Pianist93

What's the general concensus on Hitachi table saws?
Thanks!
-Pianist93

BHOFM

I have had mine a couple years and can't say enough good
about it!

Mine folds and has wheels that make stowage quick and easy.
It also has a dust bag that works!

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knotscott

They have at least 3 models (likely more)....are you talking about a full size stationary cast iron saw, or a portable jobsite saw? They're all different, so model numbers will get you more specific opinions.

IMHO, the stationary C10FL model for $500 at Lowe's is well behind the pack. Never used their portables but their are happy campers here.

Pianist93

sorry.
I was talking about the $500 one. Stationary.

knotscott

That'd be the C10FL. On the plus side, it's full size, cast iron, has 1.5hp belt drive induction motor located inside the enclosure (hybrid style)...it's not 3hp as stated, which isn't mathematically possible for a 110v outlet. It has wheels. It has a one-piece cast blade shroud between the trunnion brackets.

On the downside, it has the weakest fence on the market of any of the major brands in this price range IMHO. It has really flimsy steel wings, fairly flimsy legs, and even the wheels are an antiquated design from the 70s that requires 8 individual actions to move and reset the saw.

$400 puts you into a new Ridgid 3660 from HD right now....while supplies last. $600 puts you into a new Ridgid hybrid. $600 also puts you into the Delta 36-980 w/T2 fence at Lowes. That price range will also buy a really nice used saw. For my money, there are several better options IMO.

GeorgeC

"it's not 3hp as stated, which isn't mathematically possible for a 110v outlet."

Why not? I have a 110 volt 30 amp breaker in my garage. Use it for the 5 hp (rated not true) air compressor and my 110 volt table saw.

G

knotscott

OK, not possible from a standard 110v outlet if you prefer. But the main point was to not be sucked into believing the 3hp claim for that 15 amp motor.

Pianist93

How do you normally go about finding good used table saws?

BHOFM

The best way is to buy a new saw and loose the receipt.

Then a good deal will turn up on a used saw.

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CivilEngineer13

I have a hitachi table saw. I have absolutly no complaints about it... well, just one... when the breaks on your car go out as you pull into the garage, the hitachi table saw does a terrible job of stoping the car in a clean and easy manner. But I do have to admit that the green outer shell is pretty tough - kept the internal stuff intact (amazingly). But ordering new parts online was easy, so that's a plus when someting goes wrong (like a car hitting it!). Got it up and running just like new (minus the metal stand, which is worth noting that you cannot get that part ). Anyway, I would recommend it, but I'm no table saw counnoisseur.

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AZ Termite

Pianist, Craigslist is a good place to look for a used saw. You may have to look for awhile to find a good deal, but they are out there if you look hard enough. Right now is a good time to look used, there are a lot of people dumping nice stuff because they need $$$.

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Gravel7

I was on my way into Lowes a few, maybe 6, months ago to buy the $400 Delta and add the $120 fence. All excited, I stopped at the bank and got the money out and pulled into Lowes. Marched over to that saws and found the Hitachi C10FL had been marked down from over $500 to $299. So this threw a wrench in my plan. I had researched the saw breifly before deciding on the Delta. I ended up deciding to save the $200 and buy the Hitachi. (Two weeks later the C10FL was back up to $585)
Anyway, I love it. It has plenty of power and I find the fence to be great. Very easy to fine tune and very accurate. I was making tapered legs from 9/4 cherry a few weeks ago with no problems at all. I have put a lot of wood through it so far and it has held its accuracy very well. I really like it. Of course, even people who think its not that nice of a saw would problably agree that for $300 its a damn nice saw.
The extensions are plenty rugged, for what i've asked of it so far anyway. I think it would hold its own against any of the other TS in the $500 range.

TexasTimbers

I bought my wife a C10FL because I got such a good deal on it. Skipping the details, I ended up paying less than half price for it brand new in the box from Lowes with full warranties etc.

Some of the shortcomings mentioned by knotscott are fairly accurate but it doesn't sound to me like he actually owns one, or if he does he got a really bad one. For the price I have no complaints because I have mine tuned very well. The stamped steel wings sucked. I had to move heaven and earth to get them flat in the center. I ended up making a jig and driving my skid steer on top of the make-shift jig to flatten them.

The jig simply protected the edges from flaring out but allowed the 6500 pounds of the machine to press the "bubble" of the wings down onto the wood blocks I place underneath them, to keep from collapsing them. I made a WAG on the thickness of the blocks because I knew the steel was going to have some spring-back and miracolously I guessed right the first time. The casters are certainly as bad as knot says. I fixed them too. Legs were also flimsy. Angle iron fixed that.

Had I paid $500 for the machine I would have taken it back but for the price I paid I felt justified in adding the angle iron, re-drilling the holes for the casters, and driving my skid steer up on top of the crappy wings to make them flat.

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Cookn

You can also try looking in pawn shops for used equipment. You can usually get pretty good deals, if you know what you are looking for and you know what to look for. You can also get burned badly, if you don't catch problems. I recently purchased a Rigid Table Saw TS3650, Rigid Jointer JT601, and a Rigid Drill Press DP1500 for $700. I have had to do a little tuning and chasing down a couple of parts here and there, but Im pretty pleased with them. When I purchased them, I was on the way to Lowe's to purchase the Hitachi.

rrbrown

Knotscott,
What no pictures of this saw. You're slipping a little.

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knotscott