Makita vs Bosch 18V Planer Comparison.

A cordless planer is not a tool that everybody sees a need for. Yet I bet that anyone who has used one won’t want to give it back. They really can be a pleasure to use, and the Makita and Bosch planers are no exception.

The main specs are as follows:

Bosch GHO 18V-Li  –   2.6kg, 82mm blade, 1.6mm cut depth, 14,000RPM

Makita BKP180       –   3.3kg, 82mm blade, 2.0mm cut depth, 14,000RPM

The Makita’s extra weight is noticeable, but also excusable as you get a much heftier base plate that should serve tradies well. Other than this, the Bosch has two unusual features:

1. It only has one cutting blade. This does keep blade cost and maintenance down, but is probably the reason it doesn’t have quite as much grunt, and a just-respectable cut capacity of 1.6mm
2. It has left and right dust chutes! This means that users can direct the chips/dust in whatever direction is least annoying to clean up. It also make fitting a dust bag or dust extraction vac too easy.

Both machines gave a very sharp finish. Both gave very good run times (69.5m and 66.5m for the Bosch and Makita respectively on 3Ah batteries). The Bosch is often a little more expensive . The Makita has a more user-friendly safety-lock.

So, which do we recommend? Well, we love both. If keeping mess to a minimum is vital to you, then the Bosch. For everyone else, the Makita is probably the better choice.