Hitachi C10FL tablesaw

[Chris Brault]

I just bought the hitachi C10Fl tablesaw a couple of days ago at lowes for 499. I was just wondering if anybody has this saw and if they have had any trouble getting the front rail lined up dead flush?? My fence has a tendency to get hung up when i'm coming in from the right side towards the blade at about 3". Also, this is my first "major" tablesaw setup. The one i have now (that i'm selling) is just a little cheap tradesman that I basically just squared the blade up and let it rip! Any advice for making the setup perfect??????? The instructions are "very bleak"!!!

I did alot of research on alot of saws and went out on a limb and got this one! I debated on the 3650 ridgid (and it has cast iron wings) the hitachi doesn't, but haven't had good luck with ridgid products. I'm also limited to 120 volts in my shop (which i know can be fixed fairly easy by calling an electrician!!), but even with 220 i am really limited on room in my shop. I didn't want a big massive cabinet saw with 5-6ft. rails!!!!! The only other saw i looked at hard was the grizzly 2HP hybrid for 725. It looked like a dandy, wasn't sure if the power i've got out there would handle it though.
Somebody had posted on here that it drew 18-20 amps at 120? I don't think my shop will currently handle that.

I've just recently got into woodworking but have worked around wood my whole work career. 11yrs-sawmill 6yrs. logging.

I'm hoping this hitachi will work just fine with an excellent blade and some patience---- not out there trying to hurry and force feed 8/4 maple!!! And also 80% of the stuff I'm doing and plan on doing has been with old growth fir and cedar. I'm sure I'll eventually do some hardwood work, and hopefully it will be fine!

[Ed Blough]

I just bought the hitachi C10Fl tablesaw a couple of days ago at lowes for 499. I was just wondering if anybody has this saw and if they have had any trouble getting the front rail lined up dead flush?? My fence has a tendency to get hung up when i'm coming in from the right side towards the blade at about 3". Also, this is my first "major" tablesaw setup. The one i have now (that i'm selling) is just a little cheap tradesman that I basically just squared the blade up and let it rip! Any advice for making the setup perfect??????? The instructions are "very bleak"!!!



Hi Chris
Can you tell what the fence is getting hung up on? You might want to take the rail off and lay it on the saw table and roll it around to make sure it isn't bent.

As for your saw it should do you just fine. I have talked to the Lowe's guy here and he says they sell a ton of these saws. Never seem to have a bring back and they are generally happy.

While I'm not a big fan of the fence on your machine I have played with the fence repeatedly trying to get it to lock down out of parallel with the blade. So far I can't make it do it. In my opinion that is the critical in a fence.

As for the cast iron, I think we like the sound "cast iron" however you have to contend with rust and nobody seems to object when you replace a cast iron wing with some other material if the fence needs it or you want a router table. The purpose of the wings is to support wood you can do that with nearly anything.

Make sure that rail is bent, let us know what the fence is hanging up on and don't worry if your saw will do the job or not.

[Bob Childress]

Hey Chris,

I have had this saw for two years and no problems with the rail. Yours may be a bit bent. (Are you sure it's the front rail? The back rail is much more prone to flex.) The fence has been dead on parallel with the blade. Do not count on using the measuring scale on the rails except for rough setting. It is a PITA to keep adjusted (or maybe it CAN'T be adjusted properly). The miter gauge is the usual crud, but I replaced it with an Incra 3000 SE and never looked back.

I have been overall pleased with the performance of the saw. One feature I like is the enclosed cabinet which permits decent dust collection. Like a lot of folks around here, I took off the guard and splitter to use a dado blade and never quite got around to reinstalling them. :eek:

When you do get it set up, I think you will like it. :)

[Chris Brault]

Thanks guys for the advice! I just went over the Lowe's to see if the one they put together for a demo gets hung up also. It does, but it doesn't look like they did a real good job putting it together! The guy over there told me that they "pretty much slap them together". I showed him what was going on with the hang up and he didn't have much of a solution. He said maybe when I bring the fence in to that location (where it gets hung) he said pick the front fence side up and over that lip, then set the fence back down. I knew i could do that, I just didn't think a guy should have to do that? You would think it would just slide right on the front rail all the way to the blade?

It's getting hung up on the midsection of the two front rails, to answer your question. 2 rails and they meet approximentaly in the middle, and that's where the hang up is. Just can't seem to get that aluminum flush enough. Maybe one is bent? I'll get back to you guys on this. Thanks, Chris

[Curt Harms]

It's getting hung up on the midsection of the two front rails, to answer your question. 2 rails and they meet approximentaly in the middle, and that's where the hang up is. Just can't seem to get that aluminum flush enough. Maybe one is bent? I'll get back to you guys on this. Thanks, Chris

It sounds like there might be a slight misalignment issue. If my finger could detect a ridge, that'd cause the fence to catch. Perhaps some careful sanding to smooth it out? Just a thought.

Curt

[glenn bradley]

That's a two piece front rail (like you didn't know that). Obviously the surface that the fence head rides on will have to be well aligned anywhere there is contact. If you can not achieve this I'd get a replacement rather than modify. The pieces are extrusions and there should be enough adjustment play to achieve a good line-up if the parts are OK.

