Roger Landry's apprenticeship in masonry began at a very young age, helping his father build high-end brick and stone homes in Indiana. Although only 12 years old, the youngster was strong enough to help his father and two other men hoist a bulky table-mounted saw into the back of their truck.

"The saw rig was heavy and cumbersome, and there were times when we thought maybe we could do without it," Landry recalled, "but that kind of complex angle firebrick work usually required a powerful and dependable saw that could make clean, accurate cuts."

After completing a 22-year career in the Air Force and finishing his business degree, Roger went back to his roots, specializing in masonry restoration. He founded his own business, Master Masonry Restoration in Carrollton, Texas, to service the North Dallas area.

North Dallas has a long-standing ordinance that requires all homes and commercial buildings to have a masonry veneer. Like many other areas of the United States, North Dallas is subject to alternating periods of prolonged rain and drought, cause expansion-contraction conditions around building foundations that eventually damage the brick, stone or cinder block veneers used on homes and commercial buildings.

Although he owns most of the tools he uses, Landry rents equipment occasionally. Knowing that equipment rental locations tend to carry saws that are the most durable and versatile, he began to consider what brands and models they preferred.

"Most of the construction equipment rental guys carry Target saws," he says. "Contractors can't afford to use unreliable equipment, and the rental people can't afford to own equipment that won't last. And at the do-it-yourself stores that rent equipment, their saws were almost exclusively Target. I was familiar with Target saws, but seeing them and using them at the rental stores was the clincher."

Landry ultimately purchased the 2-horsepower dual voltage Target Portasaw over the 1.5-horsepower and 5.5-horsepower gas models. The saw will run wet or dry and comes standard with removable side handles to make transporting the saw easier. Because restoration work is somewhat unpredictable as far as time is concerned, he needs to keep his crew on schedule, sometimes moving from one job to another within a couple of hours.

"The Portasaw is much easier to load, unload and move around," Landry says. He also chose the optional detachable stand. "Two men can easily lift the saw into a truck bed." A removable quick-mount cutting head also makes transportation easier.

"It makes it simple to do beveled cuts even on tough firebrick. To make beveled cuts, typically I make a simple jig with blocks and zip straight through the bevel cut every time." An optional foot pedal kit attaches to the steel stand to provide hands-free cutting; the operator simply uses the pedal to lower the blade onto the material.

"It is easy to turn the water off by simply closing the valve near the saw handle," he says. "That's a very useful feature because it eliminates the problems you have when you scribe a reference mark for a cut with a pencil, and then some of the pencil mark washes away with the water spray."

With the new saw Landry first scribes the cut by turning the water off and making a dry score on the brick or stone. He then switches the water on and follows the score to make a very accurate cut. "That feature alone makes cutting quicker, easier and more accurate," he says.

Another capability that is important to Landry is the saw's large open-throat design, which allows him to cut 8-inch cinder block. "That's one of the reasons I was in the market for a new portable saw," he explains. "While we are specialists at restoration and servicing of brick and stone, there are situations where plunge cutting of cinder block is required, and that's no problem. The Portasaw can handle all three types of materials."

Landry has chosen to remain an independent contractor, primarily because doing so allows him to personally manage jobs in a way that assures customer satisfaction.