# First Saw and Glad I Bought It



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

Sounds like a good saw. I've known other's who are using the same saw with great results. This is a good saw even is you're not a "beginner"


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## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

I have a good friend that has one of these saws and really likes it. Nice saw for the money. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom


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## BroDave (Dec 16, 2007)

You would be amazed how smooth this saw runs when you use a link belt on it.
Brother and I have had this saw for a couple of years now and the only con was the rip capacity was only 24" on the right. I thought about upgrading to another saw but decided to give an aftermarket fence a try first.

I installed a Delta T36-30 from Lowes for $109.00 vs $400.00 for the Beismeir(sp?) anyway, looks like we are going to keep the old girl around for a while yet.


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## steveosshop (Jun 21, 2008)

I was looking at these the last time I went to Lowes. I am glad to hear they are pretty good quality and worth the money.


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## Emeralds (Aug 24, 2008)

If you have the room for a second TS it's always a luxury to be able to have one unit loaded and setup with a dado set.

oe


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## Mountain (Apr 12, 2009)

Don't buy without looking at the grizzyy line. I found that you can get as much saw for less money. I have the G1023SL and it is a fine piece of machienery.


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## Mookie (Apr 5, 2009)

Hey folks - thanks for all of the responses and suggestions. I will look at the Grizzly. Because the Delta is soooo costly I'm not going to be making the purchase anytime earlier than possibly August. I'm open to any and all comments, but as I'm sure y'all know, everybody has his or her favorite label so this could go on forever. And BroDave - (coincidentally my name is actuallly Dave as well) I'm gonna try that link belt just for chuckles. Who know where this might go. I have reinforced my fence with particle board on the far (right) side of the fence and I use a couple of the Rockler Universal Fence Clamps to secusre another piece on the business side of the fence which also ascts as a featherboard to secure the material I'm cuttting. So far so good. And by the way y'all - I don't get as much time on the computer as I do in the wood shop so forgive me if I dn't respond quickly - but I do read all of the comments. Thanks again.


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## bunkie (Oct 13, 2009)

A couple of years back I bought this saw. It was on sale at Lowes and since we were also buying a refridgerator, I piggybacked on the delivery. There's a lot to like about this saw. The finish of the saw is first-rate and it comes with an excellent blade and a decent fence. It was a fair value for the money.

Now for the "however" stuff…

The built-in casters were a constant source of frustration. They don't provide enough lift which causes the legs to catch on floor high spots. They are flimsy and I was always tightening the nuts holding them in place.

The blade guard is fine, but to remove it, you have to loosen two bolts located about 5 inches below the surface of the throat opening. The opening has sharp edges and the result is a knuckle-busting, hand-skinning experience. As a result, I left it installed and gave up on non-through cuts.

The fence scale has windows for both the right and left side of the blade. But when you adjust it to read accurately on one side, the reading for the other side is almost an inch off.

I foolishly installed the included molded-plastic panel with the dust port between the bottom of the saw and the legs. The result was incredible buildup of sawdust inside the cabinet despite the fact that I use a 1.5HP dust collector. Cleaning this out was a very unpleasant experience as the only access is through the throat.

The final straw for me was that I was unable to adjust the trunion completely parallel to the miter slots. This was my second contractor-style saw and it was enough to convince me to sell it. I've done my last flat-on-my-back-sawdust-in-my-face trunion adjustment. I've been relying on my Shopsmith for the last year and am about to buy a proper cabinet saw.


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## Mookie (Apr 5, 2009)

Well bunkie i'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I admit that i didn't try doing some of the things you had trouble with but the one's I did try worked for me. However, I bought the new Delta Unisaw a few months ago and I never realized how much better a really good saw could be. What a wonderful piece of machinery!


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## bunkie (Oct 13, 2009)

The funny thing about listing all the negatives about something is that it sounds so one-sided. I guess that my issue is that since this was my third saw, I'd reached a point where my expectations were raised. For its price point (under $500 at the time I got it), the Hitachi is a fine saw. I've no doubt that, given a little effort, I could have addressed each of its issues, I just decided that, at this point in my life, I wanted to eliminate compromises.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that my comments really have more to do with the Hitachi not really being the saw for me rather than it being a bad saw, because it's not. With a better blade guard and slightly better casters it would be a standout at this price point.


