Triton TDJ600 Dowelling Jointer Review

Triton TDJ600 Dowelling Jointer

I have been looking for a power dowelling jointer for a while and the choice was limited to one budget machine that I could afford and three very expensive machines, which were well outside my budget! These are the Triton TDJ600 costing under £200, the Mafell Duo Dowel Jointer at £850, Festool Domino DF700 at £1000 and the Lamello Zeta P2 for an eye watering £1300! 

I am going to be making four new lower windows for the workshop and I want to use 12mm dowels in their construction. Two of these windows face the lane so I will make these from Welsh Oak and the rear two face the veg garden, so will be made from Redwood.  

As an amateur woodworker on a small budget, the choice was simple, the Triton was the only machine that I could actually afford. I looked online and saw that Toolstation were offering the machine for just  £129.99 with next day delivery. 

The machine is supplied with 8mm cutters, but I had been using 10mm dowels and have a big box of these, so I also bought the 10mm and 12mm cutters from FFX, together with additional packs of dowels in 8 and 12mm. The total purchase price came to just under £195 which is a quarter of the cost of the cheapest alternative!

Next day this big box arrived from Toolstation

Inside the big box and wrapped in oodles of bubble wrap was the jointer

Usually, cheapest does not mean best and I had read reviews of this machine and watched various woodworkers struggling on YouTube to get it to produce accurate results. I had watched two videos that showed work arounds to improve accuracy, so I bought the machine with an open mind knowing that a certain amount of fettling could be required to produce accurate repeatable results.

The TDJ600 can use 8mm, 10mm and 12mm dowels

As it turned out, the only fettling required on my machine was to find a way to connect it to my Festool MIDI extractor. The Triton has a dust port on the bottom of the machine underneath the cutters. I tried my various dust adapters but nothing seemed to fit straight out of the box.  However, I stripped down one of my Cen-Tec adapters and this fitted both the Festool 27mm hose and the dust port on the Triton, albeit a bit loose. The addition of a strip of gaffer tape to the Triton made for a good airtight fit and that is all I have had to do in way of improvements to my machine!

A piece of gaffer tape makes an airtight seal for the Cen-Tec soft adapter

With the Festool plugged into the Triton, dust collection is impressive with hardly any wood dust ending up on the floor.

The Festool MIDI now plugs straight into the Triton

 

Various reviewers made mention of poor accuracy with the machine, but I have not found this to be the case. I have now used the machine for several projects and am very satisfied with its accuracy and its ability to produce accurate repeatable holes, that match perfectly. To test for accuracy, I performed a number of tests and some of these are shown below.

A simple jig makes lining up the holes easy

The cutters are spaced 32mm apart, so I made up a simple jig with reference lines for the cutters and centre lines, when working with long work pieces which require multiple dowels.

Eight 10mm dowels produced perfect results
 (wood is square but looks bowed due to wide angle lens!)

In this example I am using eight 10mm dowels to join a length of 45mm x 35mm to a piece of 125mm x 47mm, leaving a 5mm gap along its length. I felt that whilst it would be easy to fit a dowel at either end, but by using eight dowels, there would be a much greater margin for error and this would have a direct impact on the accuracy of the 5mm differential that I was looking for.

All the holes lined up perfectly

By using the jig to mark out the workpiece it was easy to accurately mark up prior to cutting and all the holes were evenly spaced. I cut the 10mm dowels in half with a Japanese pull saw and sanded the edges with 120grit paper and all the dowels slotted into place.

The 5mm riser is equidistant along its length

I cut the eight holes into each piece of timber with the Triton dowel jointer, using the alignment marks on the faceplate 

There are three alignment marks on the faceplate which show a midpoint between the two cutters

lined up to my pencil marks, that I had transposed from the jig. The line of holes in each piece were spot on and the two pieces of timber slotted together easily. The result as you can see in the photo above is a rise of 5mm equidistant along its length.

A good tip, when using the machine I found that by keeping my thumb pressed down on the horizontal fence this kept the machine nice and steady throughout the cut.

