# Problematic Hitachi CW-40



## solidoak

Hi 3finger,
The Hitachi CW-40 is my 3rd scroll saw. My first one was a small Delta. The Delta was not a bad saw, but had a lot more vibration than the Hitachi. I also had a Ryobi for about 2 days. The ryobi had immense vibration to the point where it self-destructed after only a few hours of use. It is a shame that the Hitachi will not accept a spiral blade or it might be a decent saw.


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## tierraverde

I'm curious. Have you examined other brand saws that are known to work well with the blades you're trying to use? There has to be a slight difference or engineering issue that might be correctable by doing so. I would think this should solve the problem.
I wonder if manufacturers realize the snowball factor of inattention or the lack of addressing a customer issue. Stories like these in todays times, like having the internet, blogs, forums, etc., can be disastrous to future sales. These attitudes and indifference can take a good overall product and destroy interest/sales in a very short time.


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## craftsman on the lake

I reviewed this saw several months ago. Back then and to this day it holds pinless blades well. I've only broken one and haven't used any pin blades at all. I have not used spiral blades though. I still think the saw is a great alternative choice for those not being able to pay for a dewalt yet wanting something a step up from the low end models.


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## Timbo

Could be the luck of the draw, sometimes after unsuccessful call to customer service, I will call back and receive a better result after talking to another person.


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## solidoak

Craftsman- Try a spiral blade. Break a few. Frustrate youyrself a little. Then let me know what you think. If you can give me some insight on how to make a spiral blade work on a CW-40 I would love to hear it. Thanks for the comments.

Skarp- I am not a huge fan of spiral blades as they can be a little tricky at times, but they do have their advantages such as being able to manuever larger pieces of material a little more easily and making extremely sharp turns.

Jim- I was able to use spiral blades on a cheaper model Delta without issues. And yes, I agree with you. It is a shame that I even have to post a negative review on a product that does have some nice features. The snowball effect can be devastating. Currently, only a little over 7 hours after my post over 100 people have viewed me review. But if it was not for such poor customer service, chances are I would be a happy Hitachi customer and would have given it it way better marks. To me, poor customer service is inexcusable. Hitachi made their bed. Now, let them lie in it.


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## woodnut

I also have this saw and do use pinless blades including the spiral blades in it. Although I do not use them very often because I have trouble using them. It is alot harder for me to stay close to the line with the spiral blades I know they have there purpose I just seem to like the straight blades better. Sorry to hear about your problems with the saw, so far I am pleased with mine.


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## Karson

Thanks for the review and the discussion.


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## JRickey

I have this saw and have use pinless blades with good results. I have not uses a spiral blade.


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## solidoak

Hi Rickey- Try a spiral blade and you will see what I mean.

Woodnut- I know of zero ways to install a spiral blade on a CW-40 without it slipping, breaking or kinking. Are you able to give me any advice on how to do it? The Hitachi rep was useless. I am open to suggestions here.


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## Dovetail

I think two stars are generous. I'd give it one star for such poor customer service and lack of support. Perhaps a letter to Hitachi corporate headquarter is called for with a narrative of the lack of service from the regional rep.

Both positive and negative reviews of tools are necessary. I personally find the negative reviews more helpful, especially those that are well written and come from experienced users.

Thanks for sharing.


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## solidoak

Thanks Dovetail - I agree. If I wanted to be vindictive I could have easily given the product zero stars. The saw does have some good features as I said in my review and that is why I gave it the 2 stars that I did. But let's face it, this is not a 5 star saw even if the customer service was adequate and it accepted the spiral blades. It is a 4 star product at best. Deduct another star for the spiral blade issue and deduct still another star for the customer service problems. That brings the total to 2 stars. By the way, in an attempt to be fair to Hitachi I have written to them again letting them know about my negative review


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## tierraverde

Solidoak,

Your review and star rating was more than fair.

I hope you directed them to "lumberjocks" and asked them to search "Hitachi scroll saw" 
That might get their attention.


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## solidoak

In my quest to make a spiral blade work in my CW-40 I have run across a few people who are having the same issue as I have been. At least a couple of these people beat their spiral blades with a hammer to flatten them out enough for them to tighten down properly. It has also come to my attention that Olsen and Flying Dutchman carry "Flat End Spiral" blades. I suppose it would be too much to ask that Lowe's stock the proper blades to fit a saw that they carry. But, a person has to think that Hitachi would at the very least pass along enough information about flat end blades to their reps to solve a simle customer issue. Major ball drop here.


