Thanks to recent advancements in batteries and motors, new avenues have been opened for cordless tools that just weren’t possible a few years ago. I, for one, am a fan — the less extension cords I have to deal with in my life, the better. Plus, cordless tools mean less time getting set up both in and out of the shop.
In this round of Great Gear, we’ll be looking at three battery powered tools that have recently graced our shop. These three can make for handy additions to your toolset, whether it’s for the woodshop, for a job site, or for home maintenance and DIY work.
 |
| The maneuverability of this planer makes it great for use in the shop, on the job site, or in the home. |
BOSCH 18V CORDLESS PLANER
The first tool to look at in this issue is a planer from Bosch. Power planers like this are great for fitting doors and windows, fine-tuning trim, or roughing-down slabs like you see above.
THE BASICS.
This compact planer uses an 18V battery and a brushless motor for consistent performance as long as the battery lasts. The single-bladed cutter is easy to replace and align, plus the blades are reversible. The aluminum bed is 31⁄4" wide, and can be adjusted to cut up to 3⁄32" off at a time. The front of the bed has three sizes of machined V-grooves, allowing you to plane 1⁄8", 1⁄4" and 3⁄8" chamfers. All of this makes for one efficient little tool.
ACCESSORIES.
Bosch’s 18V Brushless Planer comes with two accessories. First, a parallel guide consists of two metal plates held on and adjusted by wing nuts. The guide is simple, but it works well to keep the planer in-line and level when working on a rough edge, and it can also function as a fence for setting the width of a rabbet.
 |
 |
| The parallel guide can be attached to either side to keep the planer on track for edges or cutting rabbets. | Twisting the knob at the front of the planer adjusts the depth from a flat 0" to a 3⁄32" depth of cut. |
The second accessory is the dust bag. Given how much of a mess planing can make, it’s a welcome addition. The bag can be attached to either side, with a switch on the planer to swap which side the chips are expelled on.
ALL IN ALL.
The 18V Brushless Planer is the second planer in Bosch’s cordless lineup, and it’s a quality addition. It excels in making quick cuts, and the battery life is sufficient to last you for several hours of trim work before a swap.
One battery even had enough endurance to flatten out the 18" x 12' slab of black walnut you see on the previous page. Although I wouldn’t use this planer for rougher tasks like framing, with a cost of just over $200 it makes an excellent quick setup, go-to tool for the shop or the home.
