Freud FDW710K Doweling Jointer with Carrying Case

Freud FDW710K Doweling Jointer with Carrying Case
by Freud

List Price: ~~$548.35~~
Category: Tools
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Product Details

Manufacturer: Freud
Model: FDW710K
Product features:

Great tool for dowel holes, face frames, shelf pins, furniture repair, and standard joinery.
Works with bits from 3/16 inch to 1/2 inch ( 5mm-12mm ). Bits are 32mm from center to center. Accepts standard 10 mm shank boring bits
Features adjustable rack & pinion fence and fence mounted handle for superior stability and control
Easy to use without the need of set up jigs and portable enough to make repairs in the field. Carrying case included
5 Year Limited Warranty - 90 Days Money Back Guarantee

Tools and Hardware Reviews of Freud FDW710K Doweling Jointer with Carrying Case

Customer Review: Biscuit joiner on steriods
Summary: 4 Stars

I will preface by saying I haven't had a chance to use this much yet, I've made a few sample joints just to get a feel for this thing. I figure I have 90 days to decide if I will keep it- and I think I will- but I wanted to post some basic info because there's really not much out there for potential buyers.

It is definitely more of a luxury item than a "must have." You can do dowels for less, but I don't think you could do them easier or faster. I almost bought a biscuit joiner, they are very popular right now, but I decided to go with this. A lot of woodworking plans these days (from the common magazines) love to use biscuits for joinery. I think mainly because it's easy and fast. I'm not convinced they add much (if any) strength to a joint and I've never been comfortable with plans that use them in the main assembly or carcass. I just don't see those lasting. I can break a biscuit easily in my hands. I've read some reports they may even weaken an edge joint by decreasing glue surface- but that's anecdotal. If you already have a biscuit joiner, I'm not sure it's worth it to upgrade, but that's a personal decision.

Enter this thing. Solid oak dowels are much stronger than biscuits (usually some pressed or cheap light wood). Especially if you start drilling 2"+ long holes (over 1" on each side). So that's why I went with this. The usability and quickness of a biscuit but stronger joints. More of a traditional joint, like the Domino. I decided up front I wasn't going to spend the money for a Domino. This does cost more than a biscuit joiner though- for me it was worth it.

My biggest concern was precision- can you repeatedly drill holes that will line up vertically and horizontally?- and the answer so far is yes, the machine seems very precise. I tested on some plywood, the holes lined up at the same ply every time, and the resulting joint was flush. There is some learning curve, my first few holes were not spot on. The key is keeping the fence flush to the wood. The layout lines on the fence are easy to use, I use a 5mm pencil for most layouts, and this fits perfectly with the clear guides on the joiner. Instead of using an ink'd line, the clear plastic has a raised line that is clearly visible, but you can see your layout mark through the plastic. Very nice. There is one centered line, and one over each bit, in case you use one bit at a time for smaller joints.

As far as replacement bits, the website doesn't say specifically, but I think the replacement part is: BP63557R for the 1/4 bit. You want a 10mmx20mm bit, Right handed, with a drilling depth of 27mm and an overall depth of 57mm. The manual says the bit needs a flat area on the shank to accept the collet screw. I've emailed Freud about this, I will post their answer. [EDIT] confirmed from two different sources at Freud, the "standard boring bits" all include a flat area on the shank, including all the boring bits made by freud. So the item above will work, it's about $8 currently at Amazon. Now to look into some bigger bits for bigger dowels...

The joiner feels solid, all metal on the business end of the machine. The stops on the fence are dead on, well the 90 and 45 degrees are. I don't have an easy way to test the others. I don't notice any slop in the plunge mechanism, it feels very solid.

The plunge gauge is easy to zero out and set a depth. The fence turret adjustment seems smooth and parallel. There are presets for common thicknesses of wood, to help you hit the middle of the piece- what is more important is that your holes line up at the same depth. For strength you want to be in the middle...

So far I find myself holding smaller parts with my left hand and using my right to plunge the machine. I guess the handle on top would come in handy with a larger workpiece that is clamped to your bench.

The guide indexing pins are a good idea, but they are much smaller than the holes (1/8 roughly) and so they introduce some room for error (is that pin on the exact far end of the 1/4 hole?). It may work for shelf pin holes, where being off 1/64 won't matter, but for running a line of holes along a joint I don't think I trust them. My initial test showed the piece skewed a bit (about 1/64) based on the layout lines on the two pieces, too much for my tastes, I'll just stick with multiple layout lines. The pins are adjustable, and mabye mine need adjusting- if I can fix the error I will update my post. I used the setup out of the box. They do have indicator lines for the appropriate placement when you use bigger bits.

I tried two types of dowels, the traditional "ribbed" dowels that come precut- I bought a bag of 25 at my home improvement store. I believe they are solid oak based on the grain, but not sure. I also bought a standard 1/4 oak dowel rod to try. The premade dowels fit easily and snug, but with just a little wiggle room. Enough to compensate for some user error maybe, but snug enough. The dowel rod is a very tight fit, but man, what a strong joint. I face jointed two pieces of plywood and used 4 dowels (two layout lines) over a 10" joint, and without glue I couldn't break the joint. It opened up a bit, but I couldn't break the 4 dowels. That was with 1 1/4" dowels. The solid dowel rod may not leave enough room for glue though... we'll see.

It comes with a 5 year warranty, and feels like it will last that long. The bits are carbide tipped and should last a long time, and if replacement bits are $8 I'll go ahead and get a pair to have on hand.

For me it's a keeper. Minus a star for the price, maybe half a star for the adjustable pins, but I need to pull the calipers out first and be sure they are lined up properly, it is almost $100 more than a comparable biscuit joiner but I think over the life of the product will be worth it for stronger joints.

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