Triton Dowel Jointer.

[Maverick81]

Has anyone checked out the Triton Dowel Jointer? Here is a video showing the machine in use....for anyone interested.

https://youtu.be/Tvfg1_aH0kA

 

[transatlantic]

I've always wondered why dowels aren't used more in joinery. I know they can be a little tricky to align by hand, but a hand made jig or commercial jig solves that issue.

I think this tool by Triton fills the gap for those who can't afford a domino. To me, a dowel jointer would be far more preferable to a biscuit jointer, in that you get both alignment properties as well as joint strengthing properties, and they're in the same price range. I wonder why we don't see more of these from other brands?

It would be interesting to see a strength test between a domino joint and a TDJ600 joint (with the larger size dowels). I suspect there wouldn't be much in it.

 

[flh801978]

Mafell do their double dowel jointer at £650 ish has the patent run out hence triton copying it
Ian

It looks a good device though

 

[custard]

Mafell have had a similar tool for a long time, the single biggest shortcoming of the Mafell is that the distance between the dowels is fixed, and actually it's too far apart for many of the rails and stile sizes that you'll commonly use in furniture making. I haven't looked at the Triton tool so I can't comment on that. Personally I'd rather use a decent dowel jig for the greater versatility they provide, and if you're not working in a commercial environment where time is money a good dowel jig is likely to be the hands down winner.

Dowels don't have the best reputation, but in my view that's undeserved. In many cabinet making jointing challenges dowels are the single best solution, they may not be as strong as mortice and tenons for example, but they're strong enough and there are often times when M&T's just aren't a viable option where as dowels often are. James Krenov swore by dowels, and he wasn't that shoddy a furniture maker!

 

[MattRoberts]

Before I got the domino I was researching alternatives, and could only find the mafell as a viable alternative - I dismissed it because it was a similar price and seemed less versatile.

I agree with custard that dowels are a perfectly good alternative to something like a domino, but no one seems to be able to make one that had the precision and flexibility to match, at a decent price point. Perhaps this triton will be the answer, though given its a double rather than a single I'm not sure

 

[marcros]

related question- I have a lathe bench to make, and was going to use 3x3 softwood to do so. 4 legs, 4 stiles, 2 top rails, 1 bottom rail etc

I dont have the big domino, so that is ruled out. Would something like an 18mm dowel or pair of dowels be sufficiently strong to join the frame? It would be much quicker than cutting mortise and tenon joints if so and is effectively a loose tenon system by another name. I should be able to cut the pieces, clamp the joint, drill it and insert the dowel as a through tenon.

 

[curtisrider]

I see Triton stuff about more and more, what is the quality like? which brands do they compare to? I initially thought they looked a bit cheap but I haven't read many horror stories about them

 

[transatlantic]

related question- I have a lathe bench to make, and was going to use 3x3 softwood to do so. 4 legs, 4 stiles, 2 top rails, 1 bottom rail etc

I dont have the big domino, so that is ruled out. Would something like an 18mm dowel or pair of dowels be sufficiently strong to join the frame? It would be much quicker than cutting mortise and tenon joints if so and is effectively a loose tenon system by another name. I should be able to cut the pieces, clamp the joint, drill it and insert the dowel as a through tenon.

If it's a lathe bench, I would make it as chunky as you can, therefore not only adding strength but also much needed weight to reduce vibration. I think dowels would be fine, but I'd personally go for half laps and then secure everything with some beefy bolts. Should be quick to build and provide a lot of stability. I'd suspect that over time, with the vibration, glue joints alone could fail.

And if your lathe has a rotating headstock, don't forget to splay the legs a fair bit.

 

[Blister]

Zero dust extraction options and in the video he was covered in dust , I'll pass

 

[Beau]

It would need very precise marking out and cutting if doing longer joints or boards that needed multiple dowels. Not that I have either but the domino has a bit of slack in it to allow for any miss alignment but a dowel would have to be spot on.

 

[petermillard]

Zero dust extraction options and in the video he was covered in dust , I'll pass

There is a dust extraction port, apparently - he just didn't use it :roll: Don't know if he was using particularly blunt cutters, but it seemed to take a lot of effort to drill the holes :/

I couldn't see any way of referencing (e.g. pins/paddles in the Domino) either, so presumably it's just down to pencil marks for alignment. Still, at £120 it might be an interesting alternative for some applications.

Cheers, Pete

 

[MattRoberts]

I've had no problem with alignment on the domino, and have edge joined 6 foot boards using the tight setting easily. As long as the pencil lines are sharp and the reference lines on the machine are accurate, it should be fine

 

[Roughcut]

Yes I am a Triton Dowel Jointer user.
I believe I paid around £100 probably 6 months ago from Toolstop.
It's pretty good value for money in my opinion.
It does have dust extraction facility and use it connected to a Festool midi.
Mine came with 8mm dowel drills but I believe it can also accept 5mm, 6mm, 10mm and maybe even 12mm dowel drills also.
However accuracy is key with dowels and as there's no slop to accommodate misalignment issues (as with a biscuit jointer) it is not really a tool for free handing with.
Also it does not have the additional alignment pins that the Mafell has for accurate referencing from the edge of the work piece.
Really to get the best from a Dowel Jointer I concluded that it needed to be used with a dowel template guide, and Triton don't make one.
I suppose with some ingenuity and attention to detail you could knock up your own, but I opted to buy the Mafell Guide which although very pricey works a treat:
http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/product.php/s ... -E7KTZRGUk

And as Custard hinted the dowel spacing is fixed (at 32mm), which can affect smaller dimension work pieces but I didn't find that a deal breaker.
The 32mm spacing can be used as an advantage when producing rows of shelf pin holes for example.