The Tool We’ve Been Waiting For! BUT There’s a Catch...
Testing out the Tianli Handheld Mortiser floating tenon jig and comparing it to the Festool Domino joiner. Is the Tiani jig the Festool Domino replacement we've been waiting for? Yes and no. It's $1000 cheaper than the Domino, but it doesn't have all the features. For most hobbyist woodworkers wanting to save some money, this might be the perfect floating tenon jig.
Ebay link for this mortising jig. I have no affiliation with the seller
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Haha that Floating Tenon voiceover. 😂. If Dave switches his channel to videos of him just eating cereal I am still watching.
Seems like a great option for *FLOATING TENONS*. Inexpensive and actually works pretty good. Always nice to see that. And I do love having options. Thanks for sharing!
I've never used dominos in my woodwork, but I'm tempted to try *FLOATING TENONS*. Especially since I can now make *FLOATING TENONS* in my own workshop.
SO happy I found a Domino jointer in an estate sale for $100.
Whoa!! Nice score!
Damn! You practically stole it! Congrats!
“Floating tenon” - insert best robotic announcer voice Nice looking tool.
As somebody that has had a domino for the past couple of years, I have to say I'm really impressed by this little jig. There have been quite a few times I've wished I could cut custom width dominos or at heights that aren't on the domino's pre-set little step and it looks like it would be really easy to do with this and if you made a couple of jigs (see below) you would be able to make it a lot quicker to use. - To set the depth, make a piece of wood with a series of different depth holes in it. With the router off, simply plunge the bit into the desired depth hole, and then tighten the depth knob when it hits the bottom. - To set how high you want the cut to be on an edge, you could have a simple stepped packer that gets pushed in-between the red and silver pieces. Push the two together so they are tight on the packer, then tighten the knob.
Yeah, I agree totally. I love my dominos, (I use both) but yes, at times, I want to put in two tenons, at fairly far apart, (like 2+ inches along the same mark) and the fence doesn't allow for that. This would. Sure, the domino is so much faster to set up than this one, but for that money, it would be worth having this in addition.
Believe you could use the same trick for both. Make holes at different heights and depth. One piece for the whole setup.
I've seen this before and I admit, when you did your video on buying fad tools ,I was hoping this was going to be one of them. So glad you evidentially found this, I was very curious if :1- it was real, 2- if it worked, and 3- if the build quality was there. Thanks for the answers! Thanks for doing this video, I'll be ordering this if for nothing else, just to play with it, as I cant afford a Festool just for kicks, and to see if I can find a use for it. I'm a retired carpenter and now just piddle around my shop/garage because I like it, not for a living.
While it is true that the tool is $200, it could easily be worth the expediency to just leave a router in the tool permanently for expediency. So add in ~$150 for that and you're still only at ~$350.
Yeah, I expect to just leave it there. I’ll make my own floating tenons too, not too difficult to do and a good way to use up scrap. Plus then they’ll fit the existing bits I have (which are imperial and not metric). I have the DeWalt, which I’ll probably leave in it, as I have a bunch of routers (6 maybe?)
That was my first thought also, keep a router in it.
I've seen many wood worker using simple tenon jig with palm router, straight bit and router bushing to cut the tenons. The tool makes it go faster. Jig requires clamping for every hole. But the jig is very simple to make. It can be done with scrap wood so practically $0. I think this tool is good for weekend wood worker who's not willing to pay for dominos.
I did exactly that. I bought a cheaper router and 3D printed a sleeve to adapt the diameter of the non Dewalt router. I also printed spacers as he suggested Happy with the solution
Plus $45 shipping so your at $400. Starting to get pricey for a “jig”. Of course if the router ever broke you could swap it out instead of bricking your whole tool. And you could take it out of the jig so it could work as another trim router if your project doesn’t require dominos. but $400 is still a lot of money.
I don't usually watch tool reviews unless I am specifically looking to buy something but really enjoyed this and found it useful, thank-you.
Saving $1000 is a big deal, for sure. Since all of us woodworkers always want more tools, use the $1000 saved to have a better tablesaw, which is the cornerstone of practically every shop. Thanks for the video and sharing this jig!
