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Set your expectations accordingly.Positives: Adequate results, as long as you don't expect the sawn edge to be smooth. Still, I expect to spend a lot of time making up for my budget limitations. Also, I found the setup instructions for the table extension grossly inadequate. And that guard - well, I keep telling myself I really should use it, when applicable, but it keeps arguing against me. BTW, a throat plate not flush to the table surface makes measuring the dado depths a royal pain - it's trial and error, not machine tooling. Sorry, I'm just human. Each one needs the guard off, and therefore (we're good boys and girls, right). I'm pretty sure the Hitachi lawyers added it to the parts list, not the engineers.I'm not an advanced woodworker, so I'll use this saw and enjoy it, to a point.
Still, it will help me look forward to that day when I decide to trade up.-- wiredweird(PS: One of the attachment screws in the throat plate was so glued in place with black paint that I stripped the Phillips part of the Phillips/straight head trying to unscrew it the first time. I imagine I can shim it up flush, but haven't taken the time yet, and it's nowhere near tight enough for really thin cuts. This isn't a $25,000 saw or a $2,500, saw, it's a $ saw, at least where I bought it. Getting the splitter straight to the blade is time consuming and aggravating - and especially aggravating because I do so many rabbets and dadoes. back on again, with the same tedious alignment each time.
Going through all that again, every time I need the guard on again after being off, seems more than daunting. I know there's an adjustment to get the blade parallel to the miter slot - when I get the right measuring tools, I'll try to get all that straight.I'm sure that, with a new blade, a half-day of fussing, and a lot of patience, I can get all the results I paid for from this tool. It's affordable and easily capable of more than the factory configuration.Negatives: Lots, including the throat plate. The mechanism doesn't hold the old alignment settings, they have to be redone each time. Grr).
When I realized that I had not understood the incomprensible setup instructions correctly, I had to remove one of the end clips - and broke it in removing it, because it was engineered only for people who do everything perfectly the first time.
This is a very good job site saw. Plenty of power and works better than several more expensive models I've used. Its features allow 3/4 inch plywood cuts and about anything else. It needs a better blade from the start but that's my only suggestion.
Not any serious woodworking or load. The replacement has just burnt out on me two years down the road. Well the first Hitachi lasted a month and I returned it for another one at Lowe's, the assumption being that saw was faulty. The saw is fine for small jobs for flooring and such. I used mine for ripping stretcher bars for canvases. I'm shopping for something better, just thought I'd post a warning. I take a Kiln Dried 2x4 and rip it at a 35 degree angle.
the dust collection is nice and works well. I love this saw. it super fast to set up right out the box took maybe 20 minutes. this is a huge improvement over my old craftsman saw. its light weight and easy to move but is still stable when working with large pieces of wood.
The miter gauge requires you to square it to the blade each time you use it. Lastly, as I am now discovering, you cannot upgrade the saw with aftermarket parts (i.e. no zero clearance inserts, no riving knives, no splitters, no featherboards, no miter gauges, no jigs, not sure about aftermarket fences, but I am guessing no on that one). This attribute is an unfortunate double-edged sword. You either have to find a way to alter the parts (like featherboards because the miter slots are on the table saw are not standard) making them more expensive, or, you simply build them yourself.Conclusion:If you are looking for something simple, ultra portable, and you plan on using it for simple ripping operations or just plan on pulling it out occasionally: this is your saw. All parts are metric, making replacement difficult to impossible unless you order directly from the company. First of all there is a universal truism: A good carpenter never blames his tools.The Pros:I have been able to produce several pieces of furniture for use around the house with this saw.
Everything was aligned right out of the box, and the directions were clear during assembly.The Cons:A large part of the saws portability is attributed to its weight. Because the saw is so light, it has a tendency to move back when ripping long (greater than 3 foot) boards. The saws greatest assets are its portability without having to purchase aftermarket lifts (I can fold it up and stow it away against a wall in under 2 minutes clearing the space for other operations), its small footprint (approx. For beginning furniture makers, this saw will make your entrance into the hobby a little more difficult than other saws would, and you would be best advised to look elsewhere. 30" x 20" without extensions), dust collection bag (for those without dust collection systems), fairly accurate / easy to use fence, 1 - 1.5 hour assembly time, and its price. Should you run into some resistance when ripping a board (like going through a tough knot) the saw will tip up and away from you (the additional foot provided in the back of the saw will prevent the table from tipping over however).
The anti kickback splitter requires a large amount of adjustment to get correctly aligned each time you place it back on the saw.
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