Review: Metabo HPT C10FCGS Compound Miter Saw

The Metabo HPT C10FCGS compound miter saw is a very affordable miter saw with single bevel action. It’s good enough for light use for home users and hobbyists but it comes up short for shop owners and job site use. Let’s take a closer look.

Cutting Power & Motor

The cutting power is pretty decent for it’s cheap price. This saw has a 15 amp brushed motor and the blade spins at a no-load speed of 5,000 RPM. There is no soft start, and you definitely feel the torque when this saw fires up. There is a blade brake, but it’s not that great and the blade still takes a few seconds to fully stop. The operating noise is also a little louder than some other miter saws we’ve looked at.

This saw uses 10 inch blades and has a 5/8 inch arbor. The included blade is a 24 tooth blade designed for cutting wood, but it’s not a very high quality blade. Upgrading the blade on this saw with a better quality blade will actually be a decent upgrade to the cutting ability in this case.

This saw has a maximum cutting capacity of 2-5/16″ x 5-21/32 at 90 degrees. This is good enough for cutting 2×4 and 2×6 lumber, so it could be a decent cheap saw for somebody wanting to make a deck or do some framing at home. Cutting through anything larger may require flipping materials over to cut from both sides to get all the way through.

Cutting Capacity

The cutting capacities of this saw are as follows:

2-5/16″ x 5-21/32″

2-5/16″ × 4″

1-5/8″ × 5-21/32″

1-4/8″ × 4″

This saw has decent cutting capacity considering it’s low price point, but it will come up short for larger materials. For cutting 2×4 and 2×6 materials it works fine.

Miter Adjustments

The miter works well on this saw. The miter ranges from 0-52 degrees on both the left and right sides. There are positive stops at 0, 15, 22.5, 31.6 and 45 degrees on both the left and right.

The miter scale is permanently attached to the base and the indents are also directly on the base, so if they wear out over time you won’t be able to replace them. The indents are fairly accurate but not as high precision as some more expensive saws.

To use the miter, you simply loosen the knob on the end of the handle and rotate the base to the position you require. You can push the handle in or out to use the stops if needed. Turn the knob to tighten back down.

Bevel Adjustments

This is a single bevel miter saw and the blade tilts to the left. The bevel range on the left is 0-45 degrees. There are stops at 0, 31.6 and 45 degrees.

The bevel works decent on this saw and isn’t trying to do anything fancy. To adjust the bevel you simply loosen the bevel knob, tilt until you find your desired position, and tighten the bevel knob.

Cutting Table & Fence

The table and fence on this saw work fine and are constructed from cast aluminum but are somewhat cheaply made. The fence isn’t really anything to complain about and it works fine. The table itself is fine too and is usually flat out of the box.

The issue with the table is how lightweight it is. The table casting is thinner, which contributes to it’s lighter weight. The light table, in combination with the torque on saw startup make this saw feel like it needs to be bolted to a workbench to keep it safely in place during use. When bolting down the base you need to be careful to not over-tighten the bolts or screws, which could result in cracking the base.

This saw comes with somewhat cheap feeling vice clamp that can be attached to the table. People have noticed that when it’s used on the right side it can get in the way of bevel angle cuts. There’s also not really any good places to attach or clamp another vice onto the base, which can be a drawback for people that like to use vice clamps for improved safety.

Handling & Safety

This is a safe saw to use as long as you take typical safety precautions. As mentioned previously about the lighter weight and base – it’s best to mount this saw to a workbench or a table to make it more sturdy and to keep it secure during use.

The power trigger work fine and there is a safety switch that must be pressed in combination to start up the saw. The saw does have some torque on startup, so it’s good to be aware of that for safety purposes. The blade also take a little longer to stop, even though there is a blade brake – once again something to take into consideration for safety.

The blade guard on this saw works well and it does a good job of keeping the blade covered. It gets out of the way enough during cuts that there aren’t any issues with seeing the blade contacting the materials during cuts.

Dust Collection

This saw struggles with dust collection and it’s not one of it’s greatest features. The dust capture doesn’t work very well and people have issues with the dust port getting clogged up. The people getting the best results are hooking up to dust collection systems.

Build Quality

The build quality of this saw is best described as cheap but workable. There are concessions being made on quality to keep the price point low, which is an understandable trade off at this price. The light weight of the saw in general is the most obvious as it weighs in at about 25 lbs, and is the result of using a thinner casting for the base and table. There’s a good amount of plastic parts, but not really more than some other saws out there. The plastic switches and knobs can break, but they can also be replaced.

Most people have good luck with their saw coming out of the box with a flat table and fence. However it’s best to perform some quality checks before using this saw, just in case you have quality issues and need to return it or swap for another.

Here’s what you’ll want to check when you get this out of the box for the first time:

• Check flatness of table and fence
• Check for ability to move miter and bevel through full range and use all stops
• Check the blade alignment
• Check to see if you can loosen the nut to remove or change the blade, some units have them tightened to hard from the factory

Portability

This is a very portable saw due to it’s light weight. It can easily be carried around by anybody that can lift 25 lbs. The head can be lowered and locked into place for transport.

Included Accessories

This saw comes with a few accessories, here’s what’s included:

• Wrench
• Vertical clamp

Setup & Assembly

This saw comes out the box almost nearly assembled and there isn’t as much setup as some other miter saws. The instructions are decent but not the greatest. We recommend to still take the time to go through and check calibration and a few other quality control items that we’ve listed previously.

Warranty

Metabo offers a 5 year warranty which is pretty good for a cheaper saw. The warranty covers defects in workmanship but not general wear and tear, so keep that in mind. It will have you covered if you run into any issues with a newer unit out of the box.