The Hitachi C12RSH2 – 12″ Compact Sliding Miter Saw
Hitachi 12" Sliding Miter Saw Review | |
 | Hitachi C12RSH2 Review Highlights
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| For the Professional Contractor | 4 out of 5 |
| For the Do-It-Yourselfer & Weekend Warrior | 4 out of 5 |
| For the Hobbyist and Beginner Woodworker | 4 out of 5 |
| For the Serious Woodworker | 4 out of 5 |
 | Tool Specifications
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Review Summary
Welcome to my Hitachi C12RSH2 Review. I’m going to cover all the features, the pros, and the cons of this 12″ sliding compound miter saw.
This saw is actually a compact model because it has a slide system that does not extend out the back of the saw. I’ll cover this in more detail below.
It’s got really good cutting capacities so it can handle a wide variety of jobs and projects.
Overall its a good saw with good features. It has really good reviews online, and many people would recommend this saw to others.
Out of the box, this model has a 60 tooth crosscutting blade, blade wrench, vice clamp, and dust bag.
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Hitachi C12RSH2 Review – What’s so great about it?
Cutting capabilities
The 12″ blade and the sliding ability gives this saw really good crosscutting capacities. At 90-degrees it can cut a board 12-1/4″ wide. And at a 45-degree miter cut, it will cut 8-5/8″ wide.
The fence is 5-1/2″ tall, so you can vertically cut pretty good size baseboards on the fence. And if you do crown molding, this saw can handle nested crown that is 7-1/2″ tall.
The dual bevel allows for 45 degrees tilt in both directions. This is really good as it helps simplify bevel and compound cuts since you won’t have to flip the board over when cutting different ends of a board, which is common practice if you have a single bevel saw.
However, the max bevel of 45 degrees is not a good thing. it’s pretty normal to need to bevel a bit over 45 degrees, as many times wall corners are not square. I prefer to see bevel ranges up to 47 degrees or so.
The miter adjustments are also a bit lacking. While the right miter adjusts to 57, which is really good. The left only goes to 45, so custom, deeper angle cuts are going to be more difficult. But since the right does go to 57, you can easily just work from the other side of the blade if necessary.
Dust collection performance
The saw does come with a dust bag, and it has a port right at the back of the blade. So it seems that it would be on-par with other saws, as far as dust collection goes.
However, this is not the case. Normally if you would to just rely on the bag alone, you’re probably not catching much dust at all. And normally if you put a shop vac on the dust chute, you’ll catch maybe 70% or so of the dust.
But this saw really does not hold up to this standard. The dust collection is pretty much useless. You’ll definitely want to have at least a good shop vac if you want to catch anything at all. But really if you need good dust control with this saw, you’ll need to build your own dust shroud or box around the tool.
Compact Sliding System
The Hitachi C12RSH2 has fixed rails that come forward alongside the blade guard. The blade and motor have an attached bearing assembly which slides on these rails.
Regular sliding miter saws have rails that are fixed to the saw and motor, so they extend out the back of the saw. The bearing assembly is fixed to the base.
The compact version, like on this Hitachi, these are reversed. So you can have the saw backed up against a wall and still get full use out of the sliding action.
This makes for a much smaller footprint. This is most practical when you are working in a small shop, or on a shallow bench or table.
Hitachi C12RSH2 Review in Versatility
This is a heavy saw, weighing in at 59 pounds. That means it’s not really easy to carry around from job to job. It’s also not practical for DIYers who need to store it away and just pull it out when you have a project.
It does, however, have good cutting capacities, making it fit a wide range of applications. And due to its compact sliding system, it takes up less space than other sliding saws. You can push it back up against a wall and it still slides out fully.
I would say that because of the heavy weight, but good capacities and small footprint, it’s 50 /50 on being a good versatile saw.
I think that users with more specific needs for 1 or 2 of the saw’s features will get the most benefit. In other words, I would not consider the Hitachi C12RSH2 a well-rounded saw.
How it stands out
The compact feature is really great for users that have limited space.
The laser guide is great for speeding up your cuts. Plus the laser is easy to adjust so it can be set to align with either side, or even the middle, o the blade.
The large crosscutting capacity is rare for a miter saw at this price. So if you’re looking for good cut ranges at a good price, this model is hard to beat.
Opinions Based On Real User Experiences
Positive Reviews
- After some initial adjustments, it cuts really accurately
- Very affordable saw that performs like a high-dollar compound sliding miter saw
- Plenty of power for hardwoods and plywoods; doesn’t even slow it down
- Other users actually found it was set up perfect and cut true right out of the box
Negative Reviews
- Heavy tool, not practical to move around much
- Some users had issues with the blade getting into the throat plate at full bevel tilt
- Other users found the slide system gums up making it not very smooth
Review Summary
The reviews are mostly great. Many buyers find this saw as an economic tool with great cutting capacities for the price range it’s in. And for the most part, they are all very happy with its performance.
However, the bad reviews are really bad. They are not the norm, but they are always worth reading so you can determine for yourself if it’s worth it.
Is This Compact 12″ Miter Saw Worthy?
This tool is going to be great for small shops or garages with limited space for a sliding saw, or for users who need to save money while still getting good cut capacities
The compactness of the saw makes it great for those with limited space. But the heavy weight of the saw makes it impractical to move around a lot.
So assuming you have a shop you work out of and don’t really need a job site saw, I would say this is a good choice.
With the impressive cutting capacities, it really can be a decent saw for just about any job or project. So if you need to save a few bucks on your 12″ sliding miter saw, I would recommend the Hitachi C12RSH2.
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