Just to help anybody that’s watching this video now, I have recently purchased the Triton machine and it’s clear that they have addressed the problems highlighted by many and have improved it. The rubber bumpers are now on springs and depress into the body. The springs have been changed also. The sliding movement is much smoother. I am extremely pleased that I bought the Triton. I hope this helps.

This is one of the best tool reviews that I've ever seen. Very thorough. Well done!

I have been watching your videos for quite a long time and I love them all. This one included. Stating the pros and cons in an unbiased way to let consumers make their own decisions on whether a little bit of work on the tool is worth it or not is very helpful. For a person like me, a couple of hours of testing and tinkering to make the tool work sufficiently is well worth the $600 savings that I could use to buy other tools or products. But for many others who may not have the patience or aptitude to deal with some of the downfalls and shortcomings staying away from this tool would probably be a good idea. I see too many reviews out there where people just say “stay away from this product it’s junk” or “this product is great if you know what you’re doing “ but don’t really go into any depth about how or why they feel that way. Keep producing the great content!

If you could turn this into a series, buying maligned budget tools and bringing them into your spec, that would be really cool.

I'm very happy someone finally did an honest review on this. I had other problems with, the centre marking wasn't really on the centre and that wasted a lot of material and time. You're conclusion was spot on, I would just add that if you have the money to get an adequate tool, apart from the obvious Domino, you could get a Mafell duo doweller which is just an incredible machine.

For those with limited resources, and the time to spend (for many, tinkering is an enjoyable process), this is a great video. Assuming the problems remain the same across units, I could see this as a reasonable alternative for a lot of people with a home shop.

I love that you make it your mission to use a tool that is (apparently) universally loathed. (I don't have an opinion, I just learned it exists from your video). Thanks for sharing! Matt

Love this video. Almost bought this myself until reading the reviews. I hope Triton sees this and puts some work into what seems like a good idea.

Thanks a lot for this non advertisement. Truth is the improvements can be applied to similar tools. Regards.

Awesome video! I too was much wondering what was SO wrong with this tool. Thank you for not only showing what was wrong but how you went around those issues. Huge thumbs up!

I have the Domino and while it was expensive, it makes it so worth it on the times you want the joint perfect with no issues.

I went to our local big box store (Menards) and found two weaker springs the same length, tried both of them and picked the best of the two, I also took out the rubber pads, and I feel this helped this particular piece of equipment work great work great, love it.

I'm happy with my Freud plate biscuit joiner and wouldn't switch to a doweling device. People don't all like biscuit joiners either, but I've had the Freud since they came out. Had used Lamello before that. Things line up well. I have found that if my biscuits have been in the cabinet for a long time, they get "fat" and hit them lightly with a ball peen hammer to initially reduce them. THen they still swell up firmly but don't make assembly impossible. Glad you found a fix for that spring problem. We did the same for our carbs on Ducati's as the throttle was way to stiff.

Thank you, Andy. A perfectly informative video!

Andrew, this is by far my favorite tool review this year. I have never seen someone take "hated" tool and make it work or at least improve it to work well. I was wandering about this and dowelmax tool which both cost about 200$. I think when I have time to play in my workshop I'll make a homemade dowel jig and then eventually settle on dowelmax. Which I have a feeling is worth the money. I say that because most people already have a drill and dowels are cheap. Again thanks for sharing this great video !!!!

I really want to thank you for this video....I am building a Japanese style cedar gate from 1" stock...and wanted to use dowels, dominos etc. I purchased the Triton at Rockler yesterday---and was able to get the springs from McMaster Carr same day (there is one near here) and re-drilled replaced the index pins (I used much larger pins). Finally, I sanded and polished the tracks of the fence mechanism. The work took me about two hours--and only because of all the advance work you did--and info you shared. The machine now works great! The doors went together (6" cedar butt joints) perfectly and dowel pins were tight. If I had tried to do this project with a manual drill jig--I'd have been working all day. You really did a great service for those of us not able--or willing--to spend $1500 for a Festool. Kudos!!

Well done vid, thanks for posting it! It also serves as a great reminder about our own woodworking: We each have to come up with a good design and then execute it well.

A very interesting and honest evaluation of the tool. I’ve been wondering what the problems were for this machine. Now I know. Thanks.

