Amana Tool domino cutters

Review: Damion Fauser

I’ve used Festool domino technology since 2009 and I own both the DF500 and DF700. In that time I’ve replaced many cutters, some due to breakage and some due to normal wear. Over the years I’ve noticed a couple of distinct trends with the fit of the factory Festool tenons in the slots cut by the machine. Specifically, I’ve always found the 6mm size to be too tight and the 10mm size to be a whisker loose.

Until recently, only Festool supplied replacement cutters. US tooling company Amana have now released their own full range of tooling for both machines and they were very happy to supply a number of them for me to test out. Due to my historical concerns with the 6mm and 10mm size, they were a natural for me to check out, plus I also requested a 14mm cutter, as that is the size I use most commonly when building workbenches with students.

I’ve had these cutters in my workshop for a couple of months now and can report that the quality of the cut is every bit as good as the proprietary Festool cutters. Over a reasonable number of cuts the average slot widths are 5.92mm, 9.93mm and 13.95mm respectively for the three cutters. This is perfectly adequate for use with the proprietary Festool tenons.

I’ve bought other tooling from Amana for several years and in my experience they offer exceptional products in terms of cut quality and longevity of service. If you use either of the Festool domino machines then these cutters are well worth consideration

Review cutters supplied by Amana Tool, see www.amanatool.com

In Australia Amana Tool tooling is supplied by Carbatec, www.carbatec.com.au

Damion Fauser is a Brisbane based furniture designer/maker who also teaches woodwork classes. See damionfauser.com