Hitachi Reviews

Hitachi states this sander "includes the most efficient dust collection system in its class." This may be true but not without the punch plate or a home built punch system. It isn't a system unless all the parts are there. Unlike another sander I have, the dust collection holes aren't cut to the outside for use with non-holed sandpaper.
I did use the sander for a project and it worked well but obviously the residual mess was an issue. The sander will now sit unused until I obtain or make a punch system.

I purchased at $44 and soon found out the punch plate is not included. It's a rip, and Hitachi should be forced to suck the pipe for trying to bleed more money from their own consumers. It's not a good way to build brand loyalty. Nevertheless they'll not get a punch plate sale from me I simply punched out the holes in my sheet paper with a small piece of aluminum tubing. The sander itself is a pretty good quality unit. Slightly heavier than my Skil but a bit more aggressive. The grip takes a bit to get used to, but seems normal to me now. My advise, check similar priced sanders and purchase one with a punch plate included.

I recieved this sander with another order as a free gift. This is enough to generally give one pause. However I am pleasantly surprised. Sheet sanders I have used in the past and the old Makita that I have had for years are not the pinnacle of sander technology but this one is fairly smooth running and I found that the shoe plate supplied with my Makita fits this sander for punching holes in the paper. It has much less vibration than the old Makita and seems to work well. Time will tell. This is the first Hitachi product I have owned.

If you are purchasing this item because you want micro adjustment, save your cash. This knob is threaded onto a coarse threaded rod. In my world, the word micro means 'very small'. A fine threaded rod would have been better here. In my review of the router itself I mention this as well. Replace the threaded rod with a fine threaded rod. Buy a couple of nuts to fit it and a knurled knob. Bam... in comparison this would be a micro adjustment knob. Also, if you are using any taller bits, the micro adjustment knob has to be backed of so far that it comes off the top of the threaded rod. Where is the micro adjustment in this. For those of you using this a router for your table... I can imagine that a nut attached to a small fly handle would be better...faster adjusting any way. Of course you still have the coarse threaded rod to make those super fine adjustments.

This came with my Hiatchi M12V, which I got here at Amazon for a very reasonable price (Home Depot's price was $50 more!). I use this adjustment knob when the router is mounted in its table. I removed the plunge springs to keep them elastic. Although not a perfect system (raising all the way up takes a lot of rotations!), it definitely is better then trying to fight the springs with one hand and hold a square in the other!

I'm pleased with the ease the adjustment knob attached on my Hitachi M12V and with the way the knob allows fine adjustments. Use it with something like the General Tools 23 Aluminum Router Gauge or a drill bit (known diameter/height) to get the adjustments you want. However, if you are a bench top router table user be aware that this is one tall adjustment handle. You may have to set your table up on blocks or use it between to different benches to keep the adjustment handle from bottoming out.

I am very glad I bought carbide blades when I bought this unit, since they seem impossible to find now. I have had a notify request in to Amazon/ToolCrib for over a year, never got any information, and they long ago seem to have removed the carbide blade item from the site. This unit NEEDS carbide blades for the planer. Without them, the unit is relatively useless on anything harder than fresh yellow pine. Old wood, ash, oak and the like require carbide or this machine simply folds the edge of the steel knives. while they can be resharpened, they are relatively useless compared to carbide blades. The planer is great, the steel blades are a waste of time.

I have the Hitachi PR12 Planer, it's a wonderful machine. The one big problem are the steel blades. I surfaced "new" pine boards,(about 200'), and the blades already have several nicks. So much so that I have to power-sand the ridges off the boards after they've been through the planer. I'm on my third set of steel blades. At $100 a set you are approaching the cost of a new low-end planer. I've searched for carbide blades to no avail. If they,(Hitachi),don't start making carbide blades available they might as well stop making the machine. Thank you.

Given a set of carbides are over [$$$] you can assume these are steel. The steel is useful for certain applications like recycling wood where you dont want a nail to shatter your carbides. Sharpening steel is about [$$]a pop, so you do the math for your needs. Given I do a lot of recyling of softwoods, the steel works fine. I rotate two sets. If you want carbide the Hitachi part number is 200001. Call a local dealer.

I also do production framing and let me tell ya, this gun stinks! It is unbalanced and a pain to load. Hitachi still makes the best gun though, the NR83a. I know it is a full head nailer, but if you are serious that is the way to go. I'm trying to sell my clipped head guns to go back to full head nails. Go with the full heads they are faster and stronger.

