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Tool Reviews & Buying Guides by Trade

If you want to read articles and reviews that are trade-specific, try our Tool Reviews by Trade section. This organizes our site into topics suited particularly for a specific trade such as plumbing, electrical, framing, roofing & siding, concrete/masonry, and carpentry. Roofing and siding pros will find pneumatic roofing nailers as well as tools like cap staplers and hammer tackers. Tile & Flooring Pros will gain easy access to our tile saws, flooring staplers, and floor scrapers. As a painting professional, reviews of airless sprayers and cordless sprayers may interest you the most. You can count on one thing: whatever your craft, you need good tools. Our tool reviews by trade will help you drill down to quickly find the information you need. If you want to avoid anything that sits outside of your trade, this way helps you do it. If you can’t find a tool here, let us know.

Porter-Cable PC60THPK 6-amp Hand Planer Preview
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Porter-Cable PC60THPK 6-amp Hand Planer Preview

by Clint DeBoer

Ever wish your electric planer had a longer stance and better dust collection? Porter-Cable is attempting to meet those needs with its new 6 amp Hand Planer (model #PC60THPK). The brand new planer is actually rather sleek, with a raked back profile and 3 chamfer grooves. The new motor, which is reasonably powerful for those looking to do significant hand planing for finish applications, comes up with 16,500 RPMs. At first glance this planer seems perfect for planing wood planks, shortening doors and joists, and also chamfering and profiling the corners and edges of various hardwoods. The part we liked, however, was that it could chunk out up to 5/64″ per pass. For those who have trouble with fractions, that’s a little over 1/16 of an inch – not terribly deep by planing standards, but this is an instrument meant for finer work, not something with which to replace your circular saw. The planer comes with two blades and you can use either high-speed steel (HSS) or carbide blades. HSS blades are perfect for more aggressive planing – where nails might be encountered, and carbide blades are your tools for finish carpenters or craftsman who don’t risk jamming them up on anything except wood.

Milwaukee M18 Cordless SDS+ Rotary Hammer Review
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Milwaukee M18 Cordless SDS+ Rotary Hammer Review

by Clint DeBoer

Milwaukee tried to slip one by us earlier this year, but we caught it. As part of their April 1st push of the new RedLithium platform (which is no joke) the company leaked info on a new M18 Rotary Hammer with SDS Plus technology (2605-22). It’s a 7/8-inch model and comes with either 1 or 2 RedLithium XC batteries. We love it when reviews and projects collide. With the case of the Milwaukee M18 SDS-Plus Rotary Hammer, we couldn’t have asked for better timing. The M18 Rotary Hammer represents one of those cross-over tools. It’s a cordless tool that really attempts to be a corded tool replacement. It’s not for chopping up large swathes of concrete, but it’s also a huge step above something you’d use for routine fastening into block walls. The 2605-22 Cordless SDS-Plus Rotary Hammer Drill Kit is light enough to be used overhead, but strong enough to plow through high density concrete with a 7/8″ bit.

Maxtech 50204MX Spade-Max Pro Spade Bit Set
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Maxtech 50204MX Spade-Max Pro Spade Bit Set Review

by Matthias Gaige

On first glance the Maxtech 50204MX & 51643MX Spade-Max Pro Spade Bit Sets might appear to be run of the mill spade bits, but upon closer inspection there are some key differences. Using these bits makes drilling medium sized holes a breeze thanks to a steep rake angle on the leading cutting edge that provides a faster and cleaner cut. With the steep angle, the bit acts more like a chisel as it cuts its way into the wood, in fact it quickly chips out chunks of wood. Now the thing to notice is that with the outside tips cutting before the flat part of the cutting blades, when you get to the backside of your board, you get a cleaner hole and less splintering. The whole idea of spades bits is for quickly boring through wood so speed is definitely of the essence and these bits deliver that. The slightly less expensive 9-piece set includes a 1/4″ hex drive Load N’ Drive quick connect collet that is super compact and has a spring loaded bit-eject mechanism. With 1/4″ quick connect hex shanks and a rust resistant black oxide coating, we suspect that if you pick up a set of these you will not be disappointed.

Black & Decker LDX112C 12V Max Lithium Drill/Driver Review
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Black and Decker LDX112C 12V Max Lithium Drill/Driver Review

by Thomas Gaige

Seeing how just about everyone else has a compact 12V lithium-ion powered line of power tools, Black & Decker jumped on board with their value-targeted LDX112C 12V Max Lithium Drill/Driver. Using what has become an industry standard format for the battery style, they opted for a slightly different approach to its integration into the handle of the tool. The front load style actually makes it so that the drill can stand on its own and offer pretty good balance. This little drill has most of what we have come to expect from this type of tool – like an integrated LED worklight, rubber over-molded grips, and variable speed trigger. What actually surprised us was the metal gear box and 3/8″ metal chuck which seemed like nice touches on a value priced tool. The Black & Decker LDX112C 12V Max Lithium Drill/Driver comes in a cardboard box that includes a battery, charger, and a bi-sided driving bit. Sorry, but only one battery is included and there is no nifty carry case. But given its pretty small size, it could easily live in the junk drawer in your kitchen. Come on, admit it, you might not call it a junk drawer, but everyone has one. Its that central drawer in your kitchen or office that houses all the odds and ends that don’t seem to belong or fit elsewhere. It is the first place you will look for masking tape, screws, tacks, candles and a host of other necessities (yes, I too have one) – and what better place than to store this handy little drill/driver.

Bosch FNA250-15 15 ga Angled Finish Nailer Review
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Bosch FNA250-15 Angled Finish Nailer Review

by Clint DeBoer

The FNA250-15 15-ga finish nailer from Bosch is quite possibly the most convenient and lightweight finish nailers we’ve used to-date. With conveniences like a trigger that can easily change modes without having to be replaced, to an adjustable drive depth that can be activated with your fingers, this tool is taking construction and finishing to a new level of simplicity. Its small size and lightweight frame makes it easy to maneuver into tight spots and get that last corner shot. We actually brought it along to a few job sites and interviewed several pros, letting them handle and use the Bosch FNA250-15 Finish Nailer for themselves. Reactions, while different, were all quite positive. Most shared similar comments about how the tool was easy to hold, had little girth, and could be adjusted at will. Though we never encountered any jams, the business end of the tool can be taken apart so easily that it was easy to see that any difficulties or problems could be dealt with quickly and conveniently.

Craftsman 17562 NEXTEC 12V Right Angle Impact Driver Review
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Craftsman 17562 NEXTEC 12V Right Angle Impact Driver Review

by Matthias Gaige

Removing or driving fasteners in cramped spaces is easy with the new Craftsman 17562 NEXTEC 12V Right Angle Impact Driver thanks to its compact head size of only 3-1/2″ and 700 in-lb of torque. This handy tool comes with lithium-ion battery power, a variable-speed trigger, 1/4″ hex quick chuck and a compact size that will surely make it one of the go-to tools in your collection. The engineers at Craftsman did a fantastic job of combining the functionality of a right angle drill with an impact driver. The Craftsman 17562 NEXTEC 12V Right Angle Impact Driver represents what might be an industry first with their design and from what we can tell, they engineered a great tool. This impact driver proved to be very versatile when working in cramped spaces and for some projects it’s a must.

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