The number of times i had time, and no money led to the creation of my entire shop. If i had waited for the money, i'd be dead. Now, however, i have the shop. I've gone from cheap harbor freight tools, to one by one upgrading. I've not made it to the festool level(not sure i want to)but many of my tools now are working damned fine. Last night, i realized that my beloved tenon making jig, was not going to produce the accuracy i need for the current project, and now i have a new, simpler one. It took two hours to make. Thank you for this. I wondered about the reviews. Seems like they are accurate~!~

Nice to see such a level headed and inventive perspective

I appreciate you explaining your experience with this tool. I wanted one but really doubt I'll get one after seeing your video. I enjoy your channel, keep up the good work...

Time still the most precious commodity.. great honest integrity filled video.. thanks..

I'll stick to my biscuit jointer for alignment and dowels when I need strength. Thank you for sharing.

Setting whether it was worth it aside, I like the analysis and problem solving. I enjoyed just going for the ride and watching.

I used one to make two side tables, joining rails to legs no problem, also did 4 2x10x8 into a table top for outdoor table. I didn’t expect it to be perfectly flat using dimensional lumber but it was nothing a little belt sander couldn’t fix, it was a rustic table.

Thanks for documenting your experiences and modifications.

I can say that the Festool domino joiner is well worth the price if you are joining regularly with dowels and don't want exposed screws like pocket hole joinery. A fellow woodworker purchased one and I thought he was crazy for spending over a $1100 for it and the accessory kit. Then I used it on a couple of custom projects that required strength and perfect fit. I now own one. The price was a tough bill to swallow but it makes the job so much easier and the quality is second to none. Quality tools make cleaner jobs, happier woodworker and satisfied customers which leads to more jobs. What turned me off to the triton machine was the non adjustable spacing to the dowels. I don't always need 2 dowels so far apart. The domino only needs a single plate for equivalent/superior strength and the alignment it provides is also awesome compared to other methods

Hi I liked your video very much, because I did the same with the Triton Planer / Thicknesser. Being a retired mech' eng' I'm time rich and money poor . The Planer's inlet / outlet tables did not line up (a pretty fundamental flaw!) but with a lot of time I modified the body with some cams and ended up with a machine that works well enough for my DIY use at a fraction of the price of a real one. I could never justify the cost of a commercial machine nor the time required to design / build from scratch, this way is a great alternative, the low end supplier put in most of the work and we upgrade to make it useful. Thanks for the video, good description and well presented.

best tool review on youtube! I feel the same about alot of tools.. they just suffer from design flaws and requires the user to "ticker" with them

Great video Andrew. Thank you so much for having shared all what you've done to make this tool 'perform' well. I own such tool, and as you mentioned, I will definitely take (invest) required time to get it right. Best, Serge

Well done Andy. At a recent Woodworker's show, at Triton's booth, I noticed immediately that the plate wiggles which would prevent proper alignment between pieces. Great idea... crappy quality control. I almost purchased it but opted not to. I have a Dowellmaster which is dead nuts accurate but a power tool would be nice. I had the same issue with their 7" planer. I went through 4 of them before I got one that had a platen that was square to the blades. It's a fabulous planer but their QC sucks. Frankly, $1000 to $1400 for a Domino machine is absurd. Ditto with their tracksaw.

Great video. Seems like a tool to avoid unless someone has some engineering prowess. I’ve often wondered why more companies don’t jump in and make a floating tenon or dual dowel machine to complete with the Domino.

Thanks so much for your in-depth review Andrew! This was an insightful video and high-quality content coming from a highly intelligent KZfaqr who’s opinion I trust and respect! Should you have interest, Triton and other tool brands would do well to tap you as an influencer.

A first-class review. You confirmed that I was absolutely correct in choosing to buy a Festool Domino. Sir Henry Royce is often quoted in these situations, "quality will remain long after the price is forgotten" Thank you.

Thanks for the update , these are generally good concerns. Not everybody is as good as fixing tools the right way like you. Allot of us would have to return the tool etcetera and end up with things not covered by warranty probably

I hope Triton takes note. I’m hoping they will and reach out to you. Simple fixes for them at the factory. 👍 Thanks!

I like the conclusion; it's really refreshing amongst all those DIY type of channels that have turned into home shopping TV.

thanks for detailed examination of this tool! Very good video, extremely helpful.

Nice nice job on this candid honest evaluation. I may get one of these and your hard work should make my turn at calibrating this alot easier.

When I need to soften a spring, I've often had good success just heating the spring up. It loses some of its bounce. I always go that way first if I'm going to replace it anyway.

