mitre saw, hitachi

[Calgach]

Hello, hoping to get a bit of advise on sliding mitre saws.

Has anyone got much experience of the hitachi c8fse? it seems to be at a very good price (£200-215) but the motor is significantly less powerful than others of its cutting capacity. (1050W)
It seems to have terrible reviews on the american amazon, but only a few reviews, and generally favourable, on this side of the atlantic.
Has anyone got any comments from experience-good or bad?or any recommendations for a slider at that price range?
Its for general cross-cutting and trenching for tenons so i would aim to get an accurate machine. I dont have a tablesaw and everything is cut on the bandsaw at the minute

Any help appreciated, thanks!

 

[carlb40]

I was wondering the same, so i did a quick search on here yesterday and there are/ were a few users.

 

[Calgach]

Thanks
I forgot to mention the other saw, metabo kgs216m, it goes for around £160
Any comment on its accuracy and reliability appreciated!

 

[MMUK]

Personally I'd go for the Metabo. I've not had much luck with any Hitachi tools in terms of reliability TBH. Another option to consider is the Evolution Rage 3 S300 which goes for around the same as the Metabo. The distinct advantage over the Metabo for me is that the blade cuts virtually anything.

 

[Calgach]

thanks for the replies.
To be honest i ruled out the evolution brand altogether after seeing their "fury" tabe saw in b&q, it looked very unsturdy and inaccurate. but checked a few videos of the mitre saw u mentioned and it seems a Lot better.
Any Hitachi c8fse or metabo kgs216m owners out there, i'd love to hear ur experience of these machines

 

[Dutch]

I had the metabo a few years ago. the accuracy was fine but it was very noisy. more so than any other mitre saw ive used

 

[Mar_mite]

Trouble with those evolution blades is that yes they cut virtually anything, but nothing well. And if you do use it to cut steel the blade gets knackered quite quickly.

 

[Calgach]

thanks dutch.what im using now (b&q pro performance) is awful loud And refuses to cut a square end!
mar mite, thats exactly what i was sceptical about with the evo; its hard to imagine a blade cutting steel and still being fit to do a clean accurate cut in wood

 

[Grahamshed]

Blades are changeable, none of them will last for ever but as mitre saws go the Evo seems to get a pretty good press for its price band. Nothing in this range is going to compare to the Bosch axial glide or the Festool etc, that is a simple fact of life.

 

[DMF]

Hi,

don't know the hitachi saw or the quality but proper hitachi gear is top draw, all my electric grinders are hitachi and have been faultless, maybe they just had a good run on sharp spinny things but there a serous company for sure, although all PT companies have been guilty of offering some low end ranges that don't quite do it.

The evo I have got, bought the sliding mitre one for chopping loads of nail and bug infested floor boards up. Got a ex demo on ebay for peanuts and while it sounds like a washing machine with a brick in it has been brilliant, made a pergola with it, a bit of second fix stuff, and you can get it to cut accurately but I don't think that's where it's talents lie. Nor chopping heavy metal, that's for grinders and metal chop saws, but I've used it so much! Plastic pipes etc alu trims, it likes them all

Dean

 

[Doug B]

I had 2 Hitachi sliding mitre saws before upgrading to a Kapex, both perform admirably & did everything I asked of them, in hindsight I wish I'd kept hold of the smaller one for rough work.

I've recently been using the small Metabo sliding mitre saw at a mates, that to is a decent little saw though noisy as has been said & also quite ferocious when starting up.

 

[Calgach]

Thanks everyone for your input. The metabo was looking the most likely ...but then a second hand elektra beckum came up locally for fifty quid.
Its the kgs331 model, i dont think it can do trenching-if anyone could confirm or refute this it would be a help! thanks

 

[carlb40]

Thanks everyone for your input. The metabo was looking the most likely ...but then a second hand elektra beckum came up locally for fifty quid.
Its the kgs331 model, i dont think it can do trenching-if anyone could confirm or refute this it would be a help! thanks

No trenching with that saw, however it will be quiet as it an induction motor.

 

[Dutch]

its an older model so check the turntable isn't higher than the saw beds either side. I have an old one with this problem. the matabo you looked at first has about 10mm extra depth of cut and can do trenching. as carlb said this one cant. as long as you don't want to cut more than 50mm deep youd be okay. and its a better quality model.

 

[Calgach]

Brilliant lads, thanks!
Thats plenty to go by now

 

[davic]

I use the evolution with no complaints at all. I have used it alongside a very experienced carpenter and he was impressed with it compared to his dewalt.

The finished cut is good and so is the accuracy of the table. I used a protractor and a bevel to set the angle when making an octagon and I could have set the angle on the machine and saved a bit of bother. It works well; I use it with a Bosch GTA stand

 

[Bennyboy]

Hello I have a hitachi 8" sliding mitre saw that I bought 12years ago and it's still as accurate as the day I bought it, I'm currently looking at getting the new version as I'm currently building a workshop and would like to set my old chopsaw up in there, so it would be nice to hear your reviews on the saw that you do buy. Thanks Ben