For a framer wanting to gain overall speed on the job this nailer will blast away the boys down the street. Most one or two man operations will not use this gun to its end. But if plan to shoot a 3.5 - 4 million nails this year between six framers, well, the best choice will be this mean green framing machine. Any serious, quick framer will love this tool. Ours last about a year in production mode. Very good having had Paslode Powermaster Plus last less than 2 weeks under the same conditions as our Hitachi guns. Remember typical crews build 6-12 buildings a year and almost any gun can work at this rate for years. But at 45-55 buildings a year the two week guns cost lots more in the end then getting new Hitachi guns at the end of a HIGH production year. If you already have high production, you already have this gun. If low production haunts you bust the hump with this gun. mpw

GREAT NAILER. I HAVE USED THIS NAILER FOR ALMOST 6-1/2 YEARS. IT HAS HELD THE TEST OF TIME. DOWNTIME ONLY DUE TO ROUTINE CHECKUP AND CLEAN UP. THE SPIKED NOSE PIECE MAKES FOR EXCELLENT TOENAILING OPERATIONS. DRIVES MY NAILS FULLY INTO THE WOOD AND QUICKLY GETS READY FOR MORE ACTION. I WOULD (AND HAVE MANY TIMES) RECCOMMEND THIS TOOL TO ANY FRAMER FOR LONG LIFE AND LOW (IF ANY) REPAIRS. GREAT HITACHI QUALITY!

If you own the Porter Cable RN 175, do not buy these nails. I tried to use these nails and they did not fit properly in the gun. However, if you have a Hitachi nail gun, they work fine. I was dissappointed because I thought they would work well with my Porter Cable gun. Happy Roofing!

Yes, these nails do fit the PC RN 175 roofing nailer but they can be a pain to load and they seemed to jamb a little more often than the other brand nail (of identical length) that I used. I found it helped to not take a coil of nails out of the box since they sit in a pre-formed or molded container, until just before loading into the gun. I'm not a pro but I did get the job done and these tools are light years better than using a hammer & nail which is primitive in comparison.

They fit the Dewalt 51321 nailer just fine. I also have used this system to install cement tile backer sheets around tub and shower framing. What a waste of time using a hammer!

I bought several reciprocating saws today. One of these was the Hitachi CR13V, which caught my eye due to the 5-year warranty label on the side of the box. I'd never seen a recip saw with more than a 2 year warranty, and I was suspicious of the small print under their big 5-year warranty label indicating that the warranty details are printed inside. Well, of course they won't let you open the box in your typical home/hardware store, so I brought the item home, popped open the box, and read the terms of the warranty. In short, NO PART OF THIS SAW IS WARRANTEED FOR 5 YEARS. The warranty terms are 90 days for gaskets, o-rings, batteries, etc. and 1 year for everything else. There's not even *mention* of any warranty coverage beyond one year in any of the literature describing the warranty. This is a blatant and poor attempt by Hitachi to deceive customers, who will likely throw away the box after buying the saw and never remember that they originally bought this saw based on the externally-advertised 5-year warranty.

Peeved, but still willing to give the saw a try (after all, the other recip saws I bought all had 1 year warranties as well), I plugged it in and fired her up. The brushes squealed like a 15 year old Skil saw, especially at low speed, and when the saw decelerated to a stop. After reading the other online reviews, I was also mindful of the carrying case and noted that, although they got rid of the cardboard insert, putting the saw in the case still forces one to bend the power cord to a point that will likely cause cord failure after a very short time.

Overall, I think this was a lesson in "you get what you pay for." Hitachi parts and service are both notoriously expensive (many times more than their competitors), so unless you plan on throwing this saw away when the first problem pops up, I'd steer clear of it. Furthermore, I think it's the responsibility of us, as consumers, to speak with our spending dollars, and send a strong message to Hitachi that deceptive warranty claims won't be rewarded with high sales. Sorry if that sounds a little too idealistic...

I am redoing my basement and wanted a easy way to cut the old stud partitions. After looking and reading about all the recip saws, I chose the CR13V. This saw did the job really well. The best part was that I didn't have to shell out mega bucks for a good saw. The only complaint I have is that it is a little heavy, but I did notice that when cutting the vibration was less than the Milwaukee I rented from the rental store before I bought the Hitachi CR13V. It comes with 1 blade, an allen wrench along and the case. It could have come with more blades.