Pressing down on the horizontal fence with my thumb kept the machine nice and steady

In order to prevent tear out, another good tip is to let the cutters come to a halt, before releasing the plunge action. Doing this the holes have been clean and without tear out every time.

In this second example I have used the jointer to reinforce a 45 degree mitre in two lengths of 47 x 47 Redwood. I could have changed the cutters and used two 8mm dowels, but instead decided to remove one of the cutters and use a 10mm dowel instead to see how it would cope with narrower stock.

Using one 10mm dowel to reinforce the glue joint in 45 degree mitre 

I like the fact that you can if you so wish remove one of the cutters when working with a narrow workpiece. I cut the 45 degree mitres on the table saw, using the sliding mitre gauge. There is a certain amount of slop in the gauge so I was surprised that the cuts proved accurate as they did. When you consider that my table saw cost only fractionally more than a good after market mitre gauge, it does show that some cheap tools really can be quite good if you take time to set them up properly! Review on the table saw to follow.

Using the included 2.5mm allen key to remove one of the cutters

The cutters have one flat side and are easy to insert and remove using the 2.5mm allen key which is included with the jointer and is stored neatly in the carrying handle. It is simply a case of rotating the cutters until the grub screws are at 90 degrees, then just loosen the one you want a couple of turns and withdraw the cutter. You do the same, but in reverse to fit the cutter. So if you want to change sizes up or down, or as in this case remove one of the cutters, it is a simple and straightforward procedure.

The two pieces slotted together correctly and made a nice tight joint

In this third test I used the jointer with four dowels to join two pieces of 70 x 70mm treated rough sawn timber, which would form one of the corner supports for the new chicken house.

Cutting the dowel holes in the face of the timber

and in the end grain of the corresponding piece

By using the MFT table with either the Festool or Axminster F clamps holding the workpiece secure for cutting is quite straightforward. I used the the Triton with the two cutters, first in the face and then in the corresponding piece of end grain.

This was the first test that I made with the Triton jointer, so I was a bit unsure if it would line up properly, but as the photos show, there were no problems.

The four dowels lined up beautifully and produced a tight 90 degree joint. Very impressive!

The jointer is supplied in a smart soft case which is handy for keeping it clean when stored under the bench.

The machine comes with a manual which like a number of machines from China is rather vague, but most of what you need to know can be found online anyway, so no worries there. 

The controls are quite straightforward, with cutter plunge depth and fence angle adjustment on the left hand side and fence height control on the right hand side. The fence height is adjusted with one knob to release or tighten the setting and another to wind the rack and pinion lift.

Fence height adjustment control on the right side of the machine

Close up showing rack and pinion lift

Cutter plunge depth control

Plunge and Angle controls are found on the left side of the machine

The machine comes with a 12 month warranty and if you register online within 30 days as I did, this will be extended to 36 months.

The machine weighs just under 3kg so isn't tiring to use for long periods.

I can only assume that Triton took on board the various criticisms that had been levelled at this machine over the years and fixed them. For me the machine worked straight out of the box and the only fettling required was to connect my 27mm dust hose to the 30mm dust extractor port, which can be a common problem with incompatibility of dust ports between manufacturers.

In conclusion: I bought this machine with my own money and have no affiliation with Triton or Tool Station. The views expressed in this review are entirely my own and have not been influenced by a third party. That said, I am very pleased with the Triton TDJ600 Dowelling Jointer and think it is exceptionally good value for money. The test results above speak for themselves and I have not had any reason to regret my purchase, quite the opposite in fact, as this machine does exactly what I need.

Titan TTB5175 STP 18Ga Brad Nailer Stapler Review

Titan TTB517STP nailer/stapler loaded with 22mm galvanised staples

The Titan TTB517-STP Nailer Stapler from Screwfix is listed on their web site as being rated for 25mm, 18 Gauge brad nails and 22mm staples, but in fact it comes marked for sizes 15mm to 32mm and I have used 32mm brads and 15mm and 22mm staples without problem.