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## Mookie (Apr 5, 2009)

What he said!


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## gardentiger (Apr 7, 2010)

does the hitachi now come with a riving knife???


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## Mookie (Apr 5, 2009)

Yeah, mine did. It had the riving knife and the anti-kickback grabber thingies.


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## gardentiger (Apr 7, 2010)

you still like it? I heard a complaint about not being able to accept attchments from other brands etc. Been looking at this saw pretty hard. And what is a "link belt"?


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## bunkie (Oct 13, 2009)

A link belt is just what it sounds like. Instead of a single continuous loop, a link belt is made of sections that fit together (there's a male end and a female end of each section). The sections are about two inches long. The advantage of a link belt is that it tends to absorb vibration better than a regular belt. A common upgrade for contractor saws is to replace the cast metal pulleys on the motor and arbor with machined metal pulleys (which are more true and will impart less vibration to the belt) and the aforementioned link belt. A number of resellers sell kits for the more popular contractor saws, but I've never seen one for the Hitachi. You can buy the belt separately, however.

I installed one of these kits on my Craftsman saw and it worked as advertised, the saw was smoother with the new pulleys and link belt.

Unless they've changed the C10FL, it doesn't have a riving knife. It has a splitter with anti-kickback pawls. A true riving knife moves up and down with the blade. On my C10FL, the splitter supported the blade guard.


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## HokieJoe (Apr 7, 2010)

Sorry to be bump an old thread, but I have a few questions. I've read others who state the Porter Cable branded saw at Lowes is basically the same as this Hitachi. The parts diagram's look similar. Can anyone provide insight on the similarity/dissimilarity of these saws; and how one goes about aligning the blade to the miter slot?

Thanks


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## bunkie (Oct 13, 2009)

HokieJoe,

I haven't seen the Porter-Cable saw, so I can't answer your first question.

To align the blade, you loosen the four bolts that hold the trunion in place and adjust its position so that it's parallel. This is the same procedure that all true contractor saws use.

In principle, it sounds simple. In real life, it requires lying on your back to loosen/tighten the bolts. The Hitachi makes it a bit more complicated because it has a plastic dust tray that mounts to the bottom using the bolts that attach the legs to the saw. This must be removed.

Here's what I would do if I were doing it again: I'd lay the saw on it's back (using some blocks of wood to support the saw so that the back fence rail is off the ground. I'd then loosen the two trunion bolts closest to the back of the saw (closest to the floor) and one of the upper bolts. I'd then loosen the last bolt only slightly. This is because you want some friction as you adjust the trunion so that it stays in place when you adjust it. I would then perform the alignment and tighten the bolts checking to make sure that you don't knock it out while tightening. I remember that one of the bolts is a real bear to get to. I would recommend that you use a socket set with a long extension and a universal joint, it will make your life easier.


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## HokieJoe (Apr 7, 2010)

Thanks for the response bunkie.

I think I'll save my pennies a little longer and get a Delta, Ridgid, or Sawstop. The thing is, I have to constantly fight the alignment on my Ridgid 2400LS. It's not hard reaching the trunnion bolts, but it drifts quite a bit. I bought a PALS contractor saw alignment kit for it. As soon as find time, I'm going to adapt the kit to the 2400LS. Again, thanks for your insight.

Joe


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## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

I've got one that has a warped fence, and has been since the day I bought it. Do they make an after market fence for it?


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## Greg258 (Jan 18, 2012)

I've had this Hitachi saw for about 5 years. Love it! Came properly aligned and ready to go right out of the box. Of course I tossed the blade and belt it came with. I replaced the belt with a linked one (under $20 because it's so short!) and I slipped in the Freud thin kerf PF I had on my previous saw. Cuts like a dream and a bargain at the $320 price I paid at Lowes. (Sale plus a coupon!)

Downside? Legs ARE crappy when moving the saw. If I had to move it regularly I would reinforce them or remove the wheels and use a rolling stand. No zero clearance insert option. (Made my own.) Dust collection is OK with a Ridgid Shop Vac but I also have the back panel on with knobbed bolts and check inside the saw regularly because of all the hype.

Did I mention that this full sized, stationary saw came brand new in the box for $320? Yeah… I'm happy with my saw. No complaints here!


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