Splittable Hitachi not so Splittable

A couple of years ago, we bought this nice Hitachi projection TV, and had it delivered into our basement. The thing weighs about 280 lbs., but has a nice feature of the top being able to detach from the bottom. The top weighs 99 lbs.

We moved this thing last night. Everything was going smoothly. There’s a sleeve on the back with instructions for detaching the top. After removing all the appropriate screws, we lift, and nothing. The front of the top is somehow securely secured to the bottom. We spend about 30 minutes closely examining the instructions and searching for screws we may have missed, but to no avail.

My wife ran to Google for a solution while I kept jiggling the top, thinking maybe it’s just a really snug fit. Just as my wife shouted, “I found it,” there is a crack, and she says, “Never mind.” Apparently, on some of these Hitachi sets, some joker at the factory glued two little shivers of wood on either side of the front, and that crack was those shivers breaking.

Luckily, the TV was not damaged by this trauma, and we managed to move it upstairs in pieces. The top also slides on and off very easily now.

Do your research before buying a splittable TV.