charlieb,

I agree with your attached comparison except for one point in the last part
of it and another point that you seem to have totally ignored.

I find that cutting both mortices AND MATCHING TENONS on the FMT to be both
fun and enjoyable. Maybe it's because I own an FMT, or maybe it's because
it's just so incredibly neat that I can make perfect mortices and then
perfect matching tenons with just one setup and one router bit. In other
words, I'm happy with my toy and I don't want your's. If your toy works good
for you, then there's nothing more to say.

Floating tenons are good joinery and relatively easy to do. In fact, that's
what I did for years before I got the FMT. I had built a great morticing
fixture out of wood for use with my router that let me put mortices almost
anywhere and almost any size. I made floating tenon stock with square edges
on my table saw and used them in the rounded mortices made with the router
because I found that the sides of the mortice/tenon joint were where the
real joint strength was. I let the open curved ends of the mortice become a
reservoir for the excess glue and I never had a joint failure using this
method of joinery. However, the setup took quite a bit longer than with the
FMT, and I couldn't get the precise fit that I wanted without custom making
my tenon stock. I justified the purchase of the FMT based on the overall
reduction of setup time and it's ability to make perfect fitting mortice and
tenon joints.

I have one question for you. Can you adjust the precise size of the Domino's
mortice or the tenon to make the fit between them a bit tighter? As I see
it, there is no capability in it's design to allow for this. This capability
is one of the main reasons that I bought the FMT, and I so far haven't seen
anything else on the market that can do this. As I see it, a Domino cuts one
size (thickness) mortice and the tenons that they provide are supposed to
fit properly into it, but there is no way to make any adjustment in their
tightness of fit. The glue just has to fill the void. This is one of the
problems that I had with every other jig that I tried before finding the
FMT, which does have a built-in dial to allow you to adjust for a precise
tightness of joint fit. Now I can make press fit M&T joints if I want to, or
I can set them for about .002" clearance to allow for a perfect glue joint.

Please, "I'm not trying to say that my way is better". It's just better for
me.

It's just the way that I found to make M&T joints that works great for me,
and I switched to it over 2 years before the Domino became available. If I
was making the same decision today I might be more interested in the Domino,
but I made my decision over 2 years ago and I'm still very happy with it. I
can't see that the Domino will do anything significantly better than what I
have now. In fact as I see it, it isn't as precise as the FMT, but it may be
a bit faster to set up.

You wanted comparison information from someone who owned an FMT and had
looked into a Multi-router and a Trend M&T jig and I tried to help you.
That's all. In fact, I'm now wondering why you are still comparing them,
after you have already made your big decision and bought the Domino. It's
almost like you aren't really sure that you made the right decision when you
bought it. Have you?

--
Charley


"charlieb" wrote in message
...
Charley's observations about the TREND M&T JIG, and by extension
the Leigh FMT as well as the MultiRouter, and the difficulty in
doing
tenons where they're supposed to be - and the size you want for
the fit you're after - begs the question

WHY NOT GO WITH LOOSE TENON M&T JOINTS?

One router bit - and if it's +/- 0.005" - so what. The holes will be
the
same - and that's what's important. If you've got a planer - and bench
top planers that'll do the job, are available for $300 or less - mill
stock
to the bit diameter - whatever it is - and rip loose tenon stock to
width.
A pass or two with a block plane or even a sanding block on all for
edges
to chamfer them and you're ready to cut what ever length loose tenon
you need.. No worries about tenon shoulders either. AND you can make
the loose tenons in any wood you've got handy - or in the same wood
- or in a contrasting wood - if you want.

Of course, with any of the "router jigs"
a) you've got a dedicated router for it (OK - scratch that for the
TREND - but I think it's been ruled out - for tenon cutting
problems.
b) you've got to mark at least one mortise centerline-centerline
for each type of part in order to align the jig to it - and that's
if the mortise is layed out symetrically on two axis
or
if the mortise is offset from the centerline of the part's
thickness - then you have to mark the centerline-centerline
of BOTH ENDS of each type of part in order to align the jig
to it.

The more I reflect on the various ways to do loose tenon M&T
joints - the more I appreciate the DOMINO. I can plan what I
want to do - numerically - then - with NO LAYOUT - cut my mortises
where I want - with relatively (to the Leigh and MultiRouter) no
set up time.

Other than for the sheer fun of it, or for aesthetic reasons I
don't understand, I can't think of a reason for doing "real"
tenons - and I enjoy handcutting dovetails. Tenons - they aren't
even fun to do.

charlie b