Pop quiz…How many miter saw reviews will you have to read before making your next purchase of a 12-inch sliding compound miter saw? I can spend months researching my “next tool purchase”, and when it’s a big-ticket item like a 12-inch slider, I want get the scoop on all of these tools before pulling out the plastic. Maybe it’s a guy thing…or maybe I just don’t want to be stuck with an $800 tool that I’m not happy with and can’t return.
I have some experience with Hitachi saws, and I have to tell you up front that I am a big fan. But every tool has it’s pros and cons, and the Hitachi C12LSH 12 inch slider is no exception. So let’s get out the white lab coats and have a closer look at the biggest dog on the leash at Hitachi.
My 5-year old son told me that this tool looked like a Transformer when I pulled it out of the box. I don’t know about that, but the slime-green and black styling is certainly eye-catching. But what I was most interested in was how does this saw perform…Once again, this Hitachi didn’t disappoint.
I must admit that I truly hated the blade that came with this tool. However, once I installed a 12″ Forrest Chopmaster, it cut like a dream, with no wobble. If you’ve seen any miter saw reviews before this one, you’ll know that any entry in the 12″ slider category will have plenty of juice…and so did this one: The Hitachi C12LSH employs a soft start that eases you into 15 amps of power at full throttle.
There are three features that really set this tool apart frome the other entries in the 12-inch slider category:
1. The most updated feature on this tool is a digital LCD module mounted to a flexible arm above the saw blade, which displays miter and bevel readings down to a tenth of a degree. This is pretty cool, but what I like even more is a feature that has been standard on all Hitachi saws for several years now — the laser guide, which can be dialed in to hairline accuracy for cuts. Unlike some other saws which have tried to duplicate this feature, the blade on this tool does not have to be spinning for the laser to be switched on. It’s also visible in broad daylight, and is easy to adjust from one side of the blade to the other.
2. Another cool gadget on this saw: the a micro-adjustment wheels for both the miter and bevel settings, which allow you to literally “dial in” a half a degree without moving the saw. This adjustment wheel really shines when you need to tweak a miter, and eliminates the frustration of having the miter table slip back into the pre-set detents when you need a tiny adjustment on either side of zero.
3. Possibly the best feature on this tool are the zero-clearanace rails, which will pay for itself on the job. With any other slider, you would have to set it up at least two feet in front of a wall to prevent the tool from smashing into the drywall when you return the blade to finish the cut. This feature allows you to back right up to a wall, which really opens up walking lanes when you’re trimming a remodel job…Heck, you can even set up in a hallway!
This is a heavy-duty machine, and it weighs a ton as well…Tipping the scales at almost 70 pounds, it’s one of the biggest of the Big Dogs. This won’t stop me from mounting it on a portable stand with 10-inch wheels and hauling it around my next trim job, because it ’s just too cool of a tool to leave in the shop.
All said, you will be hard pressed to find a tool in this class that surpasses this Hitachi in both performance and features…And yet that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. If you are shopping for a big slider like this, I recommend that you do your homework and assess your needs. And because this is such a big ticket item, try comparing at least three other similar tools in order to find one that best suits your budget and the job at hand. By the way, you’ll find plenty more miter saw reviews like this one on my blog at http://www.squidoo.com/miter-saw-reviews…See you there!
Looking for some free woodworking projects to break in your new Hitachi compound miter saws? You’ll find hundreds of free woodworking plans at Jay’s website.
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