Bosch Glide vs Hitachi C12RSH2

[Tim M Tuttle]

Afternoon all,

I am looking to upgrade my miter saw soon. I've had my eye on the Bosch Glide for a while now. I am going to be building a miter saw station and with a small shop the Bosch takes up much less space than most of the other saws I have seen save the Kapex which is way out of my budget. When I was at Menard's the other night I noticed that Hitachi makes a model with a mechanism similar to the Kapex with the slide rails facing forward rather than back. The saw is currently on sale at Menard's for $350 compared to $600 for the Bosch.

I've had a few Bosch tools in the past and have really like/d them and the Glide gets great reviews. I've never owned or used a Hitachi product. At $250 less it's quite tempting. Anyone have any experience with either of these two saws that they would like to share?

Thanks

[Evan Stewart]

The first contractor i worked for 20 years ago had a Hitachi miter saw in his shop that was a beast it was definitely larger than 12" maybe 16"?. Anyway it was probably 10 years old at that point and it could cut 2x12s all day. Fast forward 15 years and their equipment is definitely of a lower quality than it was before. Personally I would put it between ryobi and ridged maybe equivalent to craftsman. The Bosch is definitely a much better saw. I would say you need to figure how much use vs the price. I'm sure it will make accurate cuts but the Bosch will definitely last longer and will likely have less problems with small pieces breaking.

[Steve Peterson]

I have the Bosch Glide and like it a lot. I would not hesitate to buy it again, however $250 savings is substantial. It also looks like it comes with a stand and a laser.

Is there a unit on display that you can feel? Pull the head to various positions and see if you can deflect the head with slight pressure.

Steve

[George Bokros]

I have a Hitachi C12LSH and it is great. It can be place close to the wall since the gliding mechanism can be locked and it does not effect the operating capacity of the saw. I believe the model I have has been discontinued by Hitachi.

[Charles Wiggins]

I have the Bosch 12" and love it. The space savings and fluid movement are hard to beat. The arm tension is adjustable for those who are used to other SCMS that have more resistance, but I have left mine in the open fluid position because I had not used a SCMS for a long time prior to getting it, and why add work? If you "push" on it you can deflect the armature a bit but if you use a light touch and let the saw do the work it is very accurate.

I haven't used a Hitachi in 25 years.

[Adam Petersen]

I have the older version of this Hitachi and it is quite good. My understanding is this newer ideation (green hood) has trimmed some of the extras on the saw I have. You'll have to look up a comparison and newer review to see if it's for you. I will say I love my Hitachi though.

[John Lankers]

Wait till the Bosch goes on sale.

[Robert Parent]

I really like my Bosch.

Robert

[Ted Baxter]

I bought the Hitachi "C12RSH Laser" a little over a year ago I don't know what the difference between the two are but I am very happy with mine. The blade leaves a very good finish on everything I have cut from pallet wood oak, walnut, hard maple, and plywood. The slide works great very smooth and the saw makes very precise cuts. Dust collection could be a little better but I will work on that when I build a miter station for it. I currently have it on the stand that came with it.

[John K Jordan]

Wait till the Bosch goes on sale.

When starting on my shop construction I saw a Bosch Glide in Home Depot. It was more expensive than Amazon but they sold it for the Amazon price - all they needed to see was the Amazon listing on my phone.

I think it is a fantastic saw.

JKJ

[John Lankers]

When starting on my shop construction I saw a Bosch Glide in Home Depot. It was more expensive than Amazon but they sold it for the Amazon price - all they needed to see was the Amazon listing on my phone.

I think it is a fantastic saw.

JKJ

That's what basically happened to me too, minus 10% of the difference.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Thanks for the info, all. After some more reading and the posts on this board it's clear some features were cut with the new saw but I've to see exactly which features. I'll probably hold off a little to see if the Bosch goes on sale or if I can find a good price on eBay. The bevel knob being located in back on the Hitachi is a bummer as I was going to try and enclose the saw quite a bit for dust collection.

[Jay Nossen]

To add to your confusion, the new Makita LS1019L has the same sliding action as the Kapex/Hitachi and dual dust collection ports. I'm waiting for a few more reviews on that one before biting the bullet. $510 on Acme Tool.

[Tim M Tuttle]

To add to your confusion, the new Makita LS1019L has the same sliding action as the Kapex/Hitachi and dual dust collection ports. I'm waiting for a few more reviews on that one before biting the bullet. $510 on Acme Tool.

I came across that one but they dont have a 12" version, correct?

[Jay Nossen]

I came across that one but they dont have a 12" version, correct?

You are correct 10" only.

[Jack Lemley]

Tim,

I bought my Bosch 10" a year and a half or ago for $500 (at the time the best price was $650 I believe. I used a 25% off coupon. Zoro's prices are relatively high but with the coupon it gets interesting. The Bosch 12" glider right now is $853.18 and there is a 25% off coupon in my email box which computes $639.89 with free shipping and no sales tax. If you need the coupon PM me your email address and I will send it to you. I am very happy with my Bosch (had the Makita 10" slider for 6 or 7 years prior to that).

