Thread: CMT Carbide bits for Festool Domino

Edit - doh - missed the link in your post! Good find

[Where did you get them from, Mike? When I tried (some time back), I couldn't find anyone who'd ship to Aus at a reasonable price. None were available through amazon.]

Incidentally, Amanatool do Domino cutters, and Toolstoday will ship to Aus at pretty reasonable prices. Au$50 for the 14mm

Solid Carbide Bits for Domino(R), Joining Machine for Festool(R) - Boring Bits and Drilling Bits

I got them from Taylor Toolworks. The hyperlink should take you straight there.

and while you're there, you may want to stock up on their double sided sticky. I highly recommend them. They're quite thin, hold really well and yet peel off quite easily without leaving a residue. It was the main reason I was on their site. Shipping came to $45 with a set of Sandflex blocks, 3 rolls of double sided sticky, and a 1/2" router collet extender.

You can also buy them through Amazon UK via Amazon AU.

Im my other thread in the Marketplace, a member asked for a mini-review so here it is....

This is not a comprehensive review as I only tried the 8mm bit on a bit of Spotted Gum at a depth of 25mm. To qualify my results, my 8mm OEM Festool cutter has been lightly used (probably no more than 30~40 mortices) whereas the CMT is brand spanking new. I can report that I could not really differentiate between the two both in operation or in the resulting mortices. If I was pushed to pick, I would say that the CMT cutter produced marginally smoother sides but that may have been variation in the timber or the fact the Festool was used.

20201116_165659.jpg

20201116_165602.jpg

The photos above are of the same pair of mortices at slightly different angles and with the flash used for the top pic. The Festool is on the left and the CMT on the right.


So to summarise, IMHO, the CMT cutter is every bit as good as the OEM item and is a cracker of a deal at about a quarter of the price. I like them so much that I think I'll buy another couple (12mm and 14mm) while they're on sale. Definitely highly recommended.



Cheers,
Mike

Thanks for the info and test review Mike! Those two mortises certainly look exactly the same, and given the quality of CMT, pretty much what one would expect from them.

Great to know this alternative exists - you've saved a number of us a bit of coin I expect!

Cheers mate. This certainly falls in the "too good to be true" category but looks to be the exception to the rule. I keep expecting to find a catch of some kind, but so far I haven't found any.

Thanks for the review!

I have noticed that the CMT bits cut a marginally bigger mortice resulting in a loose fit for genuine Festool dominos. OK if you make your own slightly oversize.

Originally Posted by mat

I have noticed that the CMT bits cut a marginally bigger mortice resulting in a loose fit for genuine Festool dominos. OK if you make your own slightly oversize.

Thanks for the feedback. I've had no such issue. I used the 8mm and 10mm on the weekend and there weren't any loose fitting dominoes. In fact I had to use vice grips to get them out. I haven't used the 14mm yet.

Thank you for this Mike! I never looked at CMT for Festool cutter. always bought from Festool. the 6mm cutter is easy to snap when you give the Domino to the part time worker to use. I think I've gone through maybe 4 bits this year alone.