I have used the mafell version and I find it a bliss to use. It's sturdy and well built, and I find it more comfortable to use then the domino since it's just a straight drilled hole and there is no side to side movement. But it is very expensive

After watching this video I'm ready to buy it, maybe I'll be a few. I know I always love it when the stuff I buy involves a science project and a few days of screwing around to get it working.

Thank You for your honesty!

Great review. I think I will stick with my Jessem dowel jig. About the same price as this tool, however it is well built and super accurate every time I use it.

shucking out the $900+ for a domino really sucks, but every time I need to use it I am so glad I bought it. Thanks for a great video!

if you can remove the springs then no need to buy or look for a it online. Simply cut a little at a time at one end to shorten it and thereby reducing its spring tension.

Awesome job thanks for going through all that. Videos like this really help.

I am not sure what to do, unlike most videos, you did not trash the item. I was prepared to make some negative comments, instead I will subscribe and leave my cynicism at the door. Thank you, you content added to the general knowledge of a people with much to share

Your content is always so interesting!

Masterful job of turning that machine into a more accurate doweling jig! Great Work! Liked !!

Andy... this was a super interesting video. Love the analysis... you Klein boys all have a great way of making complicated things simple.

Actually a really good video. This tool has potential when you sort out the issues with it ( I have one), but it is a $200 tool. It has a good motor, gearbox and bearings. It uses cheap off the peg dowels. It is not going to give you the out of the box precision of a domino, but only a fool, or a very positive optimist would expect that it could. Either save the $$$ and buy the domino, or spend the hours needed to sort it. I cant afford a domino, but I do have a shop full of tools, so.....

Totally agree with you Andrew. I enjoy the challenge...I have had a similar journey with a brand new biscuit cutter. But hey for a price of AU $30 (for a brand new unit) it was totally worth it. Have a nice day.

Buy Cheap, Buy Twice... best advice given to me 30 years ago.

Interesting video. I wonder though why not to use biscuits? There are pretty decent biscuit jointers on the market for $150-200. I know it's not as strong as domino but pretty close to dowels. Or am I missing something?

Nice job Thanks for the time spent and input ...

Forty years ago Fine Woodworking carried a readers' dialog about both Asian-built and American branded tools essentially being a kits the owner might be able to accurize. In my shop almost all the stationary machinery is well-worn industrial spin-offs which were also kits to try to make accurate. Jim Krenov recognized that acute perception is among the most valuable assets to the craftsman. This Triton presents an opportunity to make something valuable out of what is essentially crap. Thanks to you for explaining how to do that.

Appreciate your honest and unbiased review And especially the tips and how to’s on mods to make it work. I don’t own one and there are Two reasons I won’t be buying one. 1- I don’t want one that only does dowels. 2- I don’t want to buy anything “new” that I would need to modify to make it work the way it’s supposed to out of the box. Thank you again!

Very nice effort attempting to make this a tool worth purchasing and using. Looks to me that this is a tool to avoid, unless one of the big three decides to offer one. Then it would likely be double the price, but usable and still half the price of the Domino. Thanks for taking such a good look at this. I have been wondering about it and now I know.

I honestly hope to be as good at anything as you are with tools. You've literally reached a point of mastery where your knowledge of tools and remedies is so great that you can use _any tool as a challenge_ . Added to that, you're not showing any sort of real frustration because you know what is wrong or at least have a clue on how to drill down to what is wrong. *Absolutely amazing.*

I'm not in the habit of buying crappy tools from a lazy/incompetent manufacturer and fixing them myself. This only encourages the manufacturer to keep making crappy tools and wastes my valuable time I could be doing something productive with. If you want my business, make something decent. I'm willing to pay good money for quality tools.

Well done, a lot of work, I just use a dowel jig and my bench drill and a fence.

Most of us are woodworkers and tinkerers so I'm not sure why most slam this after seeing the video and knowing what it takes to make it work decent. I get that there are quality control issues but sometimes you appreciate using a tool more when you know you've made it better than it was originally. This goes with cheap tools as well as expensive tools. I agree with Andrew on this one 100%.

I had the freud version of this "HAD" (Was robbed a month ago). I found it to be a useful tool. First thing was to remove the side guide pins as you can never get them aligned. Calibrate the center line so that it is exactly centered. After that the tool is great.

