Side by Side Comparison of: DEWALT vs PORTER-CABLE

I'm very pleased with this saw. Every thing works right out of the box. I'm using it for projects I have around the house so it won't get heavy use but it has everything I need and more. I wanted to be able to cut larger pieces and this does it all. I have made a new swinging door for my shop and a sliding barn door. Both came out great. A few projects coming up are bird houses and feeders, chairs for my grand sons, a room remodel at home.

I set out to find my forever saw, and i think I found it. This saw deserves it's high start review. I didn't realize how bad my old miter saw was until I used this work horse.

She cuts through wood like butter. It is so smooth and accurate. It is so smooth it can make very fine sheets of paper thin wood.

The angles cut feature is very easy to use and you can get the cuts down to fractions of a degree.

I would highly recommend. Only negative is the price

This is my 3rd dewalt miter saw and I'm more pleased every time. This saw cuts great and the light is nice. My only complaint is half of the other miter saws on the market now have the saw bevel lock on the front of the saw. Dewalt are still in the old school ways making you reach to the back to unlock the bevel adjustment. All in all the qualities of the saw are exceptional. I've never had problems with any of the slides on any of the dewalt saws, alot of reviews state they have problems with the slide working smoothly. Keep the saw clean and it everything works great.

This is a great product. I previously owned an older model DeWalt compound sliding miter saw that was not particularly easy to use or accurate.

But the DWS780 is everything I could ask for. I also bought the rolling stand, DWX726, and the two products make a great pair.

This is a serious miter saw for serious work. I am a DYIer, so do not use the saw to its full potential. I bought it only after carefully reading all of the reviews I could find. So far, I have no negatives to report, and have used the saw and stand to complete a finished basement.

Perhaps my favorite feature is the XPS cross-cut alignment feature. It is as accurate as I need and has really made a difference in making sure corners fit properly.

Highly recommend. Would buy again.

I love this saw. The gauges are accurate. The saw is powerful and reasonably quiet. The dual/dual fences work well. The stop adjustment works well. The bevel release is nice, as is the 0-degree recentering stop. Oh, and the XPS positioning LED is AWESOME. Get this... it shines a light downward on the blade from the front of the shield, and the shadow of the blade, and teeth, is how you know where it will cut. So simple, and accurate. I can't believe there are so many "arbor" lasers and such when all that was needed was a good 'ol shadow. A+ DeWalt.

Ok, and the only downside I've found is that I really don't like that it kicks lower into the wood when the trigger is released. Yes, I could set the depth stop so this wouldn't happen... but that's impractical when I'm working fast and making different depth cuts. I'm guessing (but could be wrong!) this does not happen with direct-drive saws, instead of belt driven. The solution is to just be patient and use the depth stop.

Amazing chop saw. Cuts through angle iron like buttah. Sure beats using an angle grinder. Adjustable clamp makes it easy to cut angles and holds material securely in place. Good saw for the price.

Update: June, 2015. The original cutting disc was glazed over and wasn't cutting that well anymore. Got a new thin 14" disc and cuts just like new. Plenty of power and doesn't bog down. Just let the blade do its work with slight downward pressure. Don't press too hard or it will glaze the disc and not cut well.

Plenty of power - The motor spins the blade up to speed almost instantly, and maintains decent speed under load.
The D-handle makes the saw very comfortable to use - No fatigue after making several hundred cuts in a few hours.
Build quality seems excellent for the price - Uses a beefy aluminum casting for the swing arm, and thick plastic for the D-handle and motor housing.
The miter backstop can be moved to any of 3 pivot positions, or can be removed entirely.
Includes a stamped-steel wrench for changing blades - The wrench stores in a handy clip on the left side of the saw base.
Comes completely pre-assembled - Take it out of the cardboard box, remove the plastic bag cover, plug it in, and use it.

This model replaced a HF cheapie that cost roughly the same amount - and is vastly superior to the HF in every way.

Mine is brand-new - Not an "open box" item.

