Hitachi 18 Volt Cordless Circular Saw C18DSL
Hitachi 18 Volt 6 ½ inch Cordless Circular Saw C18DSL Review
Written by Joshua Bordenca
Cordless circular saws have come a long way since they first came into the construction field. Currently, and understandably, the demand for high quality cordless tools has been significantly recognizable. The days of extension cords wrapping your feet have been minimized dramatically. Today’s cordless circular saws are able to cut longer with enough speed, power, and precision that any end-user would be happy to brag about.
The Hitachi 18 Volt Cordless Circular Saw C18DSL
Hitachi sent us their Hitachi 18V 6 ½ inch cordless circular saw C18DSL with 3.0 ah batteries and charger to evaluate and review. Back at the workshop not only did we assess the C18DSL in solo testing, but the Concord Carpenter crew, performed a head-to-head comparison against five other competitor’s models. READ the Head-To-Head Comparison coming soon.
First Impression
Out of the box the Hitachi 18 Volt Cordless Circular Saw C18DSL weighs in at 6.2 pounds. This light weight tool has a soft grip handle with left side blade operation.
Attaching the saw blade was easy, especially because when the blade lock is pressed you feel it engage. A 10mm T style box wrench is provided, not on-board, which will detach the blade held on by a bolt and washer. Do not worry folks; the washer was placed on the bolt prior to it being machine threaded, so there is no chance of losing it.
Finally, as first impressions are concerned, the 18 volt battery is seated firmly into the handle of the tool, locked in by a left and right push button prong, which adds to the protection and rigidity of the tool if it should ever fall to the ground.
Ergonomics
The Hitachi 18 Volt Cordless Circular Saw C18DSL has comfortable rubberized molded handles and the primary handle has an ambidextrous safety trigger, when pressed initiates a light to illuminate the front of the blade. The overall design of this cordless tool is similar to that of its competitors but does fall short when considering the knob adjustments for bevel, depth, and blade lever.
Tool Adjustments & Cutting Specifications
The C18DSL has a depth of cut of:
- 2 ¼ inches at 90 degrees
- 1.56 inches at 45 degrees
Unfortunately there are no markings for blade depth; however bevel gauge adjustments are engraved, black on black.
The blade sight lines are okay, but slightly constrained. The blade housing has a cut-away to provide visibility to the saw blade and is assisted with a incandescent bulb light. This it shows Hitachi put some thought into the saws sight lines.
Power
We tested this saw with a 3.0 ah battery.
It charges in 45 minutes and includes a 2-level battery gauge on in the handle of the saw to assess the battery life.
We tested the Hitachi 18 Volt Cordless Circular Saw C18DSL by making repetitive rip cuts in ¾ inch Advantech plywood. The Hitachi C18DSL ripped 12-½ eight foot rips, equating to 96 board feet cut.
We also cut stair stringers which unfortunately bogged the C18DSL 4-5 times. The power of this saw with our testing did not prove to be negative, but showed us that this saw is better suited for trim and light framing.
Room For Improvement
The Hitachi 18 Volt Cordless Circular Saw C18DSL has a light but it is an incandescent bulb. In an age where LED lighting is dominating the illumination field, having a bulb that will eventually need replacing seems a bit outdated and possibly maintenance prone.
We would prefer to see the batteries with fuel gauges as opposed to the on-tool gauge located on the saws handle.
The Hitachi C18DSL has no on-board storage for the blade removal wrench. You know as well as I do that this wrench is doomed to get lost or misplaced.
Specifications:
- 18 Volt
- No Load speed 3400 RPM
- 6 ½ inch blade diameter
- 50 Degree bevel capacity
- Depth of cut @ 45 degrees = 1.56 inches
- Depth of Cut @ 90 degrees = 2 ¼ inches
- 6.2 pounds
- Fan cooled motor
- Built in spot light
- Dimensions (in.) 14.4 x 10.8 x 8.7
- Lifetime Lithium Ion tool warranty
Overall Impression
Our wrists appreciated the 6.2 pound weight of the Hitachi C18DSL. When tested with its competitors, it kept up as best it could. There was a decent amount of run time with two batteries, allowing work to be done while one is charging.
How Much and Where to Buy?
This particular model tool, costing approximately $121.00 online here: Hitachi-C18DSLP4-18-Volts-Lithium-Circular
This is for a bare tool only, perfect for the Do-It-Yourself and contractors starting their career on a budget. For a full kit, including batteries and charger, see Hitachi’s C18DL model for approximately $260.00
