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Had a domino joiner explode on me mid-cut yesterday
Was working on a set of walnut cabinets for a kitchen reno in Portland and about 30 minutes into my afternoon my Festool Domino just let out this horrible grinding noise followed by a bang. The cutter head basically seized up and threw the bit right out the front. Luckily I had my safety glasses on and nobody was in the line of fire but man that scared the crap out of me. I had been using that thing for about 2 years with no issues and I keep up on maintenance so I have no idea what caused it. Had to pack up and go home early and now I'm out a day of work waiting to see if I can get it repaired under warranty. Has anyone else had a domino fail on them like that or did I just get a lemon?
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taylor6681mo ago
You're really sure it wasn't something you did wrong? Maybe you hit a knot or a hidden nail and just didn't notice.
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Hang on, taylor668 is kind of missing the point here. If there was a hidden nail or a knot, that would usually just dull the bit or stall the motor, not cause the whole cutter head to seize and launch the bit out the front. That sounds more like a mechanical failure in the gear train or the collet assembly itself, not a user error thing. Festool tools are designed to handle knots and the occasional hidden fastener, they have overload clutches for that. I've hit plenty of surprises in my work and the worst I ever got was a smoked motor on a sander once, never a catastrophic explosion like that. So while it's smart to always check your lumber, I think Terry's case is more about a defective unit rather than something he did wrong.
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gibson.elizabeth29d ago
Nobody has brought up the thermal overload on those Festool routers. That model has a thermal cutout that should trip before anything gets to the point of launching bits. If the cutter head seized and the motor kept trying to push through, there's a chance the thermal protection failed or was bypassed somehow. That could explain why it didn't just stall out like a normal impact. Might be worth checking the varnish on the armature windings for any signs of shorting from heat damage.
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