Although my praise may be premature having sliced and diced only about twelve pieces of 2" mild steel square tubing (fairly thin guage), I am totally impressed. First. the saw was much quieter than other similar saws I have used.....especially when cutting. Not sure why but not complaining. BTW, I still wore my ear protectors even though I don't think I needed them. The blade, which has drawn some criticism from other reviewers, sure made short work of my job. The construction of this unit looked to be typical of the breed but the actual usage left me with the feeling that this was a very solidly built unit. The built in work clamp worked as advertised. The motor speed sagged a bit only when I really pulled down hard on the D handle (another nice touch). In actual cutting, when you let the blade do it's thing without adding a lot of pressure, the cutting speed was surprisingly quick, especially after getting through the horizontal flat "top" surface. Users should always try to orient their work such that the narrowest (thinnest) surface is vertical and perpendicular to the saw blade.

I bought the chop saw to cut scrap metal and to use on pipe, strap and cast iron cutting for plumbing and heating work. Very good inexpensive tool with enough power.

I bought the chop saw based on good reviews. The saw was well built and works fine. I need to move the saw from garage to basement after each use so I want the saw's weight to be relatively low.

Moved from my Rigid to the Dewalt. Other than the shadow cut line instead of the laser I prefer the Rigid.. The base is larger and most other features seem to equal out. My age and eyesight is the reason I am replacing my Rigid.

Other than mediocre dust collection capability, this is a great saw. All adjustments were perfect, right out of the box. I do wish that Dewalt would improve the dust collection capability and add a soft start feature, then this would definitely be a five-star rated saw.

I bought this saw when DEWALT was running a great promotion where they included a DWX723 stand for free when you bought this saw. Features I really like are the light that shows you exactly where the blade will land on the material and the positive locking at standard angles. What could be better is the slide, which is a bit too resistive when the saw is running. I wish it were more effortless to use the slide.

Overall this is a great saw. Has the feel of a well built tool. The light that shadows the blade is great. I had to make minor adjustments after it was out of the box which was nice. I will chime in on the one improvement that does need to be made and that is the rails for the slide. The saw doesn't slide as smoothly as some of the competitors, but it is still one of the best out there.

Saw had to be adjusted ever so slightly for 0 degree crosscut. Bevel angle was spot on, but the pointers for both had to be tweaked.
I'm a DIYer and used this to frame a deck and make cuts for picture frame decking and railings. Awesome features and cutting capacity. Takes up a considerable amount of space in the rear, which is my only complaint, since I can't fit it on my workbench. I purchased the DWX723 stand (awesome!), and I can set up location where I need it, and this saw can be closed up to a store-able size.

I'm no professional, but the 60T blade it comes with seemed fairly decent. I was able to get clean cuts on some 2x8 boards

Oh and the LED XPS light is awesome!

Works great. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is it's excessive power draw. The only way I can run it was to install a dedicated 20 amp outlet right off the main panel. My other 20 amp outlets will run every tool in the shop except this one.

For those who complain about the sparks: It's an abrasive chop saw...it's what they do.

Saw works well for a very reasonable price. I used it for cutting metal studs and some light stone veneer on a recent outdoor kitchen project and it did almost everything I needed. In a perfect world I would have made a few changes to the design.
1) I own a nice miter saw stand with built in guides for repeated cuts of the same length which would have been very useful. I couldn't use it because I couldn't figure a way to attach the stand clamps to the base of this saw like I could with a standard miter saw.
2) The design of the clamp on this saw was very helpful most of the time but very limiting in other cases. If cutting anything that is more than a few inches it works great, a quick release + screw drive allows the clamp to adjust quickly and easily. If you are trying to cut anything short it either won't be able to clamp it at all or it will partially clamp it in a way that the item "tilts" and doesn't cut at a 90 degree angle.
3) The guide and clamp are designed to allow it to adjust for angled cuts which is nice. However it is a primitive design where you loosen a bolt, manually adjust the guide and then re-tighten the bolt. I didn't have need for angled cuts so this wasn't a problem but if the need had been there it would have been nice to have some "positive stops" to adjust to.

