I used my new 500 for the first time yesterday. Slick little machine. When I was laying out domino placement, I intentionally planned to miss brads that I had used building a torsion box out of baltic birch ply. Much to my dismay, I hit one anyway and knocked the edge off the 5mm cutter. Oh well, I had another one and finished my little project. Figured I'd just order a couple spares to have on hand.

I just looked for replacement cutters on the interweb, and dangggggg..... Expensive little buggers. Is Festool the only company who makes cutters, or are there other, less costly options? I'd like to have a few spares on hand, as I can't just hop in the truck and find a dealer.

Additionally, which dust extractor would users recommend? I'm using my portable Rigid vac with a Bosch hose for the time being. It works fine, but the hose is clunky, and I know this will irritate me more as I use it more. I might as well get one of the Festool vacuums before the April price increase. I plan to get the 55" track saw bundle that's on sale anyway. I do not want a large vac as I do not have a lot of floor space, but I want to make sure I don't end up with buyer's remorse, for getting something too small.