The machine is marked 15mm through 32mm

The machine costs just £34.99 inclusive of VAT, plus postage from Screwfix and comes with a two year warranty. If you spend £50 or more at the same time, then postage is free.

The Titan nailer/stapler comes with a 2 year warranty

The nailer is powered by a 240v electric motor and features a grey plastic body with all controls in contrasting yellow, see photo below. At the back of the handle is an on/off switch and a rotating knob to deflect the spent air away from the user.

Body colour is grey, controls are a contrasting yellow. 

The firing button is the yellow switch forward on the hand grip, which is comfortable to use.

The safety catch for the magazine is easy to open and close

The nails and or staples are loaded into a spring lock magazine on the bottom of the machine.  Before loading make sure the power is turned off. Loading is simple and straightforward. Depress the locking safety catch to release and the magazine pops open. Load the nails or staples making sure the tips are pointing down. Then carefully push the gate shut until the catch locks. The magazine will take the long strips that come in a typical suppliers box

Tacwise brads and staples in suppliers boxes

but it will also take an assortment of broken strips, so if you have the misfortune to drop them, don't worry. I bought Tacwise nails and staples from Amazon, but these had been packed badly and the staples arrived with a burst box and broken strips of staples everywhere!

Amazon did not pack these Tacwise staples properly and the box burst in transit

When using the nailer I always wear safety glasses and ear defenders, as whilst the machine is generally quiet, when you fire in a nail, at that moment, it is very loud indeed and ear protection must be worn.

Safety kit when using the nailer includes safety glasses and ear defenders

In a previous article about making the mitre saw station, I showed the nailer being used to pin 18mm plywood together for glue up and the nailer punches the nails in cleanly below the surface, as long as I keep some top pressure on the machine with my other hand.

Using the TTB5175SFP as a nailer with 32mm brads

For the chicken run that I am building this comprises a number of 4 foot x 3 foot frames, clad with 18 Gauge galvanised mesh and the stapler has been brilliant adding one staple ever two inches. Much easier and quicker than the old method of hammer and staples!

Stapling 18Ga galvanised weld mesh onto wooden frames

I had heard of other low budget nailers that were prone to jamming, but during both nailing and stapling, although the machine has been worked quite hard at times, I have not suffered a jam.

As you can tell I am very pleased with this nailer/stapler, but it does have one rather annoying feature, which I have had to work around.

A piece of red insulating tape makes for a good sight mark

There really is no accurate mark for placing either nail, or staple and to start with I found this rather frustrating and a lot of staples missed their mark! To overcome this problem I attached some red insulating tape to show the nail slot as I look down on the work piece, now I have no problem placing my nails, or staples first time, every time. Why it did not come with something like this, who can say?  It is a shame as a simple aiming mark, would have been so easy to apply at point of manufacture.

With the corners stapled it is easy to cut the wire ready for the next frame

In conclusion, I think the TTB5175 STP is a great addition to the workshop and at this price point great value for money.

Festool MIDI 2 hose adapter for Henry pipe and tools. Reviewed.

Feskit adapter for Festool  27mm hose and Henry cleaning kit

I was introduced to a company called Feskit UK by Peter Parfit from the New Brit Workshop, who reviewed the excellent Dust Door for the Festool TS-55. This is a superbly engineered piece of plastic, that looks every bit like it had come out of the design studio in Wendlingen, but in fact had been designed and made on a 3D printer in the South West of England, by a very nice chap called Mike.

Dust Door for the TS-55 by Feskit

The Dust Door as it's name belies, reduces still further dust created by the blade of the famous track saw, making for a vast improvement over standard, according to many happy users.
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Festool Cleaning Kit

When I bought my Festool CTL MIDI 2 dust extractor, I did consider buying the cleaning kit, which is pictured above, but the £82 seemed a bit steep, especially when you consider that Numatic, a British company, famous for their Henry industrial vacuums sell a similar kit for under £15.00!