Other than that a great unit. My review may not be completely fair as this is the first chop saw I have used and I want to compare it to my higher end miter saw. Unit really is good for what it is and the price I paid. Thought it kind of strange that it had no problem cutting thick gauge steel studs but really struggled cutting some really thick aluminum flat bar. If you are not familiar with abrasion blades keep in mind you will need extra blades if doing anything more than a moderately sized home project as they wear themselves out as they cut. Worked really good for what I needed.

I am not a professional tradesperson, and I imagine the pros have higher expectations for their tools, but it's working out just fine for me. Once I got used to cutting metal, I found it to be a massive improvement over that damned hacksaw, heh. Thanks to everyone who answered my questions - I'm glad I bought this saw!

UPDATE: This saw has worked great for cutting conduit, but trying to cut 5/8" rebar at a 45 degree angle is asking too much of it, it seems. The diagonal ribs on the rebar diverted the blade on one cut so that it started sawing into its own base. Even after replacing the cutting wheel with a highly-rated DeWalt one, the 45 degree cuts take WAY too long. I'm going to buy a portable band saw for the rebar and use the chop saw only for conduit.

This is the only Chop Saw I have ever had/used, so I can't compare it to others. But it works well and seems like a good deal. The one thing I quickly discovered (and I expect this is the same for all chop saws) is that trying to cut through something of any significant thickness without moving it can be an exercise in frustration. When you first start cutting it goes quickly, and then rapidly stops making any descernable progress. As near as I can tell, this is due to the metal having melted very briefly and spreading out resulting in a much larger surface area it is trying to cut through (might even harder metal after being "heat treated"). Before I figured this out, I was unable to make any progress after the 1st few seconds on a thick piece of steel pipe (about 3/16" thick, ID 1 3/8"?). But then I set it up so I could twist it slowly while cutting, and it went through it almost like it was butter! Could be there are different types of blades available that don't have this problem, but it works great so long as you keep this in mind.

This is a good saw. Much better than the 30 year old miter saw with a metal cutting blade I had been using previously. This cuts well, but I find that the abrasive disk doesn't like making more than 2 cuts in a short period of time. When it gets heated up it tends not to cut as well as it does the first time of each use. That is more of a disc problem and not a saw problem. My only complaint with the saw itself is the lack of mounting holes for bolting it to a table. But that is something easily solved if you can weld and fabricate your own parts. Also an improvement would be some sort of pointer that lets you know where the blade is going to come down when you're trying to line up your parts for cutting, but not a major gripe and can also be easily solved with some creativity.

I have only used this saw to cut steel tubing and some steel round and rectangle stock and it has been great thus far. When I wear out the abrasive disc I would like to try out a metal cutting blade with the hopes of better cuts. It does cut straight which is always a good thing!

I have not even used it yet. I give it a one star because the housing cover for the drive belt broke off. All I did was accidentally hit it with my elbow and it snapped off. The belt cover is only held in place by 3 tiny quarter inch screws.I called DeWalt and they only had a 1 year limited warranty on it. I haven't even powered it up. I guess they don't stand by their products. I wouldn't buy this. They only reason you see it on those home improvement shows is because they pay the shows use it. Most experienced and high end contractors go with the German brand, the one with the green label. They they bend over backwards in making you happy. And the engineering is much more superior.UPDATE: DEWALT CUSTOMER CARE REPLACED THE BELT COVER AND SENT IT TO ME WITHIN A WEEK.

It would have a higher rating if there was an easy way to get repairs. On the third time of use, the guard flew off and now cannot be reattached. As far as we can tell, the entire 50 lb saw must be mailed back to manufacturer. Cannot use the saw w/o the guard unless one wants to lose a digit or two!

I make custom furniture for a living and bought the Dewalt DWS780 Sliding Compound Miter Saw for my work in November 2011. For the most part I like this saw. I have not had the difficulties with the sliding mechanism that some others have written about: mine seems just fine to me. I like its power, its depth of cut, and its LED lights that help show where the blade will cut. All are nice features.

I took off two stars because of two serious problems I've had with the saw, both of which are fire hazards.

