
In short this is a nice low-price saw that is quite useful for smaller projects and short term usage. It is precise, light and has decent power for cutting through laminate or hard wood. I don't think it is the right tool if you are a power user and intend to use it daily for weeks or months.
If I could I would give it 3 and a half stars.
Pros:
- good price
- powerful engine
- precise with wide angle and acceptable bevel
- lightweight which is good if it has to be mobile
- laser (although scarcely visible in daylight)
Cons:
- comes with a poor saw blade
- poor work piece hold down
- pretty loud (but I guess that is the case with all of them)
- when the bevel is set to the max (45 degree) the blade cuts into the plastic at the bottom
- (the maximum cut length it something around 5''-6'')
I bought this saw for a laminate flooring project and used it in the last weeks intensively including cutting non 90 degree angles and miter cuts for baseboards.
The saw fulfilled the task more or less.
Even when the saw blade gets weak the powerful engine still gets the job done. The saw can be adjusted up to an angles of 50 degree in both directions so that you can cut boards precisely even when the walls have strong angles. It is also very precise and if you get a good saw blade it cuts the laminate boards without damaging the surface at all. I would have liked to have a little bit more flexibility with the bevel. When doing miter cuts for sharp angled corners the 45 degrees will not be sufficient and you have to use the coping saw.
Furthermore the maximum cut length is about 5''-6''. If you have very wide laminate boards of more than 10'' width (which I luckily did not have) the saw is probably useless. Lengthwise cuts are impossible anyway. I do not count this as a weakness in this product review because I could have forseen this problem (after all this is a 10'' saw).
The saw is pretty loud and I strongly suggest to use ear plugs unless you are keen on damaging your hearing (I had a ringing in my ears for a night). I do not know if more expensive tools produce less noise.
It also produces an enormous amount of dirt (the dirt bag is more or less useless) but I would not count this as a weakness because I doubt that any tool will do better. I strongly recommend to cut outdoors or the garage and to use a breathing mask and completely closed protection glasses (the type that look similar to skiing goggles).
Recommendations:
Would I recommend the saw in general?
Probably yes because of the good performance considering the price. However I am not sure if the saw is precise enough for carpentry work.
Would I recommend the saw for a wood floor/ laminate floor project?
Probably not because the 10'' blade does not offer sufficient range. At least I would opt for a sliding saw. But then again you have to invest more money.
Get more detail about
Hitachi C10FCH2 10-Inch Miter Saw with Laser.