I am at a point in my tool-buying career where I don't always think I have to have the very best, and buying this tool is a good example. I got tired of borrowing my friend Allen's Milwaukee, and made the plunge when I needed a recip saw for a bathroom remodeling project. Sure its not a Super Sawzall, and it doesn't have orbital action or a speed dial, but for what I will use it for it is just fine. The extra features you pay for on the Milwaukee make it a little faster and more precise in certain materials, and if I were using one to make my living every day, I would shell out the two hundred bucks for the Sawzall, but in my semi-skilled hands, (And thats being generous), this little Hitachi will do every thing I need it to. I looked at the comparably priced Bosch and DeWalt models but felt the Hitachi was more solidly built, plus it came with a five year warranty. Its a little heavier than those other saws, which can actually be a plus in helping dampen some of the vibration inherent to any recip saw. It has plenty of power and a nice, chunky, rubberized, front grip. Plus I just liked the way it looked, (Any guy who says the looks of a tool aren't important is lying!). I am happy to report that the case, while not perfect, has obviously been upgraded to address concerns about its poor design. All in all, this is a fine, servicable tool that should serve me well for many years.

Although these blade guards weren't terribly difficult to install, it bothers me that they are sold and shipped without any instructions, cautions, diagrams, etc. This seems like a huge liability issue the first time someone gets hurt after installing these incorrectly. I recommend against anyone trying to install these unless you are absolutely sure how the work, and preferably have another saw to look at as a guide.

Instructions for setting this up are found in the manual or go to Hitachi and download from there.

I bought this saw as a replacement for my old DeWalt jig saw, and it was a big mistake! the first problem which I did not realize until after I bought the saw is that there is no variable speed control in the trigger, making this saw very hard to control especially when you need to make accurat cuts. The L.E.D. light is a great feature, but I would trade it for a variable speed trigger. As far as the keyless blade change system is concerned, it works well, but does not look like it will hold up over the long run. My next problem is the worst, I owned this saw for about a month until the roller wheel that suports the back of the blade snapped off in the middle of a sink cut out, what a disaster, I am going to return this saw and buy the Dewalt or the bosch, this is what I get for trying to save 60 bucks, a piece of camel dung, thats all this saw is!!!!

I bought this jig saw to upgrade from the one I currently have which is a skil. No comparison. The Hitachi has a light that helps you see your line and the motor blows away the dust as you cut, great feature. It also cuts very smooth, no vibration transferred to your work piece which makes cutting smaller pieces much easier. The handle is ergonomically designed making a very comfortable feel in your hand. It also has plenty of power or if you prefer you can dial your variable speed setting down to lowest and cut slower. It also has 4 different settings for orbiting the blade which you can set at 0 and have no orbiting for smoother more acurate cuts. One more great feature is the quick change blade feature, no wrench needed. You can't beat the price either. I bought mine for 100. Also comes with a factory 5 year warranty.

I am a professional woodworker - I build pipe organs. The reason I am logged onto Amazon this morning is to buy a new Makita right-angle drill to replace my Hitachi right-angle drill. I originally bought the Hitachi for its one great feature: it is the shortest right-angle cordless made. In use though, it was an endless disappointment. It couldn't be used to do screwdriving or any heavy work - the "burning motor smell" told me that, in short order! I was never able to locate an additional battery (without which a cordless drill is semi-useless) for any reasonable price; anyhow, nobody seems to stock this battery, which seems to be unique to this drill. Then the chuck fell off, while drilling a 1/8" hole in plywood. Actually, the chuck didn't fall off - the shaft which the chuck was screwed to broke! The final insult came from Hitachi themselves. Although the drill was (just) out-of-warranty, Hitachi provided me with no help. They did not return any of the three 'phone calls which, after much waiting and button-pushing, I was finally able to leave on their customer-service voice mail.

I am a professional mobile electronics installer and I use this drill everyday. I have owned this Hitachi drill for 6+ year with absolutly no problems with the exception of having to replace the battery after 5 years. It has been dropped from 8ft. ladders numerous times and kept working without an issue. I own four other cordless drills and have used countless others but this remains my favorite. I have even adapted it to run with twelve volt batteries with the expectation of it eventually burn up yet it has continued to work for more than a year now with a considerable performance increase. The only reason I am purchasing another is because sadly I left it in a car I was working on, never to be seen again...

go get a steakknife or keyholesawand pay it to dance

I HAVE MILWAUKEE AND DEWALT 18 AND 24 VOLT. HITACHI IS BY FAR THE TOP DOG IN CORDLESS.