First the dust collection nozzle is a real problem, in my estimation. We have ours hooked up full time to a Shop Vac that turns on & off with the saw. Yet the nozzle is so narrow, that most dust never gets into it. So we didn't notice when the nozzle itself actually clogged with saw dust. One Friday night, just as I was getting ready to turn off the shop lights and leave for the weekend, I saw a little smoke. Sure enough, the sawdust that clogged that nozzle had started to smolder. It would have certainly ignited into a fire had I not happened to see the smoke.

The second fire hazard was in the motor housing itself. After the dust collector debacle, we just removed the Dewalt nozzle and built our own out of shop vac tubes. It works better. But one day as I engaged the switch to start the blade, I heard a strange noise and happened to see sparks in the motor housing. Sure enough, I checked it several times, and there is a major spark storm happening right in the motor. Needless to say, I'm taking this in TODAY to have it looked at by the Dewalt repair center. Hopefully the fix is not too costly. If it is, I don't know if I'll be willing to risk another Dewalt, or maybe try one of the other sliders.

seems to have resistance when pushing thru the cut should have bought a Makita just didn't want to spend the money now they won't take it back

I like this double-bevel miter saw. It functions smoothly. It is easy to get it at the angle you want and it has no trouble staying there. The lighting mechanism is great.

That said, there are three inconveniences:

(1) This is the biggest inconvenience and it is perhaps a bit unsafe. You can set the saw at various depths from the fence. This is done by a screwing mechanism with a plastic head. I have tightened it as much as possible, but even then, it still somehow loosens up and when sawing a board, the sawing motion will pull the whole saw forward on the depth rail - sometimes instantaneously. If you are trying to only cut a specific distance into the board, this would ruin it for you. Also, if you had your hands in the wrong place (and I do mean the wrong place because they should be nowhere near the cutting area) or you got startled by the immediate movement of the saw, I could see this possibly being dangerous.

(2) The clamp should have some sort of quick lock mechanism on it, where you can move it up and down quickly and then tighten up the last 1/16th of an inch by twisting. Instead you have to slowly twist the entire distance.

(3) The dust collector is pretty worthless. I put the bag on empty two days ago. The bag has stayed pretty much empty, but there has been plenty of dust it could have collected.

Not particularly high quality, but it gets the job down. Bogs down on thicker pieces, but that's to be expected on an "economy" chop saw. Goes through 1/8" angle iron easily.

Not bad for the price.. regarding "Open Box" - mine was well packed and appeared new from the outside packaging - there was only a minor scuff on the top of the unit. It does come with one metal cutting blade.

Unfortunately mine arrived with a broken blade.

Shipped and arrived as promised but did not meet expectation for cutting tube steel. Cuts extremely slow and did not cut square due to blade deflection when pushed. Disappointed after purchase. I ended up going back to using cut off wheel on my 4 1/2" grinder, it was much faster. I would have returned to Amazon but it is now in used condition and don't want to accept 50% of what I paid for it. If you are looking to purchase there are probably better machines for sale.

Works for me but is not heavy grade to be expected for the low price. I only use the saw about once a week. Don't buy this saw if you are going to use it everyday. Adjustments are awkward and not very accurate.

I chose this saw because porter cable is well known brand and was almost half the price of the competitors. I literally took it out of the box, set it on my workbench, plugged it in and started cutting 3/16" angle iron and .120" wall DOM steel tubing. It basically cuts straight and is adequate power. Only thing bad I could say is that the blade that comes with it isn't very good. Cuts slow on flat material... oh well. I'll buy a better blade when this one wears out and I think this saw should be good to go.

I use it to cut tubing (mostly .120" wall square and round or 1/8"-3/16" angle iron) to make roll cage add ons to my off road race truck and general metal working projects at my home shop. I am not an industrial user. I did bear down pretty hard on it to see what it takes to slow it down and was basically impressed with its power.

I am happy with this purchase. I would give 5 stars except for the blade but that is expected. My Skilsaw, Sawzall, and some other cutting tools i have are all great machines that came with cheap blades. Once i put good blades in them, they are kick ass!