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## woodnut

solidoak, I did not understand completely what type of blade you were trying to use. The ones I bought from woodcraft do have the flat ends. Sorry if I miss lead you in any way. If I make it to the shop tonight I will get you the exact make and number on the blades I have.


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## solidoak

woodnut- Thank you. If the blades are available at Woodcraft, there is one here locally. I appreciate the help. The blades that I originally purchased I bought at Lowes because Lowes is where I purchased the saw. They are what I would consider to be standard spiral blades and they do not have flattened ends. The CW-40 came with a few blades but they were all pin type and no spirals were included. Thank you again.


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## Kerux

I didn't know they even still made pin-in type machines. How could you do intricate work with pins in the blades?


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## solidoak

Kerux- Yup, still make em, still being used, and still have advantages such as being easier to change on a lot of different saws in my opinion.


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## jbertelson

*solidoak*
I own this saw, but have not put it to use on intricate work yet. Your review is helpful, because now I know enough to look for flat ended spiral blades. I don't have any complaints, but haven't used it enough to review it.

*woodnut*
Thanks for the info on the flat ended spiral blades. I will stick that in my mind and avoid the pitfall.


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## russ01

just got this Book (the new scroll saw hand book) .I was reading about accessories for scroll saw. Seyco.com has add on QUICK CLAMPS for blade clamps . Maybe this will help.


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## solidoak

Thanks Dave,

By the way all, I did check my local woodcraft store yesterday for the Olsen flat end spiral blades. Woodcraft carries spirals made by Olsen but not the ones with the flat ends. I am sure that this varies somewhat depending on which Woodcraft store you walk into. Mine didn't have em. So far the best fix for this problem seems to be flattening the blades out with a hammer.


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## ckkdo

I have had this saw for about a month now and have been using it daily. On the positives…I bought this saw for the generous table size and the geared and indexed table adjustments with locking knob…love the precision of that. Plenty of power.
Negatives: I have had to replace the upper thumbscrew because the plastic knobbed one failed. The saw will not accept a spiral blade that does not have flat ends. The lamp burned out on the first day, but is easily replaced, unfortunately the retaining ring for the cover stripped out during assembly although I overcame that by reversing it. The dust blower is VERY anemic….i very much wish that if they were going to have it as a feature that it actually be useful. I would give this saw two stars for quality. I accept that it does not cost what a Dewalt or Excalibur saw does and so am appreciative of the value. However, I think if I were the Hitachi corporation I would have thought twice before making a product that bore my name with so many fixable flaws. Prior to this I had high regard for Hitachi tools, but I am afraid now I will be more suspectful before spending any more money with their products.


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## rsmith71

I have this saw and haven't had any trouble with it yet. But I did see in research before I purchased it something similar to your complaint. The answer was to remove the screw that holds the blade and file the end flat, as some aren't. One reviewer that had trouble with pinless blades said this fixed the issue perfectly.


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## northwoodsman

I read through all of these reviews before purchasing this saw. I looked at it a few times in the store and see why a flat ended blade would work the best. It's not a tool that I would use more than a couple times a year at most, but many times it would have come in handy in the past. I looked at the DeWalt and decided that although the saw seemed to be much more of a higher quality than the Hitachi, for the little use that it would see, I couldn't justify the cost. Several days ago someone posted that Lowe's was discontinuing the Hitachi CW-40 and had them on clearance for $159. Well the Lowe's near me seems to have "panic syndrome" and when they are told to replace something (anything), they just want them gone fast. I went in today and all they had left was the floor model. They took $90 for it. I figure that I can put up with these deficiencies for this price. Thanks for the heads up on the flat ended blades.


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## Skipper

You are all way ahead of me-I can't seem to replace a blade. The saw came with a pin-ended blade installed. I used it with good results until it broke. I got it out with no trouble, but I cannot put a new one into the lower blade holder. It has what appears to be a kind of set-screw arrangement that tightens to hold the blade in place. But I cannot get the blade in place. There seems to be something preventing the blade from settling into the slot. The pin on the end hooks, but I can't straighten the blade out to set it in place. The saw just sank from a four star rating to two, and will go to zero if I can't install a blade.