Really good review! - I am one of those who took the plunge with the Domino, and after watching this, I am SO glad I did. - Perhaps Triton will look at this and improve it. For me, If I want to do dowels, I'll just use a doweling jig.

Very good. I’d like to see a channel tackle cheap or flawed tools and resolve the issues......I suspect a lot of others would too.

I agree completely about buying and managing this tool. Especially if it's a tool you use occasionally. The other argument would be "time is money." Which is a good point, however, you said it perfectly; the the extra $800 could be better spent elsewhere in the shop. Great review 👍 thanks.

Thanks for this. I was looking at this tool, and now I wont be. Too much tinkering that I dont have the time or patience to do. Appreciate it!!

I had it for a week and sd 200$+tax no thank u it was a pain to push the cutters especially in oak or maple, it cut un-even like urs did, and mine didnt have the pads...man u pretty much remade the damn thing they should pay u for the upgrade.im happy with my 80$dowel jig kit I got from rockler.

I'm amazed after the so many negative reviews of this product, how come Triton did not address them and come out with a new fixed model. From what I see here the corrections they need to do into their product manufacturing wise are easy to be fixed. This makes no sense to me, because if this product was accurate as it should be, it would have sold lots. Nice fix Andrew !!!!

Thanks for the review, and what you needed to make it perform better. Unfortunately for the company, I have no patience to fiddle with the tool to get it to work well enough to consider using it.

Thank you. I've been wanting one of these for a long time but the reviews scared me.

Watching this video made me glad I bit the bullet and bought a domino.

Thank you for this video I have been looking at Triton tools since it seemed there were several channels using them and I like to think they give fair reviews but after this I see they are not worth the investment

I was considering buying one of those or a Domino. I’m glad now that I bought the domino. At the time the Triton looked like it had been badly engineered.

I love this video! After watching, I decided to buy the triton and see if I could duplicate your modifications. It arrived today and I’m a little disappointed. Everything worked fine right out of the box! It’s great! I just hate I didn’t get to mod it!

I have a Festool one for several years and it would Great!

Jupiter Ascending - "Time is the single most precious commodity in the universe."

So this Triton is a copy of Mafell's Duo doweller DD40/DDF40m - rather than a budget version of a domino. The difference between the Mafell and Triton is night and day. The new Mafell DDF 40 is a supreme tool. And it should be for £900! That said, there should be no excuse for a budget brand making tools that aren't fit for purpose out the box. Really liked what you did to the Triton though. You gave it a fair go and seemed to get it performing OK. Man after my own heart.

Kudos on getting decent results out of it, but seems to be similar to the guy who bought a suit where one sleeve was too long and one leg was too short. The tailor suggested he shift his shoulders and his hips until it fit properly. He hobbled down the street this way when a couple saw him. The wife said "That poor man!" and the husband said "Yeah, but doesn't the suit fit nice?" I don't expect any tool to be perfect, especially right out of the box. But I also don't expect to have to rebuild it to correct obvious design and quality issues.

“There’s always something to spend money on in the shop” the truest statement.

Excellent video, really contains all you need to determine if this is for you IMO. If you get to the end, just before the office debrief, and say to yourself "Triton should be embarrassed about his product, but: I could do what Andrew just did" then it could be for you. If you get to that same point and think "you have got to be kidding!" then its time to look to another product. I had a similar experience about 10 years ago with a HF biscuit jointer; it was so misaligned that using it was worse than skipping biscuits (it forced my joints out of square. I tried to fix the misalignment but failed at the time. Looking back, and having seen many videos like this, I think I could fix it today... if I still had it.

Good tools like quality cars, cost money. You pay for what you get. Good idea informing potential buyers about theses problems. Good Video!

You did a great job on this in a lot of different aspects, so thank you, but I would end up having wasted $200 if I’d bought and tried to do what you’ve done. It takes a lot of skill and knowledge to do what you’ve done, which I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who have it, but I’ll go without or take the plunge and buy the festool.

