15 responses so far ↓

• 1 Velasco

  I’m a remodeling contractor working in the finest homes in Washington, DC. I’ve been using this saw for about three months now. In a nutshell, this saw performs well. The saw cuts perfect miters right out of the (BIG) box. The motor has plenty of power to push through everything I’ve thrown at it. I work with a lot of talented professionals who all have their own miter boxes but most everyone on site now prefers this saw as the go to. I LOVE! the new fence system with the included hinged sub fence. The sub fence not only flips in or out, it can also be flipped up to create a 10″ high fence! I don’t no why Hitachi is not shouting this feature out from the rooftops. No other saw that I know of offers a fence system like this. I don’t like Hitachi’s new look with all of the insignificant and ugly plastic parts (it makes their tools look like a toys). This saw is heavy and bulky. If possible, the saw is best left in its cutting station and not bounced around the job site. I’m happy with my purchase and would recommend this saw to any serious wood worker.

• 2 Urbanek

  This saw never made it off of the back of the UPS truck. There had to be at least half a roll of shipping tape holding the box together along with various dents at the corners of the crate. After inspecting the contents of the package, I felt as if I was buying a used product and was surprised and disappointed that someone in Amazon’s shipping dept. actually sent this saw out in such poor condition. After I was given a full refund, I decided to take my business to the local tool supply. Although I payed a few bucks more for the saw, it gave me peace of mind that I was not purchasing a used item and wasting my shop time on the phone risking another mishap.

• 3 Hines

  Now heres a real gem boys… little pricey but well worth every cent you pay for it. Cuts as accurate as any right out of the box… good fine adjustments available. Handy depth stop feature if using an aux fence. Will cut 12″ wide!!!! Provisions for hooking up standard vacuum hosing to it.

• 4 Lacy

  I am a professional woodworker and I purchased this saw specifically for cutting stair skirtboards, for which this saw proved up to the task. I also currently have the Hitachi 10′ slide compound sans laser. The laser beam is a little to broad for my liking so I find my eye is still more accurate. Improvements in this saw that I really like are the rack&pinion gearing for dialing “micro adjustments” and the placement of slide tubes up top and to the side. This placement prevents sawdust from being thrown back into the slide tube bearings a big plus. Of course it would be nice if Hitachi would provide an attachnent so that the saw could be hooked up to a two inch vacuum line. Of course the saw is big and bulky but it is a 12 inch so… The setting are a little easier to read than most previous saws and the locks for positioning angle and bevel are solid. The bevel lock is a little awkward to work with but the slip ratchet mechanism helps. I feel that the motor is a little under powered so one has to go slower on cuts. All and all I am pleased with this saw and look forward to comtinued improvemts.

• 5 Hollis

  i love the 10 inch hitachi
  one of the finest tools aval.
  but this 12 inch slider
  looks like someone wanted to make a diff cool looking saw
  thats fine but why make it a poor quality tool
  its heavier than most every saw really heavy,one guy will struggle to carry this
  and forget getting it through a hall
  it claims to need less space behind the saw due to its special slider
  i checked from the back of my board to the saw slider all the way back
  it takes up more MORE space
  THIS IS IMP> the saw moves left to right with the most slop of any slider over $100
  did not like this saw

• 6 Finnie

  After a lot of thinking and checking, I looked at every brand of saw, read reviews of every brand, tried every brand first hand. With a ton of searching I decided on this saw, and I am very happy. The digital read out means that while searching for the right angle you can walk away have someone else on the job move it use it and be able to return it exactly to even the most difficult cut angles. The laser is by far the best in the industry don’t care what anyone says about this brand or that, the best laser system by 100 times over anyone else. Mine was perfect out of the box, has worked great since I bought it. With my crews they now fight over who gets the Hitachi and who gets stuck with the Dewalt and Ridgid, helps everyone show up to the shop earlier which is a bonus. Other than that the basic functions are the same as any saw, I hate the Dewalt front cam lock system due to the fact that many times I have had my finger pinched in this thing, so I prefer the twist lock handle this saw has. That and lets face it these days you buy a Dewalt, porter cable or delta and you are just buying black&decker with a different color and a whole lot higher price.

• 7 Hodgson

  I am happy with this saw. Like many of the other reviewers, my saw also came with a broken sub-fence B. I called Hitachi and without hassle they sent me a new one. I like the dual bevel with the digital readout. The detents feel more solid than other saws I’ve tried. The laser is ok. It disappears as you lower the saw. This saw has a power switch on the arm but it only turns off the digital readout and the laser. It does not kill the power to the saw. You must unplug the saw to kill the power (which is a good idea when not in use). I thought this was a little strange but Hitachi said that is how it is supposed to work. Given what I know now, I would still purchase this saw.

• 8 Pardo

  Much like everyone else I did my research before purchasing and even though the reviews were good I was a little skepical about a brand that I had never used before. Boy was I wrong. This saw is great! Lots of power, easy to use, came almost set up out of the box. I did not have any troubles with broken pieces as others have reported (maybe they have got that fixed). The fence is a little short when flipped open to do bevel cuts but that should be ok since the double bevel will allow you to lay pieces flat while cutting instead of upright. The only other things about the saw is to make sure to get a nice 60 or more tooth blade and probably a stand when buying. The stands will save you space unless you have a huge work area and most have extendable supports which you will need with this saw unless you are cutting something shorter than 2′. This is a great saw and to think that with other brands you would have to spend hundreds more for the same features.

• 9 MacIntosh

  Excellent product. Just got done putting in a hardwood floor with it and having the laser guide really sped things up.