Thanks
Jack


Thanks for the info, all. After some more reading and the posts on this board it's clear some features were cut with the new saw but I've to see exactly which features. I'll probably hold off a little to see if the Bosch goes on sale or if I can find a good price on eBay. The bevel knob being located in back on the Hitachi is a bummer as I was going to try and enclose the saw quite a bit for dust collection.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Tim,

I bought my Bosch 10" a year and a half or ago for $500 (at the time the best price was $650 I believe. I used a 25% off coupon. Zoro's prices are relatively high but with the coupon it gets interesting. The Bosch 12" glider right now is $853.18 and there is a 25% off coupon in my email box which computes $639.89 with free shipping and no sales tax. If you need the coupon PM me your email address and I will send it to you. I am very happy with my Bosch (had the Makita 10" slider for 6 or 7 years prior to that).

Thanks
Jack

Thank you for the offer. I appreciate it but I can get that saw for $600 at a few different places.

[John Lankers]

There have to be better deals out there somewhere, I saw the 12" Bosch for under $700 cdn. ($550 US) locally, I paid $480 cdn. 15 months ago.

[Mike Heidrick]

I have a c12lsh. It has goofy mounting holes. Get the bosch. The Hitachi mounting on a t4b bosch stand took some thinking. My dewalt mounted perfect. Hitachi is now on a shop made bench.

[Earl Rumans]

I really like my new Bosch Glider but it's only the 10 inch model. I have heard the new Hitachi's don't have the quality of the older ones and are hit or miss on reliability.

[joseph f merz]

i read a review a few years back in which they compared dust collection on various mitersaws .the bosch glide was by a large margin the worst ,even with a vacuum .blew that dust everywhere . also you really cannot back it up against a wall .in order to miter you need to turn the saw and that wide area in the back needs alot of space . I do not know how much space it really takes up .may still be a smaller saw .
in my search for another saw i am looking at sound . Maybe this is about age of my ears but this is very important . Just mentioning it as a point you also might want to consider .

[John K Jordan]

...In my search for another saw i am looking at sound . Maybe this is about age of my ears but this is very important .

I don't understand this point, sawing without hearing protection? I keep good over-the-ear hearing protectors (and safety glasses) hanging by my mitersaw, table saw, etc. and never turn the saw on without wearing them.

The best I've found are at gun stores - light weight, comfortable, excellent sound reduction. I like the bright yellow ones which are hard to miss from even across a cluttered shop. I use them when running bobcat, mowers, weed trimmer, chain saw, pneumatic tools, pounding posts, when practicing the trumpet (just kidding there!) Kid's versions are available.

If working with another person we both use the type with microphones and electronics, also made for firearms use - they allow normal conversation but cut off the instant they detect a loud sound. (One bonus feature: you can turn up the volume to hear far more than I can with unaided ears! - great for going after varmints since I can hear them moving.) I keep three of these: https://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Impact-Electric-Earmuff/dp/B001T7QJ9O

JKJ

[joseph f merz]

started using hearing protection on jobsight when i was 30 ,i am not 30 anymore . I really like that my kapex because it isn't a loud squealer .Client actual made a comment on my jobsight last week that she liked the fact my saw wasn't so loud .even got a california Air compressor do to it being far less loud .When in my shop I am concerned /respectful of my neighbors . Larger padded ear muffs are often not practicle ,actually accept in the shop they rarely are .
I just think it is wise to consider not only dust collection but noise .

[julian abram]

I purchased the Bosch Glide a few months ago to replace a Dewalt compound and really like the new Bosch. Don't have any experience with the Hitachi but have noticed locally a lot of Hitachi's in Criagslist and pawn shops or $150-200. You are correct about poor dust collection the Bosch. I have had much less success collecting dust off the Bosch than my old Dewalt. I think the problem is the large central support arm on the Bosch scatters the dust every direction. Bosch tries to capture the dust though a small collector on the side of the support but too much dust hits the support not the collector. I like the Bosch enough I would certainly buy it again.

[Tim M Tuttle]

started using hearing protection on jobsight when i was 30 ,i am not 30 anymore . I really like that my kapex because it isn't a loud squealer .Client actual made a comment on my jobsight last week that she liked the fact my saw wasn't so loud .even got a california Air compressor do to it being far less loud .When in my shop I am concerned /respectful of my neighbors . Larger padded ear muffs are often not practicle ,actually accept in the shop they rarely are .
I just think it is wise to consider not only dust collection but noise .

I too got a California Air Tools compressor. First one had to go back before I even plugged it in because there was something rattling around in the motor. The second one is three months old and wont get to 125 PSI. Emailed support a couple of days ago and need to tear it open to figure out what is wrong. Not a great purchase so far.