[Chris Brault]

thanks for advice guys. Curt, I don't work with metal or aluminum much. I was thinking the same thing as you. (sanding it) Just wasn't sure what to sand it with???? And yes there is an ever so slight lip there. You can't really see it. I know what glenn is trying to say also. there is adjustment there and i'm going to spend the weekend trying to fiddle with it and try to get it lined up or sanded or repaced!! I already tried realigning it for an hour to no avail yet!!! I was just curious if there was alot of people having this problem with these. thanks

[Ron Hedrick]

Chris, I have the C10FL saw. I wasn't even looking to buy a new TS, I went in on New Years day to buy a Unifence to upgrade for my old Delta. The manager couldn't find the Unifence that I was told the day before that they had in stock. He asked me if I would be satisfied with the C10FL for $350 to ease my pain for driving all that way for nothing. Anyways in response to your question, yes, I have the same issue. I plan to upgrade my fence in the near future just don't know with what. For now I just raise it up when I get to that point. Other than that I really like the saw.

[Chris Brault]

thank you ron for replying. I'm going to give it some more time this weekend, but now at least i know if i can't get it, i'm not the "only" one with this prolem on saw. thanks a million.

[Ron Hedrick]

Chris, the other day, I wanted to see just how good the rip fence is and how straight the rip was. I ripped a 1/2 x 4 x 36" board to 1/2 x 3 X 36". I used a digital caliper on both ends and several spots in between to check the width. The board was the same to within 128th of an inch. I thought that was pretty good. Like I said I like the saw alot, it's only that one spot on the fence rail that I wish I could fix.

[Chris Brault]

Ron, thanks for writing me back again! Ya, that sounds real good. I went out this afternoon and started messing around with mine again. Overlooked that rail problem, and started trying to calibrate the fence.

Now i've got another problem!! Fence is not parallel to the blade. I don't have dial calipers yet-- been using different squares and measuring devices. It's far enough off you can see it just looking at it!!! How do I make the fence parallel to the blade????????? I don't see it in the manual anywhere??? Do I need to take the fence apart? The blade itself was right on the money, i couldn't believe that!

any help would be greatly appreciated!! I just want to get this thing up and going and cutting good!!!!!! Today i hated saying it too myself but i thought, "man, maybe i should have bought the 3650 ridgid!!

[Ron Hedrick]

What I did was to loosen the 4 allen screws on the fence. 2 in the front and 2 in the back, brought the blade all the way up. Move the fence flush with the blade and then tighten down the 4 allen screws. Voila, after I did that I verified it with my square. Did a test cut and checked it. You may want to try that.

[Chris Brault]

thanks again ron. I wondered if those 4 allen bolts did anything! I'll give it a shot! I'm surprised the manual doesn't say anything about that!

[Ron Hedrick]

Chris, let me know if that works for you.

[Jim Heffner]

Chris, I have looked at that saw in Lowe's a few times and the fence is one thing that I didn't like about it. I can't understand the reasoning for making a two piece front rail in the first place? Can you?...doesn't make
sense to me. I think if you keep on having an alignment issue with the fence and rails. I would take them off and junk them or sell them and buy
a good fence like a Delta T-2, it would be the best thing you could do.

A good solid, steel fence and rail system will work smoother, easier,
and give less trouble in the long run, it is just plain hard to beat the best
type out there. I realize that there are several Biese clones on the market
but they usually cost a lot more too! I went with the Delta T-2 and have
never looked back since installing it on my saw, heck, if I sold the saw with it installed, I would have to go out and buy another one just like it to
satisfy me! My saw had an aluminum fence and rails, it locked down front
and rear, and it seems as if there was always something that didn't feel
exactly right to me and I got tired of it, and replaced with the T-2!

I think if you do this to your saw, you will see what I'm saying here
and after all is said and done you overall cutting performance will improve
greatly! This is my .02 worth...hope this helps....Jim Heffner

[Ed Blough]

Chris, I have looked at that saw in Lowe's a few times and the fence is one thing that I didn't like about it. I can't understand the reasoning for making a two piece front rail in the first place? Can you?...doesn't make sense to me...


They probably use the two piece fence for packaging. With a two piece fence the pieces are all small enough to be fitted in one box. Nothing gets lost, bent or destroyed.

I fail to understand why the two pieces can't be adjusted close enough so there is a totally smooth transistion between them. I would think you could mount them so they match and if there is a blur or something just file it smooth.

As I said I tried to make the Hitachi fence lock down out of parallel with the blade and I couldn't, so I'm not real sure what the objection to it is.

Is it a beismeyer or look alike? No but it seems to work and frankly that's all I really care about.