UPDATE:
Watch out. This saw only cuts 45 degree cuts in one direction. No big deal really but if you need to make opposing miters on angle iron you will have problems. In hindsight I would pay more for a saw that cut both ways.

I had to return saw because it was damaged and replaced the saw from another vendor the saw works really good

After carefully taking the time to set this up properly on my Ridgid MSUV I realized there was a problem. The table wobbled around its center pivot. Looking under the table I could see a plastic bushing sticking out. I removed the rails and saw assembly to access under the swivel table and got to where I could see the bushing was broken with no hope of me fixing it. The box the saw came in looked fine. By the time I did all this, reassembled the saw, removed it from the MSUV, and figured out how to repack it for return I was out over three hours. I ended up getting the Ridgid 12" Sliding for a bit more but am very glad I did. Dewalt seems to be lacking quality these days.

I bought this saw to use when installing hardwood floors in our house. I had researched a number of saws and chose the DWS780 because of other reviews, previous experience with Dewalt tools and the shadow line feature.

Reviews of many other saws either disliked either the lack of a laser or inaccuracy of the laser. The shadow line on the DWS780 is phenomenal. Without a doubt, it is my favorite feature. Although difficult to see outdoors, the reviews I read of other saws with lasers had the same difficulty in daylight.

I do have issues with this saw. As with many miter saw designs, you align the blade to 90 degrees and built-in miter detents are preset for 45 degrees. I found that the saw does not cut accurate 45 degree miters and the 45 degree detents are not adjustable. You either have accurate 90 degree cuts or one accurate 45 degree cut.

The other problem I have encountered (although I am not sure if this is a defect with my saw or a problem that would affect many) is that the plastic ring between the upper and lower tables broke within two weeks of use. Before I realized the problem the two metal parts ground together when trying to change the miter setting.

I called Dewalt support and they referred me to my local repair center. The location is 30 miles from me and they expect me to take the saw in for repair and pick it up when completed. 60 miles driving to let them fix their problem! If I could have returned the saw at that point, I would have.

At this point, I am still within the 90 day money back satisfaction guarantee and I may still return it to Dewalt for a refund. I understand that things break, but it would be much easier to send me the broken ring and let me replace it. And I cannot help but wonder if the ring will break again with continued use. I do not intend to drive 60 miles every time a plastic ring breaks.

Overall, I love the shadow line feature. But I am not sure if that is enough for me to keep the saw knowing the problems I have had thus far.

UPDATE: I returned the saw to the local repair center to have the defective plastic ring replaced. They spent about an hour replacing it so that I did not have to leave and return to pick it up. However, before taking the saw in for repair, I noticed a burr on the aluminum base that could have caused the ring to break. I intentionally didn't mention this when I took the saw in because I wanted to see if the repair person would look for causes of the breakage, find the burr and file it down. They did not. While this supposedly voids the warranty if work on the saw, I was able to remove the fence and the single bolt holding the saw to the base and file down the burr.