I agree! Another idea is use $1,000 to import two power feeders from Alibaba: one on the table saw, one on the jointer. They'll increase production speed and accuracy more than enough to make up for this tool being slower than the Domino. NOTE: I've imported three machines from Alibaba and am happy with every one of them (no affiliation or sponsorship).
Sorry if I sound dumb, but what pray is a power feeder?
@@frankklein4872 Motorized device that pushes the workpiece against the fence and feeds it through the blade or cutter (they can be used with tablesaws, routers, planers, shapers, etc).
$1,000 probably close enough for a half decent table saw and thickness planer.
One of the best reviews I’ve seen on any product in years. Thank you!
"all your mom needs" 😮 Pretty savage humor there.. love it!! 😅😅😅 Thanks for letting us know about this tool!
Perfect, thanks for sharing ! The domino is way outside my budget given the few times I would actually use it (as a non professional woodworker). This looks like a very easy jig to use, at least compared to other diy options out there.
I gotta get one and try it. I've been wanting a Festool however it is well out of my budget... Thank you for the video demonstration! 👍
I loved the flawless voiceover work. Totally non-obvious! I am going to look at the Jessem jig too
Thanks for buying a second one! I was looking at getting one of these for myself but wasn't sure if it was going to work for me. For the few times I want to use a floating tenon, this thing looks perfect for me!
add a couple of pieces of lexan to make a 0 clearance fence and a shield on top under the front knob bet you could even add a switched handle on the router bracket to turn it on and off
Pretty nifty jig! Already own the domino, and everytime I use it I always think: "Man this tool is such a pleasure to use!" Whereas every time I use a router... well, they're scary things!
Congratulations. It really came. Hopefully you get great use out of it for many years to come my friend. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend. Keep making. God bless.
Coming up with a dust extraction jig and using fixed bases would greatly improve the product. I like it, very neat. I’m not getting rid of my Domino but I love to see this kind of innovation in our craft.
FesSTOOL was PROVED to be trash by project Farm. Their tools aren't worth a dime. Cheap competitors will completely upend them
@@LitheInLitotes I prove weekly that Festool is worth every penny. Stop letting people think for you, go make your own conclusions.
Great review! Thanks for showing off new toys.
Great video. Nice to see another option for loose tenons. The festool Domino is still at the top of my must purchase tool list for this year though. Thank's for sharing.
Very interesting tool. Good find!
As a DIY home gamer the domino is way outside of my justifiable spending range. This tool fits this gap perfectly. Yeah, it’s not as quick and yeah it’s dusty but is it $1,000 slower/dustier? Not in my world. Excellent review and as always a great video. Also my mom says thanks for the inch?? 😉
The thing with the Domino (or most Festools) as a hobbyist is: if you go used, they do not lose value. If you buy it for 600 USD used you'll be able to sell it off 4 years later down the road for about the same 600 USD.
True today, but once the patent is done so is that resale price.
Thanks for the review David!
you've blown my mind with this one! Have been looking at the domino for a long time
Fantastic follow-up! Great video. Thanks, Dave
Kind of killed this video. Great storytelling, great content, very relevant, great editing, perfect length. Promotes new stuff discovery like the old video roundups that I LOVED, and small manufacturers which I also love. AND making. This is a thing, I hope you explore it.
I actually bought and own this! My gripes with this is the fence doesn’t tilt to 45 degrees, the depth and height stops are easily moved when locked down, and the 1st iteration had a (higher quality in my opinion) spring loaded linear guide rail/bearing. I reached out to the manufacturer as to what exactly got “upgraded” to warrant a higher price for the second model as to which they replied “we painted red”. Buyers beware, I still would recommend it though. Just wish they would’ve stayed with the linear guide rails than just two thin rods.
Would you get a version 3 if it tilted?
Where did you buy it?
@@djVania08 you can get it on eBay. I just received mine yesterday and tried it out with a cordless router. It works as intended but something needs to be done about dust collection. For narrow stock you can clamp your material flush to the edge of a workbench and use the bench to keep the jig square and stable
@@MakeSomething I'm sure the manufacturer could make an add on where you could remove the top handle and install one that does angles instead of buying a whole new version 3 of the jig
@@MakeSomething I would, but my biggest gripe was the change from linear guide rail to two dowels for the plunge action. pretty salty that the plunge action and a new paint job justifies the vague "(price) &/or upgraded " quote from the manufacture.
