Hitachi 18V Brushless Band Saw

Here is another new cordless tool by Hitachi – an 18V brushless band saw, model CB18DBL, bare tool CB18DBLP4.

The new Hitachi brushless band saw features a variable speed dial (80-195 m/min), tool-free blade change, overload and overheating protection, and on-tool hex wrench storage.

It has a cut capacity of 83mm (~3-1/4″).

Hitachi says that their new cordless band saw has best in-class cutting speed of 10 seconds per cut of ø48.5 x 3.5mm steel pipe.

And best in-class runtime per charge, with the saw capable of making 48 cuts in ø48.5 x 3.5mm steel pipe.

And the largest saw wheels in its class, which is said to contribute to longer band saw blade life. At max speed, a blade can make 130 cuts in ø48.5 x t3.5mm steel pipe, or ø165 cuts in 20 x t2.0mm stainless steel pipe.

And lightest in-class, weighing in at 6.5 lbs without battery, or 3.6kg (7.94 lbs) with.

It also features an AUTO Mode, which is said to reduce noise and battery power consumption by lowering the blade speed when no load is detected. We’ve seen this before, on Hitachi’s 18V brushless angle grinder.

• 3-17/64″ round pipe cutting capacity
• 3-5/32″ x 3-5/32″ square pipe cutting capacity
• 80-195 m/min variable speed
• 120 m/min Auto mode without load, full speed 195 m/min with load
• 108mm saw wheels
• 900mm blade length
• Weighs 7.9 lbs with 5.0Ah battery pack
• Compatible with 18V or 14.4V Li-ion battery packs
• Measures 16-1/4″ x 6-13/16″ x 10-5/32″
• LED worklight
• Adjustable guide plate

It looks like the hex wrench is used to adjust the guide plate, which can extend from 20mm to 45mm to match the material you’re cutting.

Price: $250 for the bare tool; a kit will probably be available as well

Buy Now(via Amazon)

First Thoughts

Hmm. This isn’t a deep cutting band saw, which can handle materials up to 5″ deep. And it’s not quite a compact model either, which often has cutting capacity up to 2-1/2″ deep.

So is this new Hitachi brushless band saw in its own new class among other cordless models?

Hitachi says it’s best in-class in terms of weight, runtime, cutting speed, and blade wheels, compared to:

As of March 2015: Among cordless rotary band saws (with a cutting capacity of up to ø100mm) made by leading power tool manufacturers, surveyed by Hitachi Koki.

Okay, so they’re compared it to tools with max cutting capacity of up to ~4″, which mainly includes compact cordless band saws and excluding deep cutting models. 100mm is actually 3.937″, just shy of 4″, and so 4″ band saws would be excluded.

The blade size is 900mm, which I believe means that standard 35-3/8″ blades should fit – but don’t take my word on it.

This is the official blade size: 900 x 12.5 x 0.5mm (35-7/16″ x 1/2″ x 1/64″).

35-3/8″ x 1/2″ is a standard size, I don’t believe 35-7/16″ is. I’m guessing that the extra ~1/16″ can be accommodated by the blade tension mechanism.

Hmm… Metabo has a compact cordless band saw (MBS 18 LTX 2.5). I wonder if the new Hitachi CB18DBL was jointly designed between the two brands. After all, Metabo specializes in metalworking tools. (Hitachi owns Metabo, with both now owned by a private equity firm.)

Is this Hitachi’s first cordless band saw? I think it could very well be their first portable band saw, first cordless band saw, first brushless band saw. I can’t find details about any potential previous generation models.

As with many of Hitachi’s other recent cordless tool additions, I’m very optimistic about this one.