Junk, junk, junk

[Bob Glenn]

Which Hitachi saw do you have, and what was your source and part number for the replacement switch?

My C10FCE2 is still going strong, but I don't use it every day either...

The saw is also a C10FCE2. Got the switch from Ereplacementparts.com . Its a 3P faston type part number 326-699 for $13.75.

[Myk Rian]

Short the trigger switch and use a foot switch.

[Glenn de Souza]

I had a Hitachi C10FS which was the 10" SCMS they offered for a long time. This was back when SCMS were a newish class of tool and the Hitachi was the more popular among trim carpenters. I think I paid around $750 for it from Tool Crib. Well after about 12 years, the plastic started degrading. I mean shattering and crumbling apart. I tried to epoxy it back together like Humpty Dumpty, but it continued to just crumble. Same thing happened to the high end Hitachi shop vac I had at the same time. One day the whole upper plastic housing totally collapsed under vacuum pressure right into the stainless steel canister below it. It was as though the vacuum vacuumed itself. I always wondered if it was a chemical deficiency in their plastic that was aggravated by the dry climate here in Arizona.

So back to the SCMS. I ended up replacing Humpty Dumpty with a DeWalt for a little more than half the price I paid for that Hitachi in 1998 and in the bargain I gained the uber accurate XPS LED sight system and a taller fence that now allows me to cut the biggest crown at the spring angle the way I like to do it. This new saw is light years ahead of that old Hitachi in terms of accuracy, features, design, cut repeatability.

So I'm reading this discussion about the good old days when tools were built to last and be easily repaired, but there's something to be said about the advancement in design and technology you get when you trade up to newer versions of some tools.

A friend of mine is a die hard "vintage rules" zealot. He recently bought a 1950's era jigsaw for $12 from a thrift store just because it was a 1950's era jigsaw. It works in a crude manner of speaking but for anyone who's got a job to do it's a joke compared to a modern day jigsaw's blade guide system, variable speed, power displacement, soft start. Take a look at the 1970's era routers and compare them to the routers you get today. They're hardy tanks but they suck.

For me, some of the finer hand tools I expect to last a lifetime, but for certain power tools, I'll trade lifetime longevity for improved technology and design in many cases.

Plus, a new and improved tool can be a real treat.

[Glenn de Souza]

I haven't taken the switch apart yet, I'll wait for the new one to arrive. However, since at first it wouldn't shut off until I pried the trigger out, I think the contacts corroded or were worn, thereby increasing the electrical resistance. Probably welded the contacts together when they got hot enough. It happens occasionally with automotive relays. Ever heard a horn that would not shut off?

The switch is set up to start the motor when you pull the trigger and to short it out when you let go. This creates an opposite magnetic field and brings the motor to a quick stop. But it also causes a high current to flow through those contacts which causes arcing. After a while the arcing burns out the contacts and they no longer function properly. They will either fail to start the motor at all (which sounds like your case) or they will fail to short out the motor when you let go of the trigger and it will free spin down with no braking effect.

[lowell holmes]

Short the trigger switch and use a foot switch.

I find a foot switch to be dangerous. Maybe I'm just clumsy, but sometimes I step on the switch when I don't want to. Use extreme caution when using one.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I find a foot switch to be dangerous.

+1 OSHA likes industrial equipment that requires your hands (both if possible) to be safely located when you hit the 'go' switch. And its not really such a evil malovolent thing IMHO. A foot switch removes much of this safety factor on a SCMS.

Unless of course, the foot-switch incorporates flesh sensin..... dooh! NO! ...I DID NOT SAY THAT!! (Apologies to the OP, the SawStop-Sleigh-Ride has begun.)

[Martin Wasner]

My OMGA switch doesn't return to off once released. I really, really like that feature. I don't like that it has no guard. It requires attentive respect to not get murdered by that saw since it's just ON.

[John Piwaron]

Even high quality machines can end up with a faulty component. I had a DW jigsaw with a sticky switch. Problem was case was rubbing on switch. Filed with an emery board no problems since.

Don't discount the whole saw because the switch went bad. But I would be p***ed too if I had to buy a new saw because I couldn't get a switch. Have you researched that fully on ereplacementparts.com?

I've got a new looking Milwaukee 14.4 volt drill. I'll be unhappy if I have to toss it just because the battery failed. Thanks to Batteries Plus, I was able to get a new pack. But if they stop selling them, I may have to toss the drill. That won't make me happy. Nothing wrong with the new drills, it just seems that 18 or 24 volts is kind of gilding the lily when all I want to do is drill a few holes.

[John Piwaron]

The smart shareholders, or board, place a CEO will make them the most money. I can't imagine it working any other way. If they are going to make more money selling junk to the uninformed consumer, you're fooling yourself that they will take any other path.

I think you're right. I also think that company is walking down the path to going out of business. It just won't be tomorrow. Just eventually. Sooner or later any company will become a "Buffalo Tools" - someone known only for making crap. Next stop is "Goingoutofbusinessville"

[John Piwaron]

I had a Hitachi C10FS which was the 10" SCMS they offered for a long time. Well after about 12 years, the plastic started degrading. I mean shattering and crumbling apart. I tried to epoxy it back together like Humpty Dumpty, but it continued to just crumble. Same thing happened to the high end Hitachi shop vac I had at the same time. One day the whole upper plastic housing totally collapsed under vacuum pressure right into the stainless steel canister below it. It was as though the vacuum vacuumed itself. I always wondered if it was a chemical deficiency in their plastic that was aggravated by the dry climate here in Arizona.

Nope. A lot of plastic simply doesn't age well. There's no magic pixie dust added for long life. That's just a property inherent to whatever polymer the maker chose to use.

Plastic aging is a known problem to the approval agencies like UL. In the beginning no one can no for sure how long the plastic will last, but UL tries to simulate aging with heating the parts in an oven at some temperature for a particular period of time. If the product still works safely after that test it gets approved.

Again, plastic falling apart after awhile is just a property of that plastic. Some last longer than others. Environmental conditions in which the item is used and stored will have a lot of influence. Most of my stuff is in my house out of the harmful rays of the sun or high temperatures. My stuff tends to last just about forever.

[william watts]

It's hard to purchase anything that is quality built anymore. It seems that almost everything is now Chinese junk.

It's not Chinese junk as much as US company's building junk in China.