"HerHusband" wrote in message
...
I was browsing through Lowes last night and saw the Hitachi C10FL
tablesaw. I only looked at it briefly, but overall I was quite impressed
with it's features, and the $500 price tag didn't hurt either. (Keep in
mind, I'm currently using a cheap little 20+ year old Craftsman saw I
inherited from my Dad).

I liked:

- The motor is inside the cabinet, not hanging off the back. This would
let it fit in my garage better.

While a little less room is taken up the moror is probably a universal motor
with brushes. It will probably be considerably louder than an induction
motor that typically hangs out of a contractor saw.


- The left-tilt mechanism (I don't like right tilts).

I agree.


- The built-in wheel system for moving it around my garage.

Handy

- The fence seemed to move smoothly, it locked down tight, and the
"micro-adjust" seemed like it worked well.

The real thing to consider here is how well the fence holds its position
during use and does it lock down parallel to the blade every time. Are
measurements repeatable using the saw's fence rule?
Typically use will be the indicator.


- All controls were right up front, no leaning around the side to adjust
the bevel.

This may or may not be an advantage. Some times these more conveinent
control positions are not as reliable, easily adjusted, and or as accurate.

- The bevel angle is displayed through a little viewer on top of the
table.

I would use that scale only for indicating when you are close enough to use
an acurate measuring tool to actually set the angle.


- It ran off 120V (I don't have 220V outlets available).

Many contractors saws also run off of 120.


The one weakness I saw:

- The max rip width appears to be about 24". Probably suitable for my
needs, but it would be nice to go to 30" or so on occasion.

If you can see the need for 30" capacity now you will probably outgrow this
saw sooner than you want. Personally I'll never go less than 50" again.




However, I know features aren't everything, so I came home to do some
research online. But, I haven't been able to find much feedback on this
saw, other than a few comments on the inaccurate horsepower rating (which
I figured out on my own at the store). There don't seem to be any reviews
on the C10FL, even though it has apparently been on the market for a
couple of years now.

So, I'm curious if anyone here has used this saw and what you think of
it.

It will better than a portable circle saw but proabbly less than the typical
contractors saw.

- Does it have any dust collection features?

Really and truely that would be the least of my concerns. Accurcy and power
should matter the most followed by capacity.


- Are there any aftermarket accessories available, like zero clearance or
dado inserts, longer guide rails to extend the rip capacity, etc.?

I'm not really in the market for a saw now, and $500 is about my maximum
budget, but if the saw is really as good as it appears I might just
scrounge my penny's together and pick one up.

If you are getting a replacement saw you should really only consider a
contractors saw or better. I think you will soon out grow this saw unless
you only need something marginally better than a Skill saw.