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5
/ 5
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Great all-around saw,
August 18, 2008
By termiflyer
from Ithaca, NY
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"If you are a non-professional and want a miter saw for many types of jobs (some that you don't even know about yet), I highly recommend this saw. I only say non-professional because I am not one and don't want to speak for them. Easy to use, change blades, accurate cute, though I would recommend the laser for fine tuning cuts."
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What is your level of technical expertise?:
Home Handyman
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
/ 5
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DW716,
April 23, 2008
By nate21
from Strasburg, VA
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"THIS IS THE MOST USED TOOL IN MY SHOP AND CONSTRUCTION TRAILER, I WOULD BE LOST WITHOUT THIS SAW AND I RECOMMEND ANYONE THAT UTILIZES THIS SAW TO SPEND THE MONEY TO BUY THE FOLD AWAY STAND FOR THE SAW. A MUST HAVE PRODUCT FOR ANY TRIM CARPENTER"
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What is your level of technical expertise?:
Professional
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Overall Rating: |
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4
/ 5
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To Heavy,
January 22, 2008
By Dean431
from Alabama
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"I have been using this saw for several years. The only problem I have found is the tool holder in the back doesn't hold very well and the wrench falls out all the time. If using this as a portable saw, like I do. I think it is to heavy. It almost breaks my portable roll away stand. Look of a lighter saw like Makita for that situation."
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What is your level of technical expertise?:
Professional
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
/ 5
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Great Saw !,
January 21, 2008
By wirefeed
from Taylorville, Illinois
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"I purchased this saw when I started remodeling my second home. The saw works great for everything that I need it for. I use it for everything from framing to cutting laminate flooring and even crown molding. This saw is great."
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What is your level of technical expertise?:
Home Handyman
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
/ 5
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Combo-Saw,
January 21, 2008
By Gmil
from Orlando, Fl
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"The saw is easy to set-up and use. The blade is easy to replace and remove (although the blade supplied with the saw was narrow kerf carbide tooth). The only problem I had was setting between the 1/8th increments (for baseboards in a non-square home) and had to add a laser to mark during cut."
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What is your level of technical expertise?:
Home Handyman
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
/ 5
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Accurate, portable and versatile saw,
January 21, 2008
By Whitewash
from Richmond, VA
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"The DeWalt 12" Double-Bevel Compound Miter Saw is a good solid saw.
Some background:
I received this saw as payment for making an oak handrail for my in-laws' stairs so they could sell their house (code issue). My background is in non-profit theatre scenic construction. This means a tight budget and a tighter schedule. Accuracy and repeatability of cuts are a must. There's no room for error in this field. That being said, this saw is for personal use (new home-owner of a "slight" fixer-up and side work). My budget is even tighter at home than at work as every mistake comes out of my pocket.
Now that you have a picture of my need of accuracy and efficiency, onto the saw.
Construction:
When I was looking over different saws to purchase, many parts of the construction went into the final determination of which model and brand to buy. Weight, angle locking mechanism, safety features, power, and general construction all came into play. This saw feels solid. The guard pieces had me worried, Plastic parts can shatter if abused, but these are pretty tough. I don't and won't abuse them, but accidents can happen when you're lugging tools around. That is the only weak point I see in this saw. The majority of the saw is made of aluminum (thick gauge, too) which makes it light yet still solid. The back fence is cleverly designed to slide off and the base of it is 1.5" high (same height as 2x stock which gives it the added crosscut that the company claims it can do. This is handy for being able to make that extra large cross-cut, but it'll require some extra setup. Not too bad, considering that it's rare to need to crosscut 10" (if that's a common cut, you should consider a sliding miter). The belt driven blade is also a huge bonus. It translates to smooth startup, very little vibration and it's much easier on the ears that a direct drive saw. The guard is easy enough to see through for lining up your cuts (it also pivots up which I love as it gives me the reassurance of being dead on my mark) and the electric brake on the saw is pretty much a must in my book. For comfort, DeWalt put the handle on horizontally which lends a much more smooth and natural feel than the vertical handles on other brands. (vertical handles cause a slightly awkward motion, which leads to fatigue and in some instances can cause the saw to shift the bevel of the cut just a hair due to the awkward motion your arm uses on that type of handle-think arm-wrestling).
Accuracy:
The detents are easy to find when you're swapping angles (on the miter) and the lever locking mechanism prevents the miter from "creeping" past the miter angle which you get with the turn lock (or knob) locking mechanisms. The detents alone will hold the angle on the more common angles. The bevel system is nice. You have to pull a pin to access the left bevel, which makes the saw stop at a dead 90 when using the right bevel (pin pulls itself back into position). The base of the unit has swing stops which stop the bevel at 45 which is good for quickly finding the angles, and if you need the little extra (50) it's easy enough to swing the stop out of the way and lock it down at 46-50 which ever you need. There's a three spoke turn lock for the bevel which doesn't cause the angle "creeping" that you find with the turn knobs on a miter lock. This all leads to being not only accurate, but efficient between multiple cuts.
Value:
I would have been hesitant to buy this saw for personal use if it weren't bought for me. That's taking into consideration that I have access to the saws in my shop at work. The price is a little steep for home-handyman use. I would caution against buying this one if only simple cuts (framing) or accuracy aren't terribly important. The double bevel mainly comes in handy for trim and detail work (think crown molding or furniture construction for example). For me this saw is perfect. For trim carpenters, this would be a great saw. It's light, easy to work with and accurate. More then worth it if those are your needs. I won't bring this one to work with me (no need to put wear on my saw when I can use the one in my shop) so I can't speak for it's use in a production environment. But from working with it, I think that as long as a little care is taken in it's setup and transport, this saw will last for years and remain accurate. (As a side note, this saw's guides can be fine tuned if it ever were knocked out of alignment. It's a tedious process, but it's there in case a hard bump were to ever come across this tool-- pretty much a standard feature on higher quality saws, but reassuring to know it's there none the less)
Overall, I would consider budget and your personal requirements before purchasing this saw. If mobile, accurate, easily setup work is what you're looking for, you can't go wrong with this saw. You can get away with a cheaper saw, sure but if you plan on using a miter saw often, you'll appreciate the features this saw has to offer. Consider the DeWalt stand as well. The pair match up quickly and make setting up a work site extremely quick. The stand has a few nice features of it's own, and sometimes they come with a discount if purchased together- absolutely worth shopping around for."
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What is your level of technical expertise?:
Professional
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
/ 5
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Smooth, clean and powerful,
January 21, 2008
By Damon
from Bay area, Califonia
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"As a general contractor I use this saw almost daily. It produces the smoothes most accurate cuts I have ever seen. From framing to high end crown mouldings and even picture frames, this is one of the best tools I have ever used. I would not only recommend this saw to others, I bought one for my father and I now own one for my cabinet shop. I only buy the best tools, period!
I research and test every tool I buy. Dewalt dominates my tool racks."
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What is your level of technical expertise?:
Professional
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
/ 5
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Excellent Miter Saw,
October 29, 2007
By Drobertson
from Kokomo, Mississippi
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"This is the best saw I have ever bought. It has saved me countless hours with all the angles I cut. I have even cut 4 x 6 post with this. I have used it just about every weekend on projects around the house for the past 6 months and the blade is still cutting perfect. My advise is to buy the Dewalt stand with it. It will help hold up lumber up to 18 feet in length. Worth every penny."
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What is your level of technical expertise?:
Home Handyman
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