 North American Test/Demo users of the new Festool Domino XL which is the Domino’s big brother.

Initial Impressions:

• Like all my other Festools this tool seems to be solidly built and very well designed
• Fence adjustments and setup are familiar to all who have used the original Domino
• I like that I has the Festool quick connect power cord that can easily work with Rail Saw and Jigsaw
• Solves an interesting problem set (loose tenon joinery) in an interesting way that certainly gives my Biscuit joiner a run for its money (It will be interesting to examine the speed comparison to using both systems and cost per domino vs cost per biscuit)
• Tool feels well balanced given its size and heft
• New generation Systainers are a definite improvement compared to the 1st generation. Instead of 2 locks its one turn on the front to engage the locking. I also like that old generation units can be attached to the bottom of the new ones, though a little sad its only one way — old units are always relegated to the bottom. I have a few (~4) extra Systainers from McFeelys filled with square drive screw assortments, but I wish the price point would come down on at least the old generation systainer as I’d really stock up on them but they can be prohibitively expensive for other tools.
• Domino XL Systainer and Domino Tenon Assortment Systainer all have new removable plastic trays instead of the wood dividers in the previous generation. I liked the use of wood in the original generation as it had more feeling of craftsmanship instead of plastic fantastic, but I do like how the new plastic trays can be moved around. I could see if I knew ahead of time what I was working on at a job site just loading up the Domino Systainer’s trays with what I need and traveling a little lighter.

Next post — more of the tool in action and using Domino fences.

Check out the slideshow below (additional comments in the captions):

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