Advice on a stand for the Hitachi 12" sliding miter saw?

[Keith Woythaler]

Hi there everyone,

I am hoping to purchase a Hitachi C12RSH 12" sliding compound miter saw.  Most of my work gets done outside, as the garage I currently work out of has no electricity.  I know this saw is considered heavy and is best left in the shop, but I figure I can get a portable miter stand and simply wheel the saw out to where I can hook it up to electricity (extension cords from house to garage are not an option - too far and think I would lose too much power).

Aside from its weight, I am aware from reading online that the Hitachi has an awkward base profile and on one side the mounting holes are not parallel.  I can only imagine this might impact how it would attach to a portable stand.  

I hear good things about the Rigid MSUV, but am not sure if this will work.  Any advice?

[Suzy]

We are looking into the Bosch 10" or the Dewalt 12"

Both saws have a great rolling cart designed for jobsite movements but the Bosch is 10"

Dewalt 12" double bevel compound sliding miter saw

Saw link        http://www.dewalt.com/tools/machinery-miter-saws-dws780.aspx

Stand link     http://www.dewalt.com/tools/machinery-miter-saw-workstations-dwx726...

[michael evans]

Hi Keith , have not come across a mitre saw yet that cannot be adapted to fit a common stand . Sometimes it is necessary to make a plywood adaptor plate , this plate is secured to the work stand usually bolted thru and the mitre saw fixed to the plywood plate by screws . This way you can detach the saw easily if required hope this helps .

[Wendy Ratcliff]

Hi Keith:

You could do what I decided to do and mount a piece of mdf or plywood on a Kreg Universal Workbench with Casters installed.  Then you can build drop down wings or detachable wings to support your material.  I'm going to send a picture when I finish this project.  Just waiting for the top to arrive from Festool because I bought a Kapex miter saw and had similar concerns about mounting it on a universal stand.  I wanted portability but did not want to spend all that money on Festool's solution having dropped a bomb on the saw.  Mike's idea of using a plywood adapter base is good too, but I wanted a stand that I could use for other things as well.

[Keith Woythaler]

@ Michael.........thanks for the info.  I hadn't actually thought of that idea, but it sounds like an easy and effective solution to my problem.  Is there a particular miter saw stand that you yourself have used and feel is worthy of purchasing? 

@ Wendy.........your idea sounds interesting also.  I would love to see pictures when you are finished with the build.

[Howard Kevin Dove]

I bought mine for a Dewalt mitre saw, but the manufacturer claims that you can fit most other saws by mounting them (as Michael suggested) on a plywood base.

[Howard Kevin Dove]

Oops!
Newbie mistake - my comments were truncated. I was suggesting that you could look at the very robust Dewalt range of stands. I believe there are three, ranging from heavy duty to compact.

[michael evans]

Hi Keith I am using a evolution stand my kids bought me , I am in the U.K. so your choices may be different where you are.
 
Keith Woythaler said:

@ Michael.........thanks for the info.  I hadn't actually thought of that idea, but it sounds like an easy and effective solution to my problem.  Is there a particular miter saw stand that you yourself have used and feel is worthy of purchasing? 

@ Wendy.........your idea sounds interesting also.  I would love to see pictures when you are finished with the build.

[Jay Boutwell]

Hi Keith, I own the Hitachi C12RSH 12" slide saw and I am happy with its performance.  Although it is heavy weighing in at around 60 lbs it is cumbersome to move around but once set it is a great performer.  Most miter saw stands that are built of a heavy caliber will work on the saw or can be modified to work.

  The biggest mistake that can be made with this saw is not fastening the front down to a stable surface such as a good 3/4" plywood platform.  The saw becomes heavy towards the rear when the slide it pushed to the rear.  It has a steel platform rod that prevents the saw from tipping backward when pushing the slide back to the rear however it is important that this rests well on a solid surface.

One feature that is on the saw and often overlooked is that is the slide mechanism.  The slide has a duel tube that allows the slide movement front to rear.  On the top of the slide there is two thumb knobs of which you can tighten the rear one and leave the front one loose.  This will allow the slide to operate in a shorter stroke that will allow it to be placed close to a wall.  The benefit on this is that it will also keep the weight more towards the front.

I have my saw located on a bench however if I was to want to make it portable I would build a cabinet to fit the saw and then add wings for the miter use that would be removable from the bench by picking the wings upward using a pin type connection at the saw since I would need a platform that would be greater that what you could get by using fold down wings on the cabinet.

[Keith Woythaler]

@ Jay B.......wow, Jay, thanks for all the information.  I am very much attracted to the versatility of the slide mechanism.  I was not aware of the back-heavy design, but knowing this, I will take your advice and have the saw slide in the more forward motion, having the saw slide on the rails vs. the rails sliding back past the back of the saw.  I figured using 3/4" plywood if I do need to make an adaptor plate to attach to the stand...good to know that you feel this would be a proper choice of materials.

Because you have first hand experience with the saw, I am curious what you think about the laser.  Everything I read says it is good compared to other lasers in that you can adjust it to left of the cut, right of the cut, or anything in between.  How do you feel about its performance/accuracy once it is set?

And I plan on replacing the blade to a Freud Diablo as an economical upgrade....sound reasonable?

[Jay Boutwell]

Well Keith I use it professionally and have used most of the other brands out there and choose this as the one of which I replaced a dewalt with.  It has several features that are there making this saw an excellent one to use for accurate cuts.  I do crown using this saw so it is accurate once you change out the blade to a high quality one.  I use forrest brand blades as a rule and I do not have any experience with the freud blades.  As for the laser I find it to be very accurate and easy to set and it is a good feature to be able to move the laser to either side of the blade and like you said anywhere in between,  It is bright and easily seen on a bright day or under bright lighting.    Another nice feature that I like is the ability to adjust the depth of a cut and you can easily cut a dado.  I have found the miters accurate on both a single miter and or a compound miter.  The  saw has excellent power and does not bog down in very hard woods and has a very smooth and postive movement in the sliding action.  I think you will be pleased

Keith Woythaler said:

@ Jay B.......wow, Jay, thanks for all the information.  I am very much attracted to the versatility of the slide mechanism.  I was not aware of the back-heavy design, but knowing this, I will take your advice and have the saw slide in the more forward motion, having the saw slide on the rails vs. the rails sliding back past the back of the saw.  I figured using 3/4" plywood if I do need to make an adaptor plate to attach to the stand...good to know that you feel this would be a proper choice of materials.

Because you have first hand experience with the saw, I am curious what you think about the laser.  Everything I read says it is good compared to other lasers in that you can adjust it to left of the cut, right of the cut, or anything in between.  How do you feel about its performance/accuracy once it is set?

And I plan on replacing the blade to a Freud Diablo as an economical upgrade....sound reasonable?

[Keith Woythaler]

Excellent, Jay....thank you so very much for all of your help!!!

[Wendy Ratcliff]

Hi everyone
Here's a progress picture of my Kreg Universal Workbench come Miter Saw Stand. Put a box shelf down below and showing off my Festool Carvex skills with the front cut out! Used it for the first time yesterday to cut plywood to fit the bottom shelf. Still pondering on the extensions so stay tuned for that.....