DeWalt DWS780 Sliding Compund Miter Saw

[Rbohno]

Home Depot

Buy the DWS780 and get a free rolling miter saw stand.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

Anyone have this saw and willing to comment on what they think of it?

 

[KenOfCary]

I have the DW718 12" SCMS and am extremely happy with it. Dust collection is terrible like all other SCM's I've ever seen except Festool, but it is very accurate stable and works well. I replaced the contractor type blade with a good Freud woodworking blade and added the laser for a few extra bucks. I got mine refurbished from CPO.

It is accurate enough that I used it to cut the segments for the segmented turning that I recently did. Will use a jig I made for the table saw next time though as my arm got tired making 100+ angle cuts in one day.

Most of my small power tools that aren't Festool are DeWalt.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

I have the DW718 also and I am not a fan of it at all. Mine does not cut straight. If I cross cut a 12" wide piece, a straight edge will rock on the cut edge. It doesn't rock a ton, but it shouldn't rock at all, crosscuts off the tablesaw are perfect. I have replaced the blade with a Forrest Chopmaster to try and see if the blade was the problem with no improvement. I suspect the rails are slightly bent. It has probably been like that ever since I first got it, since it hasn't seen a ton of use and it certainly hasn't been abused. Over the past few years I have been paying much more attention to details and have become increasingly picky about my cuts being straight and square. This saw will be replaced in the next 6 months. I don't know what I will replace it with though. The price tag on the Kapex is prohibitive and the reduction in cutting height on the right side of the blade on the Bosch Glide is a deal breaker for me. That makes me consider another DeWalt. I would run in through the ringer as soon as I got it and if it isn't perfect it will go right back to wherever I bought it from (that will be true no matter what brand I end up getting).

 

[drw]

My experiences with with the DW718 has been similar to Ken's. When first purchased it had a Dewalt "universal" blade which produced a ragged cut. Based on advice I received from folks on this site I replaced it with a higher quality Freud crosscut blade and I have been very pleased with the result. As for accuracy and stability, I have been pleased with that too.

 

[KenOfCary]

Jeremy, before you replace the saw I'd spend some time trying to get the alignment corrected on it. Never had to do that myself but others here are quite experienced getting these things aligned so that they cut straight and true. Maybe somebody more experienced than me will volunteer to help you get it trued up.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

I don't believe there is any adjustment to compensate for the issue that I have. The problem isn't that 90deg cuts come out at 89.5deg. The problem is that the cut edge isn't straight, it is actually slightly curved. I would be thrilled if this could be "adjusted" out, but I don't think it is possible.

 

[patlaw]

I have a Hitachi with the same problem. Since I don't have access to a table saw, it's my primary saw. Thanks to PhilS, it's the best it's been, but it's a defect. Yours is probably the same.