This video led me to buying the Jessem doweling master kit. Thank you

I think that people who are comparing doweling jointers to the Festool are comparing apples to oranges. ANY time you have to line up two lines, you're introducing a tiny amount of human error. If you're dropping in 20 dowel pins, you're drilling 40 holes and you're bound to be be off in micro-increments all the way up and down the line. The Festool gets around this by making the slots bigger than the dominos. They market it as a 'floating tenon.' ("It's not a bug! It's a feature!") The excess space is filled with glue and the true alignment has to happen with clamps and the tap of a mallet - exactly as Andrew did with the dowels in this video. The ENTIRE planet has bought into this approach and supports Festool's game. But with dowels, people still expect 100% accuracy, then complain "Well, Festool pulls it off." No. They actually don't pull it off at all. The machine can be perfect, but you're never going to eliminate the operator. We are the fatal flaw in all of these systems. So why aren't we using dowel jointers the same way we use a Festool? The simplest answer is to use 1/4 inch dowels in 3/8th inch holes. I'd even keep the tool running as you pull it out to make the hole a tiny bit bigger than 3/8th. (It would go faster than waiting for the bit to fully stop anyway.) Then fill the hole with glue, set the dowel pin, and move on to the next one. Just like we would with dominos. Even though Festool has the 'floating tenon' bs, I haven't seen a loss of performance with the floating tenons in all of the domino vs dowel tests. Based on those tests, I don't think a tight fit vs a lose fit makes a huge difference. I can't do it any time soon, but I'll definitely be doing some tight dowel vs 'floating' dowel tests of my own in the future. If my theory is right, then almost any halfway decent doweling jointer would be a match for Festool - provided we use both machines the same way. Float the tenon, bro. The holes can be out of alignment, not perfectly 90 degrees, or off in any direction and it can still be clamped exactly right.

I like to tinker but not on a new power tool. I do my best to not reward poorly made products with my money. I use loose tenons, but I do it with a router and simple fixture. Thanks for the review, Andy.

It seems like I could create a jig and stops to use a plunge router, since I have to take time to figure it out anyway.

I think woodworking has reached it's limits, tool wise. Every year and ever catalog has the newest, super wazoo, tool, jig, clamp or gadget to make your life easier. I bought a biscuit cutter about 10 years ago. Mostly, it collects dust. I'm sure many people are very happy with their Dominos. Good for them. To me, the best thing that ever happened to woodworking, as a hobby, is the availability of hand held routers. With a router and a bandsaw, along with an assortment of hand tools and jigs, you can build, just about, anything. I do admire the shop that has every tool that Festool offers or the 25,000 dollar Snap-On box, full of matching tools but, I also admire people, like Mathius or Izzy. Need a tool? Make a tool.

I get it’s so so expensive but I saved and saved and got a domino and I had this dowel tool there is just no comparison the domino is insane good it makes it a pleasure working with

I got mine to work perfectly. The main problem was slop between the base and the motor... Milled a piece of corrian to fit between just on the tight side, added silicone oil. Cut and stretched the spring, sorted out the alignment and the clear viewing panel. Dumped the rubber pads as it somehow became very square , checked with a pair of dummy drills I made. I can't remember if the corrian is stuck to base or the machine but after a few pushes it went fine. The best technique is to have both hands on the motor, great for 12mm dowels. Never buy shite on Ebay when you come back from the pub....

I probably wouldn't but this based on the issues it has , but if I did , I might try fixing parallel bit to fence alignment by applying bondo to the entire fence and sanding in a tapered fashion until parallel. Just a thought .

Had one delivered yesterday and was sent back today, casting lines completely out from the drill bits, window lines completely out from the casting lines and drill bits, measurements from the face plate sides to the drill centres were different from the right side and left side by 4mm also the drill bit centres were different by 2mm in terms of hight to the adjustable plate and the slop was bad it was almost a domino jointer. I wanted it for doing waterfall legs on coffee tables, completely useless for that purpose, been trying to get hold of a dowelmax 45° jig but they are never in stock here in the UK, so I'm making my own jig.

Great vid I am planning on buying this so this helps alot.

You could probably find a plunge router spring that works, which might be cheaper on erplacementparts. But then again maybe that's what they used in the first place to save on logistics costs.

Thank you! I have a Freud doweling machine that I got on close out. It's excellent and without the problems you mention except the spring is a bear! It also has the pins on the ends like the domino. I'll try your fix on it for the springs when I get some time. Not sure if the same springs will work, but McMaster-Carr is a good source.

This was an excellent video sir!

Great video. Though i think I'd rather not buy the Triton , just do to the fact of I hate buying a piece of equipment knowing its junk and needs modified . Everyone has a price on there time, and i don't have the time on fixing poor engineering or design issues. Again great video. Thanks

Thanks so much for this video. I have been looking into this to for a while and have been hesitant to buy it.

Yes, very useful video. Thanks for sharing! : )