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Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

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Re: Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

#31

Post by akiselev »

Wistar wrote: post #29
JKCalhoun wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Festool's Domino system is the one product I cannot find a cheaper alternative (too pricey for me though, so sticking with my biscuit joiner). I'm very happy with my Makita track saw though that, while still pricey, was maybe 1/3 the cost of the Festool?

Coincidentally, just last night I watched this video from Stumpy Nubs showing how to create loose tenon joinery without the Domino. Of course, it does have some complexities, and assumes you have a table saw and plunge router. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx1Mg2mTMO0

I have the Festool Domino XL [1] and IMO router jigs like in that video are only superficially equivalent. The real benefit of the Domino is how it indexes cuts against edges using the mortise spacer tabs/accessories and the 0-90 degree fence, height adjusted using precise stops. It makes "measure twice, cut once" much smoother and setup is so fast that it's become my default method of joinery for anything where aesthetics matters. I sometimes use a single Domino jig for small parts [2] and clamped scrap wood spacers for awkward cuts, but the rest of the time I just use the built-in Domino functions and the included spacer accessory (which extends the length of the tabs to 200mm).

It's hard to describe just how much more useful the tool is compared to router jigs, pocket holes, etc. It changed how I design my work, how I prepare rough stock and cut it to final size, and how I work with wood movement.

[1] though I have the Seneca adapters and all that, I wish I had gotten the smaller one. Unless you're doing serious structural joinery the smaller Domino is much more convenient, and you can double up on tenons instead of reaching for a bigger one in most cases anyway.

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP3JGfjUGbM

Re: Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

#32

Post by JKCalhoun »

eropple wrote: post #23
JKCalhoun wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Festool's Domino system is the one product I cannot find a cheaper alternative (too pricey for me though, so sticking with my biscuit joiner). I'm very happy with my Makita track saw though that, while still pricey, was maybe 1/3 the cost of the Festool?

I have a Makita track saw, and it's great. (I joke that using it on my MFT probably has me banned from at least one Central European country.) It absolutely wasn't a third of the price of a Festool, though. More like $500 versus $600 at the time--the spread's a bit more now. I use cheap Wen tracks that are compatible with both, so track prices are a bit of a wash. The track saw (or like, a drill/driver, but that's a…

I see you're closer to the prices of Makita vs. Festool. I was under the impression the Festool track saw was closer to $1K a few years back when I got my Makita (and that the Makita was closer to $350). I could be mistaken though.

Re: Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

#33

Post by JKCalhoun »

akiselev wrote: post #31
Wistar wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coincidentally, just last night I watched this video from Stumpy Nubs showing how to create loose tenon joinery without the Domino. Of course, it does have some complexities, and assumes you have a table saw and plunge router. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx1Mg2mTMO0

I have the Festool Domino XL [1] and IMO router jigs like in that video are only superficially equivalent. The real benefit of the Domino is how it indexes cuts against edges using the mortise spacer tabs/accessories and the 0-90 degree fence, height adjusted using precise stops. It makes "measure twice, cut once" much smoother and setup is so fast that it's become my default method of joinery for anything where aest…

I assume you are suggesting the Festool Domino DF 500 (the smaller one)?

I'll add it to my "Wish List", haha.

Re: Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

#34

Post by Wistar »

akiselev wrote: post #31
Wistar wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coincidentally, just last night I watched this video from Stumpy Nubs showing how to create loose tenon joinery without the Domino. Of course, it does have some complexities, and assumes you have a table saw and plunge router. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx1Mg2mTMO0

I have the Festool Domino XL [1] and IMO router jigs like in that video are only superficially equivalent. The real benefit of the Domino is how it indexes cuts against edges using the mortise spacer tabs/accessories and the 0-90 degree fence, height adjusted using precise stops. It makes "measure twice, cut once" much smoother and setup is so fast that it's become my default method of joinery for anything where aest…

To be clear, I'm not advocating for the work-around. To my eye, given the complexities of the work-around, and the fact I have no table saw, I'm pretty sure I'd go with the Domino. Besides, my Festool Kapex is a pure marvel that has made me a Festool fan.

Re: Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

#35

Post by [deleted] »

spenczar5 wrote: post #17
amelius wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can one make a decent income with woodworking?

Finish carpentry is woodworking, and there are pretty good opportunities there. Furniture making is a tough way to make a living; factories are very good at furniture so you need to find customers with a lot of willingness to spend. Even at $25/hr for labor, a table and set of 4 chairs will end up around $5-10k easily. There just aren’t that many people who spend that much. (I am a finish carpenter and sometimes furn…

[deleted]

Re: Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

#36

Post by ska »

cperciva wrote: post #25
amelius wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can one make a decent income with woodworking?

Definitely as a luthier -- a violin made by a skilled luthier (not "top of the profession", but "a decade or more of experience doing this full time") is typically in the $10-40k range and if they're not doing repairs (which can also be lucrative) a luthier working full time hours can make 8-16 good quality violins per year. Of course there's a bunch of expenses to be accounted for, but it's definitely still in the c…

That's a pretty narrow specialty, and suspect it's not the kind of thing you easily jump to from general woodworking skills.

Re: Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

#37

Post by jmuhlich »

neogodless wrote: post #5

The included hyperlink to the product discussed did not work. I suspect it was something like this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hitachi-3-8-in-Plug-Cutter/3056069 (discontinued) None of these match (have the 4 cutting teeth and the center), they either have two teeth with the center or 4 teeth without. https://www.woodcraft.com/categories/plug-cutters Wonder how these other ones hold up to hand drilling.

I’ve used those Snappy brand cutters in a handheld cordless drill. It’s workable but tricky. You need to start with light pressure and high speed until the cutters score a clean circle, then gradually increase the pressure. The workpiece absolutely needs to be clamped down with zero movement, and it helps if you can find a way to brace your upper body and the drill as you work. The trickiest part is keeping the cutter perfectly square to the work in both axes —- if you tip it too far you’re likely to shatter the cutter as the metal is very brittle.

Re: Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

#38

Post by [deleted] »

amelius wrote: post #9
pigtailgirl wrote: post #3

-- never cared about woodwork till discovering Blacktail Studio on youtube - now all I want to do is make tables - highly recommend - especially if you give zero f's about woodworking -- https://www.youtube.com/c/BlacktailStudio/videos

Can one make a decent income with woodworking?

[deleted]

Re: Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

#39

Post by joe_guy »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #21
eropple wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The river table stuff is largely dead, from my perspective. It's a neat gimmick but it's run its course. I haven't seen somebody talk about one, or seen a new one on YouTube, for months. Maybe longer? And, FWIW, Festool only sponsors a couple of woodworkers and very rarely gives tools to others for marketing purposes. You see a lot of Festool (and Fein and Mirka) because it's worth it if you're serious. They feel goo…

Festool's Domino system is the one product I cannot find a cheaper alternative (too pricey for me though, so sticking with my biscuit joiner). I'm very happy with my Makita track saw though that, while still pricey, was maybe 1/3 the cost of the Festool?

The featool domino is patented until 2024 unfortunately.

Re: Hitachi Wood Plug Cutter Works Perfectly in Hand Held Drills (2013)

#40

Post by peteradio »

scooble wrote: post #8

At a pinch, drilling a hole the external diameter of the plug cutter and clamping that to the board you are getting the plug out of can act as a guide so the plug cutter doesn’t spiral out and cut a hole in the wooden stairs you are using as an impromptu bench (for example).

Or the foot acting as an impromptu clamp (for example).
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