Hitachi 10″ SCMS pizzing me off…
Most of the time I love this saw. On the rare occasions that I need to cut 4x material, it seems like the saw doesn’t want to cut the last few fibers, leaving the off-cut slightly attached. Even more true if I swing the table 45 degrees because I need a miter. I was cutting 2×4 on it today and needed some 45s, so instead of tilting the saw I ran the material on edge and just swung the table… and it’ll barely cut thru. The housing on the right side bottoms out on the material.
It looks like this will improve if I attach a secondary wooden fence to the saw, but then I lose some crosscut capability, which I don’t want to do. Other than this, I cannot see any adjustments to slightly increase the depth of the cut.
What’s your experience with this?
Replies
Get the Dewalt or a Bosch. (ducking)
My Hitachi 10" SCMS is an older one with a low/lame fence...so I added a fence made of a 3-1/2" rip of 1/2" MDO that I like...not too much loss of crosscutting capacity. Sounds like that might help your problem too.
Is the depth that the blade will go too set correctly?
Like I said, it is an issue with the housing bottoming out of the material being cut. It's a problem with the design of the saw, as far as I'm concerned. Do you have one?
Yes I have one, and when I got it, it also was not set deep enough, which is why I posed the question. All I can suggest is that you fiddle with it a bit more, I presume you understand the how's and why's of the saws movements and the various ways in which you can adjust it?
There's the usual depth of cut adjustment screw on the right side under pivot point, and that is not stopping the cut. What I see is that the teeth of the blade barely cut to the point where the table and the fence intersect, and that when I cut 4x material the housing on the right side bottoms out on the material. I see no solution for that other than putting on an accessory fence. Fortunately I'm cutting 1x4 for about the next 3 weeks, but I'll have to take a very close look at this after that.
David, I have the 10" Hitachi and have not had the problem you are having. I had to increase the depth of cut adjustment out of the box, but since then it's been fine.
Most of the time I do have an auxiliary fence, but not always.
Would you really miss 3/4" of cutting capacity? Just wondering.
I can probably live without 1/2" or 3/4" of crosscut. In the past few weeks we've been installing 1x10 siding that has needed a lot of 45s on it, and to do that you've got to finish with a handsaw. The usual stuff we do would not suffer. I just can't believe they made this saw so close on this particular tolerance. If it slid in another 1/4" all would be good. I'm going to take a very close look at the other 10" SCMS at JLC Live this year.
Might I suggest a 12"?
Depth of cut nor crosscut ability has ever been an issue with my Makita LS 1211.
Cuts 6 x 6 like butta.
J. D. Reynolds
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