Just received my Jessem doweling jig master kit for under $200.00 shipped. Dominoes are great but dowels are good enough for any project I've ever taken on.
We have 2 festool air/electric powered portable DA sander stations at my work. The reclamation is so good that I can and do work without the need for a mask. There's literally no dust when dry sanding.
I bought the jig. Had to get 6mm collet and 6mm compression bit. Works like a champ I With my existing 6mm dominos. Fast and effective.
Made myself a horizontal mortiser works great
Great video.... I was not aware that floating tenon jig was available. Thanks for sharing.
This great, just last night I was thinking about how to design this very same concept. Looks like someone else had the same idea. 🙂 Thanks for sharing
The same jig is used in the door shop industry too router out latches for over 20 years or more. It is rather amazing that it has taken this long for a smaller, personal use system to come out and be affordable.
Loving your videos as always , keep up the good work sir
That is a cool jig. Thanks for doing a video on it.
Exciting! We all know we love a beautifully milled jig, it looks pretty dang nice. Dust collection is a bummer but still pretty cool. Thanks for making this video.
Fantastic testing and review, Dave! Thanks!!! 😃 But yeah, they should make something for the dust collection!!! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
I like alternatives. Thanks for showing it off
Great video David!
It looks like it could use a second knob for the depth adjustment (depth from the top reference surface). There's one on the left, but the one on the right seems like it's able to flex up and down a little.
You can see it move at 7:04
Great comparison!
Sticking with my Dominos but this should make Festool consider lowering their price to be more competitive. They won’t 😂 but they should.
2024 is the expiration date of the patent
@@manup1931 Good to know. I'll hold off another year then. Been wanting one badly.
@@manup1931 Don't expect a rush of competitors as it's not their patent that's prevented similar products. Dominos in general are for KZheadrs. No one else uses them.
They are only so well known BECAUSE they are so expensive. They wouldn't get all the same buzz if they were reasonably priced. Sometimes being the most expensive option gets you more sales than being just another budget option.
Lol literally I said “they won’t” as I read this comment and the read the end 😂😂
So stoked I came across this video!
This is great because it will cover the the cut sizes of the 500 and the 700. I can also make my own tenons. It should give me time to buy both beasts eventually. I can’t wait to use this jig. Thanks!
Just saw this video now and followed the link to the eBay listing; it's no longer for sale, but it did say they sold 209 of them. Guess I missed the boat. Great review!
I built a slot mortiser using the Triton Big dog plunge router and an X/Y milling table. I made it so it can do angles for chairs. It repeates closer than 0.005" every time. I make my loose tenons on the planar.
Wow..that is a huge difference in price. It opens doors for smaller shops/hobbyists
Great idea
Wow. Absolutely wow.
Yes, dust collection, there is none. Not to mention, if your palm slips, it's getting a floating tendon, literally. I would spend money to keep my tendons in my body. Cool video, lol
Great video david!!!
Thank you for the video. I always wonder how some of these tool accessories will actually work. I’m so glad you put this out there. The $200 option works better for my budget right now. 👍
I don't do enough floating tenons to justify a $1200 Festool domino machine, but for $195, I could probably make the case, especially since I already have that DeWalt trim router. That's impressive!
Your discussion of the tightness of the domino tenon brings up two thoughts. One I always felt the domino tenon might have been a little tight however they do have small channels to allow glue to escape without starving the tenon workpiece interface of glue, so Festool worked that out. Very smart. With the homemade tenon The thickness of those tenons can be adjusted on the table saw so fit should not be a problem. Without the escape grooves then perhaps a slight space for glue would be a better choice. Good video. Thanks.
I use my Peter Millard Loose Tenon Jig and a plunge router, very easy to use, works with any plunge router and even cheaper (depending on where you live and postage)
Great video. Very informative. The "Floating Tenon" voiceover almost made me spit my coffee out. 🤣🤣
I bought one of these two Christmas’ ago right when he made them available. Mine didn’t come in a fancy red color though, just all silver. I didn’t have any problems lining mine up at all.I haven’t used it in a while but I don’t think the springs worked as well as they do in yours. When I got mine it came with a bit (8mm I think). And you can also do a zero degree cut just take the piece with the knob off lol. On each of the pieces of metal that adjust the height they have metric on one side and imperial on the other. I’ve also had the domino XL, I used to work mostly with big slabs. The dust doesn’t worry me, I work in chemical plants a lot so meh. I think it’s a great idea and I appreciate someone taking the time to develop something like this.
great review
Agree with everything you said. Great option for this on a budget though.
