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Portable Planers
When I was working as a wooden boat builder, there were times that I couldn't tell where my hand ended and my portable planer began; no tool got used more. Since I've used these tools so much, I'm sensitive to their features and performance, and I take poor design and false promises about them almost as a personal insult. Several years ago I tested this category for Tools of the Trade, and when the editors said it was time to evaluate them once more, I thought it would be interesting to see what has changed. Once I got into the test, I realized that some of these new tools have really evolved.
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Tool Test: 10-Inch Tile Saws
We lined up seven wet saws representing six brands and tested them mostly on tough porcelain tiles, making cuts up to 7/8 inch thick. We used identical, high-quality porcelain blades to take blade performance out of the equation and focused on cut quality and accuracy, the precision of the moving parts, and the ease of using each saw. We also considered water delivery to the cut, overspray and dripping water messes, and portability issues.
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