Customer Reviews
Good saw at a great price 
2008-05-09
I bought a reconditioned saw at the site that is linked to Amazon for $149. It looks brand new and works great. I bought a 90 tooth Hitachi blade from the same source and it is the only blade I have used on the saw. The settings were accurate out of the box but I had to move the pointers a little which I consider very minor. You have to do a bit of assembly on the extended fence on the left but again this is minor. The saw and blade work and cuts are consistently accurate. Features I like include the accurate table for cutting, the rotating table is very close in height to the rest of the table, the miter settings have indents at the normal angles but they are easy to override for settings within a half degree of the setting, and good dust collection.
The capacities listed for this saw seem a bit conservative or incomplete to me. I can cut a 6 inch piece vertically against the fence and I did not see any capacity close to this. If you thumb the guard out of the way you may be able to do 7 inches this way. It is handy for mitering large base moulding. Crosscuts at 90 degrees in thin material (1 inch or less), you can do something over 7 inches (7 is the most time I've tried) laid down flat. I did not try it but I believe you could easily crosscut a 4x6.
It's probably worth the $250-300 they get for a new one but at $149 its a no-brainer. You are getting a double bevel saw of good design and quality at a price below what a simple single bevel 12 inch of the cheapest price point goes for. If you buy new, you may want to look hard at the FCH - the model with the digital angle readout. For miter settings this is not a big deal but it's a little hard to read bevel settings to half a degree.
Jim
Save your money - look at DeWalt 
2008-05-06
I was looking to replace a 19 year old 9" B&D power miter box and after some considerable research, decided on this model.
I have previous experience with Hitachi power tools and was expecting to receive a tool of comparable quality - instead what I received was a broken tool that is made in China.
Amazon was great handling the return and got me a replacement right away, but the replacement saw was broken at the same location (the right adjustable fence was ripped from the base).
Inspection of the aluminum casting revealed large occlusions in the material, leading me to believe that the entire base is made of the same substandard materials.
I would stay away from this tool - look at the DEWALT DW716 15 Amp Double-Bevel Compound Miter Saw- it will cost more, but you will be infinitely happier with the quality of the tool and construction - plus it is made in North America.
Great Saw, Great Price 2008-05-02
I purchased this Miter saw in Feb '08, and have not been disappointed yet. I did a lot research on miter saws and determined this model had all the features I needed (12" blade, Dual bevel, Laser, Vacuum Hook-up, and fold-out wings) at a cost effective price. I made quite a few trips to Home depot, Sears and Lowes testig out several saws including Ridgid, Dewalt, Bosch and Craftsman. Hearing great things about Dewalt, I immediately tried it out and did not like it at all, since the saw dust guard hit my thumb when I lowered the saw arm(due to the way I grip the handle). Additionally, the cost was way above the other competitors prices for the same saws. Next, the Bosch models were nice but again the price was extreme. The Craftsman almost made it to my list of finalists, but were cut because of the cheap manufacturing and flimsiness. Finally Ridgid put up a great comepetition with the Hitachi. The two reasons I chose the Hitachi over the Ridgid were 1)Price (Ridgid is overpriced, although they supposedly offer a lifetime guarantee on certain parts and 2) Hitachi's laser is activated by switch, whereas Ridgid's laser is activated when you pull the trigger. The reason why that's important to me is because I can line up my lumber for a cut, clamp it down, then pull the trigger as opposed to pulling the trigger, holding the trigger while the blade is spinning and adjust the lumber, lock it down and then cut (safety issue).
So far I've cut pine trim with perfect angles, walnut hardwood flooring, and 2X8's and I plan on using this saw to build a deck out of composite lumber. Just a tip, the saw comes with a 40 tooth blade, which isn't good for trim or hardwood floor, I went out and purchased a 90t blade and it cuts perfect. In addition to the blade I bought the UU610 table which fits almost any size piece of lumber and is a snap to put together and wheel around.
If you want to try it out in person first, Lowes carries this exact model!
Hitachi 12" miter saw 2008-04-21
I had to give the saw a poor review because I never got to use it. After ordering the saw, and looking forward to using it, when it arrived, the sub fence was broken, and the saw had to go back. Ok, they were very good about the whole thing, so I can wait for the replacement. The second saw came just three days later. I joked with the UPS driver that she should stick around so she could take it back with her. Guess what, the sub frnce on the second saw was broken! Back it went, but this time I didn't ask for a replacement. The saw looked good, but the thing was shipped with the bevel not fully locked, so it must have slammed into the sub fence during shipping, causing the thing to break.