Numatic cleaning kit for Henry Vacuums

The Henry industrial vacuum cleaner is a British institution and can be found in homes, offices and workshops the length and breadth of the UK.

Festool 27mm hose now fits the Henry toolset with this neat inexpensive adapter from Feskit

We have a Henry which we bought donkey's years ago and which has never missed a beat. I was thinking about buying a new one for the house and using the present one to clean the workshop floor. When I saw that Mike had designed an adapter that joins the MIDI 27mm hose to the Henry pipe, I could not wait to give it a go.

Compared to the smaller Henry, the suction provided by the MIDI with the Henry pipe and floor attachment is outstanding. The adapter simply slides on to the 27mm rubber tip of the Festool hose and pushes on to the Henry pipe and hey presto the MIDI dust extractor is now a vacuum cleaner!

As I already had the pipe and tools the total cost came to just £8 for the adapter plus £2.85 postage.  Compare that to the £82 for the Festool kit. If you do not have the pipe I see that you can buy it on Ebay for £13.48 with free postage.

The Feskit Henry adapter will fit all the Festool dust extractors with a 27mm hose, CTL, Mini, MIDI and also the one made by Makita.

Mike is at pains to point out that his company has nothing to do with Festool, but from the Feskit products I have bought, they are clearly built with the same precision and attention to detail.

Tool Tip # 1 - Everyone should have a pair of Moles

Tool Tip # 1

I have a number of tools in my workshop, but there are some that I use nearly every day and some that I would be lost without. One such tool is the Mole grip, or as Irwin calls them, Vise grips. I bought mine many years ago and particularly like the plastic coated handles which are comfortable to use even in freezing temperatures.

Irwin Vise Grips

I see today, these cost £16 on Amazon and I think they are worth every penny.

I have used them on the farm in the workshop repairing the tractor, freeing stubborn nuts and bolts, on the boat working in tight spaces such as cockpit and chain lockers, often lying upside down trying to hold a stubborn skin fitting or free off a siezed shackle pin, but in a wood work workshop, they are invaluable for removing broken screws and even bent nails from lengths of wood. 

Extracting a rusty screw with a broken head from a 5 x 2

I work with a lot of recycled timber and often these come to me with broken off screws, rusty nails and even wire staples embedded in the wood. All of these have to be removed to make the wood safe to pass through the planer.

An example of this was a batch of 5 x 2 rafters that came with galvanised brackets fitted with now rusty wood screws. I managed to extract quite a few of the screws with my DeWalt impact driver, but there is always one, that is stubborn and shears off, or the head was already striped making it impossible to back it out.

Vise grips clamped tightly to broken head of rusty screw

There was one screw in particular holding one of these brackets, where the Phillips head had been stripped, I suspect by an earlier over zealous attempt to withdraw it but 40mm of thread meant it was there for keeps. It would have been easy to just cut it off with a hack saw and then chop the end of the plank with the mitre saw and chuck it in the wood burner, but seeing that I have my Moles, this was a challenge I had to try.

Removing the rusty screw with the Vise Grips

There was perhaps 2mm of broken screw head protruding from the top of the bracket and after a few attempts I managed to grip it with the Moles. I have used the term Mole Grips for 50 years, so forgive me those of you across the pond, but that is how I think of these Vise Grips! Once the grips were clamped on nothing would shift them and I was able to unwind the screw until I could reposition them on the thread, saving the bracket and the piece of wood.

The broken screw removed!

I would think most people have these in their workshops, but if you are starting out, these are something you really should buy and these made by Irwin are well worth their cost and have given me years of service.

A few weeks ago I was using them gripping a rusty nut that held an agricultural fitting through a beam. When I unclamped them and tried to reset the screw adjuster, this would not move and  I thought I had finally broken them. On closer inspection I found the spring and the inner workings were choked with years of sawdust, oil and dirt. I had not thought to clean them, just took them for granted and after use, dried them with a cloth and put them back in the drawer. So I took them apart, cleaned and lubricated the spring and reassembled them and they worked perfectly again. Testament to a good tool.