b'TOOL TRENDSNTCA contractors name their must-have and favorite toolsAmidstallthebeauti fulnewti leandstone lines, designs, patt erns and formats well see at Coverings in New Orleans come April, there is the practi cal aspect to getting these products installed efficiently and properly. In additi on to being a skilled, qualifi ed installer, an important aspect to successful installs are the tools ti le sett ers use every dayand in some cases, the products they may be searching for at Coverings. So we surveyed some NTCA contractor members to determine what were essenti al components of their tool boxes.Angle grinders #1The number one most necessary, favorite and useful tool named was the angle grinder. Ilisha Harris, of Coastal Custom Tile & Design, in Morehead City, N.C., said, this tool is a must have on a job site for her and husband Jacob. There are so many diff erent blades and att achments now for grinders, its crazy, she said. The possibiliti es are almost endless: water att achments, dust collecti on systems, core bits, polish pads, glass blades, mesh blades, conti nuous rim blades, and we could go on forever. Sal DiBlasi of Elite-Tile Co. on Bostons North Shore, said Angle grinder with a good quality dry cutting diamond bladeis very ver-sati le. With experience it can replace a wet saw, for all the cuts in a ti le job, curved, straight, and hole cuts. However it can produce a lot of dust while cutting, so I really only use it for the cuts that are best made with the angle grinder, like large toilet fl ange cuts in the center of a ti le.Jane Patt ee Callewaert, of Dragonfl y Tile & Stone, in Graft on, Wis., added that Grinder heads, polishing kits, verti cal and horizontal vac- The Makita 9557PBX1 4-1/2 Paddle Switch Cut-Offuum heads for dust reducti on systems, are among her must-haves.Angle Grinder is only 4.5 lbs, with a small diameter Joseph Mattice, owner of On the Level of Greenville, S.C., added thatbarrel grip and extra large paddle switch for comfort. he would like to see less cumbersome dust management for angle grinders. Custom polishing tools were on Harriss list too: We do a lot of cus-tom residenti al, and someti mes we have a hard ti me fi nding trim or bullnose for our marble, she said. So we have a variable speed pol-isher, with the diff erent bullnose profi ling att achments and polishing pads. Jacob has the most fun with this because he really gets to make everything custom; he can do corners and make each piece exactly how he needs it to get the fi nished look we need. It also gives you that extra sense of going the extra mile for a custom project, which isThe Metabo 5 variable speed angle grinder off ers what we love to do. 2,00 -11,000 RPM speeds.742020|TRENDS'