Mistake 2008-04-14
My first saw came damaged. The sub fence was broken and the bevel gauge was torn up. Amazon sent me a new one, and the second one was also not right. The sub fence on this one was not broken but did not line up with the back fence making a square cut impossibe. There was also grinding when I adjusted the bevel. Complete junk. Hitachi was no use. They informed me that it was manufactered in China. Big surprise. I do not see myself buying anymore Hitachi tools because the customer service was so poor. Maybe you will have better luck than me. My suggestion is to look the saw over very carefully before using it. I regeret this purchase.
hotdog2121 
2008-07-15
I have a 10" Hitachi and bought the cut n crown system. I was getting ready to start and found that I needed more height than what my 10" could give me because of the jigs with this system. I know I don't need the jigs and could use the 10" but the fence was very low anyway. So I went to Lowes. I have the Dewalt mitre saw stand and was going to buy a Dewalt to go with it. Actually was kind of excited. After looking at all of the saws, I decided on the Hitachi 12" because of the 5 year warranty, laser, comfortable handle grip and double bevel for less money. I loved the saw at first. Then, while I was checking the alignment I noticed that the right side markings and the red pointer had come into contact with each other. This peeled the foil marking label with the adhesive on the back of the label exposed. I tryed to lay this label back down but it kept coming up. Saw dust has gotten underneath it and forget about it ever staying down now. To me this is a critical oversight on Hitachi's part. I went back to Lowes and found the saw on display had both left and right labels messed up. I used the saw for crown moulding and after 4 days of use I decided to take this one back to Lowes for a refund. Oh, this saw is VERY loud too. You will definetly need ear plugs or hearing protection. It actually hurts to listen to it. I went back to Lowes and purchased the Dewalt DW716. This is the saw that I originally was going to purchase but got cost conservative. The customer reviews where all excellent for this saw. Got this saw home, Loved it and after three cuts the saw quit. I checked the outlet, 120V power was good. I could not believe it! I think maybe the switch went out. I took it back and now I'm waiting for the Bosch 4212 from Amazon.com. I also bought the Bosch 80 tooth blade. Oh, I forgot to say earlier that with the Hitachi I had the Dewalt 80T precision trim blade and it was a dream. Perfect cuts with absolutely no splintering. With the Dewalt saw, it came with a 60 tooth Dewalt blade. Was not quite as good but would probably have worked out ok. Just not quite as crisp. I hope this helps.
No support 2008-07-14
This saw arrived with part of its plastic case broken. Rather than return the whole saw, I tried to contact Hitachi through their support site on the web to get a replacement. Nothing but silence. I won't buy from them anymore.
Hitiachi 12 Inch Miter Saw Model C12FDH Review 2008-06-29
After researching miter saws and reading the reviews, I chose this saw as my first miter saw to ever own. When I received it, the left fence was broken during shipping. Returned it back to Amazon for an exchange and had no problems with the second saw I received. It has performed and worked perfectly out of the box. I have had no issues with this saw at all, just used it to build a 600 square foot deck. When comparing the price to Lowes, it was $50 cheaper on Amazon plus the free shipping. Overall I would recommend this saw to anyone, very easy to use and if any adjustments need to be performed they look very easy to do.
Very Happy with Saw 2008-06-13
I have been using this saw in my small cabinet shop business for a couple weeks now and it already deserves a 5 star rating. Of course I don't know how long it will last, but I'm betting it will be an improvement over the Dewalts I have been using. I've owned 5 of the dewalt 12" saws and two of them burned out in 2-3 years, so it was time to try another brand this time. Of course we use them hard, and they get hundreds of cycles a week.
I'm very happy with the acuracy of the saw and it seems very solid. I thought the laser was a gimmick and almost didn't bother to calibrate it, but now I consider it a must-have feature. I don't use it very often, but it really comes in handy if you scribe a pencil drawn angle to your work and want to chop it right on the line--no need to even bother the measure the angle.
The dust collection works good for a chop saw saw too. Might get 70% of the dust or so, which is much better than any other saw I've used.
A couple small things I don't like though--this sucker is loud. While I always use ear protection anyway, this is the only saw Ive used in which it is mandatory. I tried to sneak a quick cut in without the ear pro. once and it is painful---and that can't be good for you.
The other minor downside is it takes up more space than the Dewalts. With dust collection attached it needs about 6" more space from the back wall in the shop. But it's still way better than a sliding miter saw. (I'd rather have non sliding saws as the very rare times I need more capacity I use the sliding table on the table saw.)
The first thing I did is build this into a chop saw table with the Kreg system stops. Why more people don't bother to set up a chop saw properly is a mystery to me. I couldn't build a shed with out it! Anytime you use a tapemeasure to pencil mark and then nudge the work around into position you are wasting your life.
Five stars for this tool.
-Steve
very dissatisfied 2008-06-02
I received my Hitachi C12FDH miter saw as a Christmas gift from my duaghter and son-in-law, to replace an older Delta that was shot.
After about 6 uses the belt guard broke and fell off, I emailed Hitachi and got no response, so I fastened it back on with a nylon cable tie and rubber band. After a few months and little usage the bolt holding the retractor arm to the blade guard broke, I again emailed the company, and again got no response. Finally I called the toll free number on the website, and tried to get the belt guard and bolt under warranty, only to be told I had to take it to an authorized service center, (apparently they are unaware that other people CAN operated a screwdriver). I took a half day off work, drove an hour and a half to the service center, and found out there that I needed a store receipt to prove I had purchased it, (remember it was a Christmas gift). I was very dissatisfied with their unwillingness to invest a few bucks in retaining me as a customer. I came home, went to my local hardware, purchased some longer screws and fender washers for the belt guard, and a replacement screw for the retractor arm, and fixed it myself. I'm sure I voided the warranty by doing this, but in my opinion, the warranty was worthless from the start. When someone asks me about my saw, I'm sure I'll share this story and try to persuade them to buy Makita, Delta, Craftsman, or anything other that Hitachi.