• 10 Qintana

  Great miter saw; I found that it was dead on accurate out of the box except for the B side Sub Fence as it was bent/warped. I contacted Hitachi through email on there site and the next day they had responded and said they were shipping a replacement fence. I got the fence 4 days latter and the saw is great now.

  I’m not a contractor just a very avid DIY guy, I hate paying people of work I can do myself. So this saw works great for me. Here are my Pros/Cons of this saw:

  Pros:
  1) Very Powerful and easy to use
  2) Accurate out of the box
  3) Digital Miter/Bevel display is great and takes the guess work out of cuts especially the bevel.
  4) Very solid built and high quality
  5) Great packaging for shipping no damage
  6) Laser comes in without having to start the blade
  7) Great customer Service from Hitachi

  Cons:
  1) Bent/warped Sub Fence on delivery (resolved by Hitachi)
  2) Laser hard to see in any sun lights
  3) Laser blocked when you bring the blade down
  4) LOUD (belt drive sound)
  5) Wrench clip does not hold wrench in place, falls off a lot
  6) Hard to change out blades, need to have 3 hands

  That’s about it. This is a great saw and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn’t for the bent/warp sub fence.

• 11 Nghe

  This saw is a monster. It is literally huge. I mounted it to the MSUV from Home Depot which makes it very portable. The saw has plenty of power. Stock blade is ok. Slides are ultra smooth. The laser is handy. I find that the LCD has little value. I just don’t ever look at it. Dust extraction is minimal as stated by many others. For $429 at Amazon I could not go wrong.

• 12 Rothschild

  Fit a finish, by far the best saw on the market for the price and above.

• 13 Nyman

  The reason I bought this saw was because I am extremely satisfied with with the C10FSH, Hitachi’s 10″ saw with slide and laser. I would have purchased another one but I was able to purchase this C12LSH for about the same price. I figured I’d take a chance on a brand new larger model with a nifty digital readout. Likes: The digital readout is pretty cool and works great. The laser is very accurate. The saw looks beefy and is. Making adjustments are quick, easy, and precise, especially with the fine tuning knobs. I absolutely love the one trigger operation. The more I use the saw, the more I like it. Dislikes: The blade; Hitachi, shame on you! Splinter guard; With it set 2 inches back, I’m not sure what good it does but throw dust in your face. I removed it. Reaction to other reviewer comments; Packaging was good, although I made sure the box was not damaged and unopened before I purchased it. I wouldn’t say the saw is bulky. It’s big, it’s portable, but I wouldn’t want to take it to a job site. This saw has a tad more play at full draw than my 10″ but no more than any other 12″ saw I tested. I think you’ll be very happy with this saw as long as you make sure it’s brand new in an unopened, undamaged box.

• 14 Nadal

  I was lucky in the extreme and found this saw in it’s box, unopened and unmolested at a local Lowe’s. It was marked down from $699 to $399 and then to $269. No, it was NOT a re-built/re-furb. I knew the $269 could not be right but they sold it to me anyway. I kept waiting for someone from the store to come running out to the parking lot and start wrestling me for it! I am an enthusiastic woodworker, not a contractor so my primary use of this monster will be for furniture building. My hope was that it could stand in for a radial arm saw with the exception of dadoing. Initially I tried to mount it to a universal saw stand from DeWalt but it turns out the mounting bolt/foot print is not square. This rules out most universal style stands. I returned that and went with the Hitachi recommended stand ordered from Amazon. Not a bad piece and it came with wheels! Solid mounting and as stable as I could hope for. Handles 10′ boards without flexing. The saw itself is just superb! The left fence had to be aligned but that was it. I am surprised to find that the adjustable laser is both easy to use and dead accurate! I’d thought it to be an amusing toy but now I’m hooked. Being able to align it left to right means you can have it define the edge of the blade for either side. I immediately replaced the factory blade with a thin kerf carbide 96 tooth Freud Avanti. Polished, finish ready cuts are the result. This is a furniture making dream come true. Ultra clean, repeatable cuts from any angle/compound. The supplied dust bag isn’t too awful but a few plumber’s rubber pipe fittings allowed me to hook up my shop-vac. Exceptional dust control is now the rule. Mahogany, red oak, pine and some rock hard maple have all gone under the blade. Thickness up to 4″. No control problems or bogging. The 15 amp motor is gutsy and solid. Rips and cross cuts are equally smooth and clean. The key is to keep the blade moving. The motion must be plunge and move forward at the same time. This prevents burns and saw marks. A gentle hand ensures zero blade wander/deflection. Where this beats a radial arm is in repeatability. Make cuts at any angle, return the table to zero and the cuts remain perfect. Try that with even the best radial arm and you will be right back to the table saw to clean up those cross cuts. I can’t speak to how this would do for a contractor but it is no doubt a lifetime tool for a woodworker. This brings a level of precision that would require my table saw as well as a circular and or jig saw to match. Add to that the speed and ease of use and this thing is pushing my table saw as the most important tool in my arsenal!

• 15 Oakwood

  The saw is amazing…buy it, you will not be disappointed. As for Amazon’s return policy, not so good. Granted, they will replace an item damaged during shipping, but consider this scenerio. The mitre adjust knob broke off during shipping when the saw shifted in the box. No big deal…right? Wrong, Amazon’s return policy required that I return the entire saw and they would ship me another saw. Far too much trouble for an easily installed, small part. I bought a new knob ($28) from an online parts house and installed it myself. Amazon could move to the next level of customer satisfaction by expanding/enhancing their return policy options.

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