While I was growing up, woodworking became a passion of mine, and I used to love doing it during my free hours. However, I would’ve much preferred to have had the tools that are available nowadays, and that’s where the Hitachi C10FCG compound miter saw comes in. Despite having missed out on such a seamless way of conducting my work, I’ll delve into why this product would be perfect for any DIY enthusiast to utilize in their work.
Why Buy a Miter Saw?
Before you want to venture into the world of miter saws and woodworking, let’s first talk about what miter saws are, and what they offer to you. Have you ever just wondered how much more satisfying it would be if you could build a little shelf for yourself without having to pay a hefty sum to a local worker? Well, with a miter saw at your disposal, that is just what you’ll be able to achieve.
Miter saws come in various types, and they progressively allow you to get more creative with the types of cuts you can do. Let’s have a quick run down on them!
Standard Miter Saw: A standard miter saw allows you to make only the most basic cut, which is a miter cut. You can tilt the entire saw upto a certain angle, and make your desired cut.
Compound Miter Saw: A compound miter saw is one that also includes a bevel angle, which allows you to make bevel cuts. The bevel gauge lets you tilt your saw’s blade, and make the bevel cuts. When you combine both the miter and bevel angle to make your cuts, you get the compound cut!
Sliding Compound Miter Saw: A sliding compound miter saw just adds the benefit of you being able to slide your miter saw forward. This allows you to cut an even larger area in case you have large pieces of wood.
A miter saw is an essential tool for any woodworker, or potential woodworker. So, if you’re looking to dive into this realm, you should do a lot of research to ensure you have the best knowledge of the tools required!
Key Features
We need to first be aware of all that the Hitachi C10FCG Compound Miter Saw has to offer. You’ll be able to make clean and precise cuts with this saw. The miter range will be 0-52 degrees on either side, whereas the bevel only moves to the left, but has a good range of 0-45 degree angles. You’ll also notice positive stops to help you make adjustments that are quick and clean for the perfect cut. The miter saw also comes in at only 24.2 pounds, making it quite lightweight and portable. It also includes a good air filtration system to help clear out debris.
Hitachi C10FCG Breakdown
Let’s dive into the most important aspects of the Hitachi C10FCG miter saw, and let us tell you what we like and dislike about it!
Cutting Power
The Hitachi C10FCG comes with a good engine/motor of 15 amps, and can reach up to 5000 RPMs (rotations per minute). In general, this is a very powerful miter saw, and you can easily achieve any cut you want, whether it be a crosscut or a compound cut.
Design
While it isn’t the most important factor when it comes to miter saws, the sleek design of the Hitachi C10FCG is something you can truly admire. Most power tools usually lack any aesthetic design, however, this miter saw has a nice mixture of green, grey and the aluminium body, to provide you with something that looks fancy.
Cutting Accuracy and Versatility
The Hitachi C10FCG allows you to make both miter and bevel cuts, as it is a compound miter saw. The miter gauge moves from 0-52 degree angles on both the right and left side, giving you leeway to make cuts with ease. The bevel gauge moves from 0-45 degree angles only to the left side, as it is a single bevel miter saw. This is however, more than enough to ensure you get the perfect level of cuts for your jobs. We have stated that this is better for DIY enthusiasts, but the angle versatility would suit even a professional contractor!
Size of the Blade
The size of the blade on this compound miter saw is 10 inches in length. This is the primary reason why we believe it wouldn’t suit professionals to use this saw. However, if you’re someone who engages in small to medium sized tasks all the time, this miter saw will be more than enough to ensure you get your work done perfectly! The Hitachi C10FCG can cut lumber of up to 4 inch times 6 inch in size!
Portability and Weight
Miter saws don’t really need to be portable, as they require to be placed down when using them. However, if you’re someone who needs to move around while working, and would like to take your miter saws to different places, then the Hitachi C10FCG being lightweight and easily portable, is a big plus point for you! This 24.2 pound miter saw is lightweight compared to the numerous number of heavy duty tools out on the market. This lack of weight mainly arises due to the aluminium build of the miter saw.
Large Table
When making cuts with a miter saw, you might sometimes need a larger work space for wood pieces that are bigger. However, if you don’t have a larger table or your miter saw can’t fit the piece, then you’re most likely going to have inaccurate cuts. This doesn’t pose a problem with the Hitachi C10FCG because of the large table that it comes with. You will easily manage to get your work done with ease.
