finally pulled the trigger on the Hitachi 12 in slider miter saw! your opinions?

[David Sallee]

After much reviews and opinions from others... I finally pulled the trigger on this bad boy! Anyone else had experience with this saw and your views? http://www.lowes.com/pd_42379-67702-C12RSH_0__?storeNumber=2600&DM_PersistentCookieCreated=true&store_code=2600&selectedLocalStoreBeanArray=

[Bryan Lisowski]

I have the same saw and really like it. I bought a better blade and never installed the one that came with it. It's heavy, but I don't move it around. The way the rails work, it takes up less space than my older 10" Bosch slider.

[Curt Harms]

I have the same saw and really like it. I bought a better blade and never installed the one that came with it. It's heavy, but I don't move it around. The way the rails work, it takes up less space than my older 10" Bosch slider.

The rail mechanism is what interests me. It's sort of like the Festool Kapex in that the saw can sit closer to a wall than most SCMSs except the Kapex & Bosch gliders. It's heavy but no heavier than other 12" SCMSs, they all seem to be 60 lbs. or more.

[Ben Rivel]

Is this the one that everyone tries to get the Japanese version in and pay big bucks for?

[Greg R Bradley]

The rail mechanism looks like it would save a bunch of space. In reality they seem to have flubbed that opportunity pretty well and gained a little bit. The Bosch Glide gained a little bit more and the Kapex gained a little bit more than that. A few non sliders gain a significant amount on the Kapex but a few have silly things taking up the space they could have gained. It's like none of them made it a priority as they all could do better with a very small amount of work.

The $900 Japanese Hitachi is not that saw, it is a traditional rail design and much more conventional appearance. Its strong-points are quality of manufacture, not design improvements.