Thanks for this vid. I was waiting for something like this. You got my sub.
Pretty cool jig for anyone on a budget. On plus for that jig is that it also does dowels, not sure the Festool does that (never touched one, so no idea). Pity I just bought a biscuit jointer a couple months ago.
Once again a great review. I almost pulled the trigger on the Festool but the wife would have really pulled the trigger if I did!
I would consider useing this as a mortise and tenon helper on small jobs.
I was thinking about a Domino, but I will probably reconsider after this video. Great video as always.
Your research is spot-on: I called my dad and he did confirm that 1" was all that my mom required!
Hand held slot mortiser.... Cool!
You could probably use any 5mm/8mm mill bit in those, gereric bits tend to be cheaper.
Very cool just ordered it for 250$ ill settle for clamping and not being able to use the 45°angle. No biggie and I don't need floating tenons for everything so the 250 for the occasional use is perfect! can't wait to get this! Thanks for the fyi
Great video, thank you
Would love to see a review of the new JessEm pocket mill pro loose tenon system. Uses a hand drill with an endmill instead of a router
That's dope, I might have to get me one of those
It reminds me of stubby numbs jig from many years back. But in metal and better adjustments. I'm shocked it took this long for a clone. The 1000$+ savings over festool is nice for an occasional use tool.
Thank you.
lol .. !! I am impressed .... by the VLog .. the tool, and the entertainment of it all . Never really used that modern woodworking stuff. I always rather enjoy the timberframe & Vilas simplicities.
We all need to keep up in mind that this is a jig converting a router to a domino jointer. That is okay to have tools multi task. Many years ago I just had to have a biscuit joiner. I drooled over them but could not afford the expensive tool. A near by lumber store ran a sale on a Ryobi biscuit jointer. It workers great! Makes great joints. I have the bit for my routers. My point is you don’t have to spend lots of money Mr do you have to multi purpose an important tool. Oh for me working with wood is making saw dust. Good video. Cavet Emptor.
Good stuff dude
So this tool actually exists for real? I love that you actually found this thing to try out for us.
I’ve been waiting for them to make one fit my Dewalt palm router. However, they seem to have done that. So I suppose it’s time. Thanks for the finical risk you took to help us out.
I almost bought the same exact scam item! Good to know there is a legitimate ebay alternate! I also ended up getting a festool. I could definitely see picking up the ebay jig to do larger floating tenons.
nice. thanks for sharing my good man.
I was most of the way through the video before I gave more than a cursory glance at you t-shirt. Hilarious, I want one.
Great video. I think you missed the fact you can flip the miter plate and use it on the face for edge to face joints.
Great video, love the fan. BTW, there are different models available from Ali and Bang as well. I bought a different model from Bang for $120, this included all the hex wrenches need, but no manual. . Took me about 1.5 hours to set it up correctly,. the horizontal alignment took the most time for doing a tight 6mm domino sized tenon. On most of the these jigs, the left right adjustments are not linked, so you have to adjust each side separately. Once aligned correctly, I made two alignment jigs, one for vertical and depth of cut, and the other for horizontal to do 6mm and 1/4" sizes tenons. This jig will be used exclusively for joining 3/4" (18mm) panels with 6mm manufactured tenons. I use a different loose tenon jig to do 5mm domino type tenon cuts. For a 6mm domino sized tenon, I can set the horizontal left right limits on my jig perfectly for a tight fit, and by adding a couple of business cards to my domino spacer, I can get a loose fit on the opposite panel. Trying to figure out a dust collection shroud for this unit will be interesting. It's messy, where a dust mask. Final analysis. Can it help make loose tenon joints like a DF500 for butt and "L" joints at the end of your panels, at the fraction of the cost? Yes. Would I buy this in place of a DF500,, for my amateur/pro shop, yes, I haven't won the lottery yet. However, For a pro/amateur or pro shop, doing production, I'd go with the DF500/700. It saves time collects the dust, and it can be written off on your taxes here in the states. Considerations There is a lot of manual dialing in of the adjustments to set the jig up, and you really need to slow down your plunge speed to keep the bit from drifting and impacting your cut. On standard 6mm manufactured type tenons, If you don't want to adjust the depth of your plunge a lot, for "L" butt joins, the manufactured tenons need to be cut down to about 30mm from 40mm for use with 3/4" (18mm) stock as in joining a cabinet side to a top or bottom. No good way to set up a mid panel cut that I can see. But that's what my Peter Millard's 5mm loose tenon jig is good at. Next Steps I need to create some spacer blocks that I can attach to the panel face to control how far in from the edges I can go, and get a small toolbox to keep everything together. Then figure out some form of dust collection.
