Problems with Amana shaper cutters

[Josh Hulit]

Checking in to see if anyone else has had problems with Amana shaper cutters. I'm running a Powermatic 26 shaper (3/4" spindle) on slow speed setting (7000 rpm) with a PF-41 feeder with a slow feed rate. I've been working some cherry and getting great results with this setup (no burning or tearout). I removed my stacked set for grooving some stiles and noticed that one of the carbide tips had come off. I called Amana and they said where it was a clean separation that it was likely a brazing problem. They quickly replaced the set at no cost... Then about two weeks ago I noticed that my raised panel cutter, also from Amana, had half the carbide broken off on one of its wings. They are sending me a replacement for that cutter also, however I'm hesitant to order from them again after this. Anyone else have a similar experience with Amana cutters? Is it time to switch over to Freeborn or another company? Thanks.

[Chris Fournier]

They cost more but I have found them to be worth it - Insert tooling. At present I don't have any brazed carbide cutters for my shaper set up although I'm not saying that I won't sometime down the line.

I tried tyo buy Amana cutters in Canada but it was like pulling teeth to get what I wanted so I went with a local manufacturer and am very happy that I did. Royce Ayr in Cambridge Ontario is the supplier that I use. Their tooling is of the highest quality that I have seen.

[Peter Quinn]

I have a few of the braised panel raisers from Amana that I have been using for years without issue, I got them used and they had been used for several years before that. I also use a few amana cutters at work, and I love their TS blades. They are generally a very good manufacturer, not sure just what happened in your case, but their CS is pretty good here on the east coast. Freeborn is real nice stuff too, but that is a pretty big jump up in price point. I wouldn't give up on Amana too quick. If you do, maybe take a look at Infinity for 3/4" tooing. I've had very good luck with their stiff too, and the price point is much lower than even Freeborn's mini pro series.

[Josh Hulit]

Thanks guys, yeah I guess I won't give up on Amana tooling just yet. Chris, I think I am going to start looking into insert tooling in the near future, seems like the logical move. Peter, thanks for the Infinity recommendation, I'll take a look at their site.

[Peter Quinn]

the insert tooling available these days is fantastic. I have a Freud panel raiser set that has pretty much become my main panel raiser, it has 5 different profiles which cover almost every thing I need, and that bolt on carbide is sharp beyond any braised tooling I have seen. I have some groovers and rabbit heads too, and they blow braised tooling away in terms of performance. For matched sets like cope and stick, I haven't made that plunge due to cost, but that sure is an attractive option if the budget allows. Having had to use a Freeborn set that returned from the grinding shop sharp but no longer matched, the idea of simply changing inserts and never worrying about matching sure is appealing. Over a lifetime the insert tooling is actually cheaper in most cases, problem is you have to absorb the whole cost up front.