I was pretty excited to get this saw as I have been mulling over a SCMS for months now. I was originally going to get a 10" and couldn't decide on which one. The Dewalts were always more expensive at the places I was looking so I didn't really give them a second look. Then I saw this one on amazon... a 12" for the same price as some of the other 10" saws I was looking at (makita, bosch) and so I took the plunge. I liked the idea of having the extra capacity, even though I don't really need it. I liked the form factor and weight is great for a 12" saw. BUT....As soon as I got this thing on the bench and started playing with it, I noticed that it just wasn't cutting right. I was getting a LOT of blade deflection, which I suppose is somewhat normal with a 12" blade but this was ridiculous.I thought maybe I just wasn't using it properly so I proceeded to make 20-30 cuts using different techniques and I got to a point where I was making decent cuts with the stock blade. I figured I just needed to get a better blade with a thicker plate and that I needed to get used to the torque of this beast. the head jumps like crazy when you pull the trigger.Funny thing was that usually you'd think that if the blade is deflecting, you slow down your cut right? That actually made it worse. I couldn't figure it out, having tried a couple different blades and having the same problem. I picked up a digital machinist dial and a holder base so I could check blade runouts and do setups on my table saws, so I though that on the 780 and the blade runout was reading in excess of .018"!!! that is crazy!! just to make sure I didn't just have bad blades I took a 10" diablo from my regular miter box. I verified this one only had about .001"-.002" runout on my other saw and then mounted it on the 780 and checked it with the dial. Still running out about .012"!! This is unacceptable for a saw this expensive.More problems still. The slides on this thing are crap. you can oil the hell out of them and they get a bit better so its actually usable but again, on a saw this expensive you shouldn't have to. all the displays at other stores that I played with were the same way. I don't know how people can say that this slides well. The ryobi slider slides better.By the way, the slides on this saw only have roller bearings on the left side. right rail has these two bronze thrust bearings that sit above and below the slide bar. They are cast bronze, porous and not polished. This just kinda dumbfounded me. They do it this way to be able make adjustments to the play in the slide mechanism but there has to be a different way of doing this. The bosch is the same way... it just doesn't make sense to me.other little things that are kinda stupid is that this thing needed a lot of squaring up out of the box. not that big of a deal but everything was just a little bit out of square.The XPS light thing is kinda cool. I like the overall feel of the saw and the bevel locks and miter locks are solid.All in all this saw is being returned and I'm not gonna try another one. I'm gonna take my chances with the makita. At least the makita slides pretty smooth...

I'm going to start with the bad news first. Although I really liked most things about this saw, the slide was unacceptable. It was sticky, rough, noisy, and just generally unacceptable for a high quality, precision tool. I guess if you are just cutting framing lumber, or things that aren't going to be visible, it might still work for you because it the cuts are accurate, just ugly. Even then, I would quickly tire of making cuts with this all day because it takes a lot more pressure to slide the blade through cuts than normal.I tried the slide adjustment screw, but it was already where it needs to be. Any tighter and it wouldn't slide, any looser and it might not be accurate plus it didn't fix the sticky slide. I even took things apart and found out why it doesn't work. Only the left side of the slide has real bearings, and they are factory lubed and sealed, no adjustment possible there. The right side of the slide only has two bronze bushing/bearings that are tightened/loosed by the adjustment screw. It appears to me that the bearings on the left side are either defective or inadequate. I tried out two store models and found the same problem. I'm thinking the bearings are just inadequate.I really hated to return this saw. Actually I was planning to exchange it, but after finding the same problem in the display model, I opted for a refund.If you can live with a sticky slide, here are a few of the good points: it cut square and true right out of the box; it seems to be quieter than average for this type of saw; it is lighter weight and easier to carry than average for a 12" sliding miter saw; and the "Integrated XPS cross cut positioning system" works great. In fact the XPS light is the most innovative and exciting feature I've seen on a tool in quite a while. Basically, how it seems to work is a bright LED light above the blade which casts a shadow of the kerf of the blade. As you bring the blade down, the shadow sharpens and you can see all the teeth in detail on whatever you are cutting. As a plus it also lights up the area you are cutting, so you can see even at night with no other lights on. There is a switch near the main saw trigger switch to turn it on or off. And it runs on AC power through the main cord, so no batteries to change. After a few test cuts to figure out where exactly you want the shadow in relation to your cut mark, you can start making quick, precise cuts.

So, it cuts. If you need something quick and dirty (and this is dirty!) it will be OK. I needed to cut 45 degree miters in 3x1" 14ga steel… yeah, nuh. I think the blade must have been deflecting as I cut, because across that 3" the cut was out of square by around 10mm. (I think metric, buy steel in old-world inches). I checked the base - it's not perfectly true but doesn't account for that size of a problem, ditto for how perpendicular the blade is. So anyway, welding those mitered cuts together was a bitch. For straight 90 degree cuts this would be OK.

The blade is not 90 degrees to the horizontal surface. Roughly a couple of degrees off. Doesn't sound like much, but if you cut 45 degree angles and need to weld them together, you can have flush top, and a gap of a few millimeters on the bottom, depending on the size of the material. (about 3/16" with 1 1/4" square tubing). That's not an acceptable tolerance. Not sure if it's my particular machine, or an overall lack of quality.Other than that, the machine feels sturdy and powerful enough.