[Ron Hedrick]

Ed, I agree with you. I find the saw to be very well constructed and very accurate. Yes I did have to do some slight tweaking on the fence as I described previously. But it was not a big deal. I had a Delta 36-600 TS. I'm sure there are those who would disagree but the Hitachi is a much better saw. It has dust collection, it is belt drive. It can be wired for 220v, the fence is much more accurate and the blade was dead on out of the box. As I said I have my saw setup so that if you measure a 36" rip it is the same on both ends to 1/128th of an inch. I don't know about others but when I am setting up my fence to make a cut I always double check my measurement using a rule or tape. I do not rely solely on the fence readout. As I said in my opinion it is a great saw for the money.

[glenn bradley]

"but i thought, "man, maybe i should have bought the 3650 ridgid!!"

Chris, this saw is probably going to be with you for quite awhile. I don't know how long ago you bought it or how far you'd have to go to return it and get a different one due to what I would call a defect in design but, I would certainly leave myself open to that idea.

I'm in no way trying to dog the Hitachi or push the Ridgid (I have neither) but I did go through about a month of back and forth with the manufacturer on my hybrid to get it "right". The last attempt was going to be my last effort before returning the tool but the last attempt was the one that fixed it and I have been delighted ever since. My point is, you spent your hard earned dollars and should be happy with the product you choose.

Good luck and enjoy,

Glenn

[Glen Surwillo]

I have this saw as well. It was given to me as my first table saw last year. I have come across two issues so far.

1.) The blade locking tool that locks the blade so you can change it is stripped. It was assembled so it only grabbed the last 16th of an inch instead of the whole flat service on the spindle.

2.) The blade is not square to the miter slot.

I am going to take it to a repair place to replace the blade locking mechanism and align the blade.

I also am unhappy witht the lack of accessories for this saw. (No cast iron wings, extension tables, zero clearance inserts, etc...)


It has good power for the projects I need it for. If I had to do it again I would have went with a Grizzly or Delta because of the available upgrades.

Thanks,

Glen

[Ron Hedrick]

I hate to admit this, but I went back to my saw to see if I could adjust the fence rails better. I played with them a little bit and it now moves the entire length of the rail from right to left without somuch as a bump and that includes the center joint. I guess that I was in too much of a hurry when originally setting up the saw. Yeah I wish that it had all the accessories, but I'm bound and determined to make a ZCI that will match up. I'll let you know how that goes.

[David Henderson]

I've had the Hitachi C10FL for around 3 years. Hardly a week goes by that I don't use it for something and it's a pretty dependable saw.
I've never had any problems with fence binding or being out of alignment. It's always dead on when I double check it. As someone mentioned earlier, the built in tape is not reliable.
Although I'm satisfied with the saw if I had it to do over, I probably wouldn't buy it knowing what I know now and my thirst for bigger and better stuff, but at the time I bought it, it was what I needed for the money I wanted to spend and quiet frankly, it serves my needs fine now.
As someone mentioned, accessories for it just don't exist. I had to make a zero clearance insert for it, which was a pita.
The dust port is nice but it's only 2 inches and just doesn't do a good enough job keeping the dust away. I've been debating about having a metal fabricator increase it to 4 inches.
When I want to tilt the blade, I have to use the air compressor to blow the saw dust off the gears or they will bind up from all the saw dust on them and make changing the angle on the blade nearly impossible. But I think this could be solved if the dust port was large enough to handle all the dust when I cut.
Power wise, I've never had any problems. It's handled every project I've put on it.

[Chris Brault]

Ron, thanks for all the help! Yes, I got the fence all squared up with the blade and it's cutting great. The delta fence and rail system sounds like a good possible upgrade for the future. The fence seems to be working just fine for now though. (The fence after I got it paralllel to the blade, when I unlock it fast, it is making a little popping sound? not sure what that is?) If i unlock it slow , it doesn't do it. Other than that, everything is dead on-- and the little hangup at center point with front rail. Ron, when you adjusted your front rail the other day---- did you took out that black junction piece of plastic in the very middle out????????? On my saw, the 2 different rails are ever so slightly different or bent. By the time you put them in that black piece of plastic , the adjustment is gone. Thought about leaving the plastic out , but was worried if possible the aluminum will start getting screwed up from the fence?

Anyways, irregardless of all of this, I'm totally happy. I can't believe how much nicer it cuts than that 170 dollar tradesman!! Amp wise, they are rated basically the same! THe tradesman must have alot of arbor runout or something, because there is no comparison.

I was joking the other day about "maybe i should have got the 3650', although i was getting a little frustrated. THe manual just doesn't have enough info. in it. Ridgid makes some nice stuff, but if I would've brought this hitachi back, I would've ordered a grizzly from the washington dealer north of here. If you go to the ridgid forum at the website they've had some little problems with the 3650. Don't get me wrong, i'll bet the 3650 is a great saw and the reviews are excellent on it! I'd still rather have the hitachi, and it sounds like ron is "totally" happy with his also.

Thanks to the help of everyone, especially ron hedrick!!! Man, that thing cuts nicely! I'm making an outfeed support for it today out of some CVG fir i have in the shop!

[Ron Hedrick]

Chris, I left the plastic pieces in. I loosened up the bolts that attach to the table and used a long metal level to get it the 2 pieces flush. The fence now slides just fine. It took a little work but I tightened them a little at a time until I got it flush.