For routing mid panel mortises the top handle can be removed. It would need some sort of straight edge or jig of some sort to get the exact locations. I just received mine yesterday and tried it out with a cordless router and looks like most of the dust shoots out the top ond onto the workbench which could be from the air blowing out of the router. I'm thinking I could maybe add a vacuum floor shroud to the top somehow for dust collection or just clamp down the jig to the workbench and hold the vacuum hose close to the router bit
Love voice over! Sounded sooooo natural could hardly tell.😂
Great video, that company should be sending you a commission check for the incredible amounts of sales their about to make. I am sure there are plenty of hobbyist who are just like me who would love a Festol but can't justify the cost. This brings that feature into reality, even if it comes with some inconvenience. A bit of a side note, the savings is only that good IF you own the router.
Makita had a promotion running for Black friday that lasted to the end of Dec where if you bought a 18v brushless drill and impact driver combo kit you could pick two free tools which is what I did. I picked the cordless router and jigsaw. The battery adds weight to the end of this jig so you'd just have to make sure to hold the top handle down good and solid
Good vid and I think you covered it all. I too will be keeping my Domino. If I didn't have it I may consider the option but once you use a Domino it would be hard to change. Nice David. JimE
That is awesome and appears well built. Check out the grizzly dual dowel tool. Would love to see a comparison to the other two.
This is a good review. I love my Domino machines, but they were very painful purchases for a hobbyist like me. I believe they are worth the price, BUT it's out of reach for the majority of hobbyists. This is a good middle ground solution that offers the benefit of loose tenons to the masses, without having to make bulky, mostly imperfect jigs out of wood. If they make a mount for Harbor Freights trim router, there would never be a reason to remove it.
I have a triton duo dowel pin joiner…while it needed a few small easy adjustments…its superb and can accommodate 10mm dowel pins…which is certainly strong enough for 3/4 stock…plus pins are much cheaper
Cool video, now I know how to use this one I found in a box I got from good will
😉
I'd add safety as another drawback. Seems like it would be pretty easy to get a body part in the bit with that jig.
I have the original version of this. One modification I made was a thin piece of sheet metal to close up the opening a bit and allow you to get closer to the edges and provide more support. I have done over 100 mortises and occasionally will get a nasty kick back, I believe because of it moving on me. I find it works best to plunge a hole on the left and the right side and then make 3 passes across to finish it off. I also made a jig to clamp it to for standard 3/4 stock pieces. to make it a bit safer. It does work and is a great alternative until I get the real thing.
For routing those narrow stock pieces you could clamp your workpiece flush to the edge of your workbench and use the bench to keep the jig square and stable
I saw another KZhead video where the user was concerned about how close your hand was to the spinning bit, but as I see you demonstrate it, it looks extremely secure in that collar, and I don't see how your hand would ever come close to that spinning bit, unless you were really not careful. A tool that I would consider getting, but for now my Dowelmax works just fine for my needs.
One thought I had while watching this was safety. One thing I like about the domino is it's spring loaded. So if something gets out of hand, the bit retracts back into the tool. That thing is just flopping around all willy nilly. For a tool that seems to be geared for the hobbyist, I feel like it should have some kind of guard on top and a spring to add some resistance. But otherwise if you're on a budget, rock on!
I have a domino but I could see this as a good alternative to buying the XL as well.
you might find a variable router jig from Woodpeckers to be a better solution and more uses.
I love this.
I'm going to draw up my own tomorrow and make it on my CNC router
I have the original version and I love it.