Air Filtration System
Miter saws need to have an efficient air filtration system to ensure that debris doesn’t clog up the entire system. This system helps to keep your miter saw clean, but also helps in keeping the lifespan of your miter saw where it should be. With the Hitachi C10FCG, you will find a very efficient system that helps remove all the sawdust and other debris. You’ll have your miter saw running at an optimal level, and have less of a mess to clean up after you’re done with your work!
Ease of Use
No matter what power tool you are using, the ease of use is something that takes priority over most other features. You don’t want to spend your time and effort trying to work with a tool that does not provide you the proper output. Thus, the Hitachi C10FCG is a worthwhile investment, as it will ensure you have a fun and easy time working with it. One of the biggest factors that play into this is its positive stop system. When you’re trying to work, it might be quite annoying to always have to find the correct angle each time you need to make a cut. Thus, with the Hitachi C10FCG you’ll have the positive stops that stop at the most popular angles that people tend to use when working with miter saws. Not only does it give you less hassle, but you also optimize the time you work with this feature!
Unfortunately the miter saw does not come with a laser feature which is a lot more common nowadays. The laser feature would allow you to never have to recalibrate what angle you’re cutting at, even if you changed blades. You would also know exactly where your blade would touch the wood piece with the help of the laser. Not having this is a bit of a loss on the Hitachi C10FCG.
Durability
The Hitachi C10FCG is quite a reliable miter saw, but you will realize that it doesn’t have the highest durability in the miter saw market. However, don’t worry, as you can easily make do with this product. Not to mention that you will find this to be a very worthwhile saw, comparing the price to all the benefits you get. The aluminium body may not be heavy duty, but it is definitely enough to keep you going for a while.
User Manual
The Hitachi C10FCG’s user manual in our experience falls behind the quality of the rest of the product. It doesn’t do the best job in explaining why the product is top notch. However, if you’re somewhat familiar with miter saws, you won’t even need to look at the manual. Even a new woodworker can easily familiarize themselves with how this machine works without any trouble!
User Reviews
We ourselves have had a great time using this miter saw, but we’ve also done our research to find out what the general feeling of the other users were! Safe to say, this is a great product and here are some!
How Does It Compare To Others?
Let’s look at how the Hitachi compares to other miter saws on the market!
Dewalt DWS713, 10 Inch Compound Miter Saw
We won’t sugarcoat it to you, when you look at the Hitachi and this Dewalt miter saw, the Dewalt wins in a lot of different categories. However, in our personal opinion, we think that if you’re a DIY enthusiast, you don’t need to go for this expensive alternative. It comes with great perks that you could definitely use, but it isn’t necessarily needed. Why spend extra for perks that you’re never going to need? However, if you’re someone who is interested in a miter saw that can take care of heavy duty tasks, then this is definitely one you should look into!
Bosch CM10GD, 10 Inch Compound Miter Saw
Bosch is another great alternative to look at, one that rivals the Dewalt choice. They even have their patented axial glide system which helps take this miter saw’s accuracy to another level. However, you still have to make a sacrifice on money for perks that would go to waste if you’re not someone who takes on heavy duty tasks.
Chicago Electric, 10 Inch Sliding Compound Miter Saw
The last alternative we have for you is a sliding compound miter saw. Now, the Hitachi C10FCG is overall a better choice than this miter saw in terms of performance. However, you get the ability to have the sliding feature with the Chicago Electric chainsaw. If you are in need of some extra mobility and distance with your cuts, then this might just be what you need.
The Takeaway
To wrap it all up, we have to say that the Hitachi C10FCG is definitely a great investment. Woodworkers are always in need of reliable tools, that are also a worthwhile investment, and can also deliver in terms of performance. The Hitachi C10FCG comes at a very affordable price, and as a lightweight miter saw, can allow you to work with ease. Being so easy to use also means anyone can come to grips with it quite easily. On top of that, you can work on various projects thanks to the immense versatility that this miter saw will allow you to have. Overall, we can definitely see why this is a popular product among woodworkers, and why you would love it as well!
Hey there, my name’s Braden Smith and all my lifeI’ve been passionate about woodworking. As such, I spent more time learning about and experimenting with power tools. Over time, I learned to help spread my knowledge by articulating my words thanks to my academic knowledge in the English Language as well.