What am I doing wrong?


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## a1Jim

Thanks for the review.


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## Jackie

I have the CW 40 also and am learning how to use the plain end blades. I have had a junk scroll saw for years and only used the pin end. I finally figured out that you are supposed to put the blade in from the front of the holder and not slide it in from the top. I hate the "thumb screw" that holds the top blade but really like the one that holds the bottom. I have to use the allen wrench to tighten the top all the time and I know I am going to wear it out real fast but I can just use my fingers to tighten the bottom and it works fine. Does anyone know if they are interchangeable. I found where I can order parts for it and figured I could order a bottom thumb screw and use it in the top???? Does anyone know. I use the saw very often and love it, so far, but the sawdust blower stopped working today. Does anyone know how to fix it? Thank you so much, in advance, for any help you can give me.


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## terrilynne

I.have.this.saw..I.use.the.heck.out.of.it!!The.hold.down.foot.I.never.use,it.just.gets.in.my.way.
.The.fact.that.the.throat.plate.is.not.flush.with.the.table.is.a.problem.at.times
I.find.that.the.pinless.blades.work.great,just.use.a.piece.of.sandpaper.to.rough.the.ends.up,and.wipe.the.oil.off.with.a.cloth.first.I.use.olsen.blades#44802.is.my.favorite.


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## northwoodsman

I found a little trick in an article that I read in a magazine several months ago about tuning a scroll saw that helps hold the blades in place. Remove the thumbscrews (top and bottom) that hold the blade in place and carefully file the end down so it is perfectly flat (obviously the end that comes in contact with the blade). You will quickly notice that it was angled just a tad when you started and also had a dimple. You have now increased the contact surface which will give you a better hold. I finally plugged mine in for the first time yesterday and so far I like it. I cut out a few patterns and it worked well. The 10w light is useless as is the dust blower but it sure is quiet and smooth.

Does anyone know how to adjust the tilting table stops? My blade was out of line about 2º from the table so I tilted the table until it was in line with the blade. I adjsuted the angle indicator. How do I get the table to "click" into place at the new setting?


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## gotshop

Hello all. I am a middle school shop teacher. I recently purchased 5 of these saws. I believe that all machines should be tested by middle schoolers. They will take them to the limits. Out of the 5 that I had, 4 have had major electrical issues. What happens is that saw dust gets in the the electrical board and it will short out. If you let it sit for over time, the machine will start working again. I bought these from Lowes. They agreed to swap them with new ones. On the other side Lowes replaced the Hitachi cw40 with the Porter Cable CW 40. (The only difference is an aluminum deck) This machine works better but the bearings inside do not seem to be as good. The machine is noisier and I reccommned a dust collector with it. All in all I have 8 CW 40 models. These are mid level at best but for 180.00 dollars, you cant beat it. Let me know what you think.

SHOP TEACHER


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## ckkdo

I have had this saw for a year and recently broke the tension rod. I bought spares because it could happen again and I don't want the downtime waiting for the part to come in from china.


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## Jackie

Yes the top and bottom thumb screws are interchangeable. I bought 3 replacements for the bottom and replaced the top with one and it is great. 
I made a new 0 clearence throat plate out of 1/4" MDF and that works great.
I still do not know how to fix the blower. Otherwise, I still love this saw after a year and a lot of use. 
Does anyone know how?
Thanks
Jackie


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## irondragon

Hi,Ive been using the hitachi cw40 for about a year and all i use are the plain end blade's.At first i was having the same problem with the spiral blade.What i found was if i took a small pair of needle nose plier's and flattened the end's of the blade about an inch on each end they work very well.I have also found that on the site http://scrollsawworkshop.com that flying dutchman makes spiral blade's with flat end's.Hope this was helpful.


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## mamell

I don't often use spiral blades, but when I do I flatten the ends with pliers and have no problems with them and my saw ranks right up there with extreme pain in the assism.. (an old Dremel 2 speed) After flattening the ends I see no reason for the problems, but I haven't used the Hitachi. In fact the reason I'm even writing in this thread at all is there is a good used Hitachi currently for sale on CL locally I'm considering buying and ditching my old Dremel.


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