Average Customer Review: ( 16 customer reviews )
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99 of 101 found the following review helpful:
 Well made, we had hopes for this saw. Dec 27, 1999
We bought this saw to do some occasional veneer matching when building one-up pieces of furniture. It was often too time consuming to set up our main resaw (A Stenner) for veneer cuts. We had hoped that the reduced setup times would pay back the relatively high price for this saw. The frame of this saw seems strong enough to use a motor that is larger than what it arrived with and it needs it. The saw is under powered to do resaw work on oak, teak or maple. In thinking about it later we decided that when a 3" blade is mounted on these small diameter wheels the sheer power of bending the blade around two tires must take up a large portion of the available horsepower. This is horsepower that is not applied to the cut. Additionally the blades thin kerf tended to bind on all but the dryest of woods. We set the blade wider but then controlling the stock as it was fed was worse and the new set robbed even more power. If the saw had cut better we probably would have found a happy medium but we soon found ourselves going back to the arduous setups on the 20 horsepower Stenner. While the details of the guides, fence, table adjustment mechanisms and dust chute were pure Hitachi quality I cannot recommend this saw for resaw work. It is a pleasure to use for standard pattern work. However that can be said of some bandsaws that cost less than half as much.
59 of 62 found the following review helpful:
 Real dissapointment Nov 23, 2000
Underpowered!!When the machine arrived, we had high hopes given the impressive 3" wide blade, but due to the lack of power, the machine has seen very little use in the past year. In our shop, the Hitachi has trouble resawing anything wider than about 6 inches and hard woods like maple and white oak just compound the problem. Feed rates need to be kept very low in order to keep the motor from stalling. Most of our resawing is still done on an old 18" Oliver bandsaw which runs rings around this thing. The only impressive thing about the Hitachi is its price. For the money, this tool has been a real dissapointment.
20 of 20 found the following review helpful:
High quality..but not worth *retail* price Mar 26, 2003
By ReddMudd
I have had the CF75B for several years and have used it for typical curve cutting and resawing up to its 12" maximum. Here are my observations:
1) Build quality is excellent (and durability - my saw is pushing 10+ years old). 2) Cut quality is very good if the saw is set up properly. 3) Dust collection is adequate. 4) The 3" wide bandsaw blades are pricey and unnecessary. Better performing (and cheaper) bands can be sourced from any number of 3rd party suppliers..just like any other bandsaw. 5) This is not a "tool free" design because the blade guide adjustments and trunnion adjustment requires you to use a crescent wrench. 6) The saw is under-powered given that the saw is marketed as a resaw bandsaw. It is powered by a 15A, 120V universal motor. Hitachi Support has told me the saw can handle a 3HP motor. Frankly, it should ship *with* a 3HP, 240V motor. The net-net is that at current retail pricing, there are better choices for the money, if only for the under-sized motor issue. However these saws are often available on the used market at steeply discounted prices, which makes them worthy of consideration for the small pro shop.
18 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Well Built But Underpowered May 13, 2003
By Dennis L. Pollet
I have had my Hitachi bandsaw for about 4 years and have used it extensively to make bookmatched panels in addition to ripping boards in the rough. When properly set up and adjusted, it has performed well but I have found it to be frustratingly slow in its cut rate when resawing 8" to 10" wide walnut or hard maple boards. It does provide adequate tension for the 3 inch blade, being approximately 16000 psi when the adjustment is against the stop (blade manufacturers recommend a minimum of 15000 psi). Note, many bandsaws cannot attain proper tension with a resaw blade of even 1.0 inch width. The pluses of the saw is that it is well made and easy to setup and adjust (provided that you know what you're doing). The minuses are its price and the fact that it is underpowered (the motor should be a 240 volt unit of at least 3 hp).
23 of 25 found the following review helpful:
 HITACHI CB75F AS COMPAIRED TO THE B-600A Nov 19, 2000
By Walter H McBrine
I own the B-600A Hitachi band saw which I think is the forunner to the CB75F. It uses the same blades and has the same capacities. The one thing that I had to do was put a 5hp motor on to give a better cut. I use the 3" full stelite blade at all times and get just excellent results. There is not a day goes by that I don't use this saw. There is no better resaw for a small shop.
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