Aaron Einstein

Aaron Einstein tools@amanatool.com

"My father was a cabinetmaker ... that's how I got into this business," Aaron Einstein, founder and CEO of Amana Tools recalled."It wasn't worth it to buy a shaper cutter for only three or four hundred feet of form, but a router bit would cost only $30 or $40.We started out with trimmers -- because the laminates were just coming in -- and for wood, some quarter rounds and maybe some ogees.I used to go see customers all over the country.I'd fly to California, rent a car, and drive from one end of the state to the other ... stopping at every account along the way.Our biggest competition on the West Coast was Wisconsin Knife.I'd ask them to try one and slowly, slowly we grew.
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"It's all made by us, it's very unique: like nobody else's," Aaron explained."During our manufacturing, a single machine completes all the stages to create a router bit.That and the extra steps we take are the only way to maintain the exact tolerances a good router bit requires.Otherwise, every time you move a bit from machine to machine for different procedures, you add a little runout or vibrations.In a side-by-side comparison, you can see the difference.Ours run smoother and stay sharper longer."

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According to Aaron, routers themselves were pretty weak, only 3/4 or 1 hp, but as customers wanted larger radius -- 5/8", 3/4", 7/8" -- bigger machines came out.

"All the tolerances are fed into a central computer to ensure that the quarter-round bits we made five months ago are identical to the one we made today," explained Aaron, who supervises most of the testing himself."Let's say you bought a bit today and it broke -- and believe me it won't, but lets say it did -- and you were in the middle of rounding a corner.You can buy a new bit, finish it, and it would be perfect."

The extra cost of materials and machining also means that Amana is on the high price-end of the market.But as Aaron noted, "Once you've ruined an expensive piece of wood or had to spend hours sanding after using a cheaper bit, the extra cost of ours becomes worth it."

The company recently came out with a 10" saw blade for the DIY market called A.G.E. It's a high-end blade at a low-end price made entirely in Germany.

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And Aaron takes great pride in his product.

"I was at a show in Atlanta a few years ago and this doctor -- a brain surgeon -- told me he had just about every DIY bit we sell and how he relaxes by spending Saturdays and Sundays making furniture for himself and his neighbors.Here's a guy who can afford the best, and he loves our tools.It made me very proud."

"My father was a cabinetmaker ... that's how I got into this business," Aaron Einstein, founder and CEO of Amana Tools recalled.
...
"It's all made by us, it's very unique: like nobody else's," Aaron explained.
...
According to Aaron, routers themselves were pretty weak, only 3/4 or 1 hp, but as customers wanted larger radius -- 5/8", 3/4", 7/8" -- bigger machines came out.

"All the tolerances are fed into a central computer to ensure that the quarter-round bits we made five months ago are identical to the one we made today," explained Aaron, who supervises most of the testing himself."Let's say you bought a bit today and it broke -- and believe me it won't, but lets say it did -- and you were in the middle of rounding a corner.You can buy a new bit, finish it, and it would be perfect."

The extra cost of materials and machining also means that Amana is on the high price-end of the market.But as Aaron noted, "Once you've ruined an expensive piece of wood or had to spend hours sanding after using a cheaper bit, the extra cost of ours becomes worth it."
...
And Aaron takes great pride in his product.