After doing some research on chop saws, I went with the Porter-Cable. Based on price and reviews it seemed like a good deal.It arrived with a decent amount of damage due to the insufficient packaging job by Porter-Cable, which leaves the saw free to bounce around during shipping. The blade guard was bent and scratched, the vise handle was bent inward, and the frame was slightly bent.Barring the shipping damage, the saw itself is quite cheesy. The frame is as rigid as a wet noodle - it's somewhat thin stamped steel and is extremely flexible. The vise parts are somewhat flimsy as well. Overall fit and finish is poor, with messy welds tying the cheap parts together. I tried cutting some steel just for grins and it bogged easily. All of this is slightly disconcerting, especially in a saw.It was quickly returned and I ordered a Milwaukee 6180-20 from Home Depot, which is easily twice as good, but not twice the price. The base is rigid cast aluminum, the frame parts are very heavy, and the vise is sturdy. It's quieter and cuts much better. I noticed in Home Depot that the Rigid R4141 seemed nice as well.Save your money and buy something better.

Be aware. This saw does not come with a stand as it says it does. Lowes is a few dollars more but it comes with $199 stand free

I was eager to get started on a cabinetry project, and after much research and after reading countless online reviews, I decided to go with DeWalt's top-of-the-line miter saw DWS780. A local Home Depot had one in stock, so off I went.Upon unpacking and setting it up, and after reading the manual, I've decided to get started. To my surprise, I quickly realized that the saw was so badly misaligned that it begun to cut into the kerf plate (see photo).I read through the manual again to see if there's an adjustment to be made, all to no avail. Upon e-mailing DeWalt's customer support, I was told to take (or ship) the unit to a repair center.Not exactly the sort of experience I was expecting after just shelling $600 for a top-of-the-line miter saw. Thank goodness for Home Depot's easy returns. I must say that over the years, DeWalt's quality control has nosedived. For a precision cutter such as this to leave the factory floor is truly unfortunate.

Advertisement says free stand included, but no stand received

I sent the original saw I ordered back as it had black magic marker writing on the bottom of the saw. I called the Dewalt company directly and they said no new saw should have any hand writing at all on the bottom in marker or anything else. They could not explain why this happened and suggested I may want to send that saw back. To me, the writing seems like an internal control procedure when someone returns a saw to them when uphappy or what have you, then they mark it to be refurbished/reinspected. In this regard, I believe, the saw was a refurbished saw I received. They saw I received in return had green marker writing on the bottom. I am skeptical I received a brand new saw either time. If I had and was sure that I had I would be very happy. I am hoping someone is not trying to pull a fast one. Out side of this experience I have never had an issue ordering from Amazon. The saw comes from Amazon, LLC so maybe not exactly the same company.

Ok a little background on who I am and what I do. I am not a weekend carpenter or a DYI'er. I am a finish carpenter by trade and do this everyday. It supports me and my family and is not just a hobby.I bought this saw a couple of years ago and posted a 4 star review initially after using it for about a week or so. The new light system on it was really awesome when aligning the blade/cut. It was fairly light for a 12" saw and with my Forest Chopmaster blade the cuts were amazing.This saw would be pretty kick a*s if they could change one thing on it....the linear bearings on the slide. Mine was nearly impossible to make a slide cut with the blade down in the cut position. When I first used it almost every cut I made was a chop (casing some windows, crown on some cabinets). Then I got into a set of stairs where I was cutting, or trying to cut, skirt boards. Holy crap. I thought something was wrong with my blade but when I made the cutting motion with no material on the saw it was the same deal. The saw apparently only has bearings on the right hand tube (I have read this). When you lower the head it torgues the crap out of the slides making it difficult to slide. This is just plain old stupid IMO. How much would it cost to improve the bearings on this saw?? Anyway, Dewalt hasn't made a good slide saw since the old DW706 or 708 (the one with the slides stacked vertically on top of each other). That saw was awesome. No gimmicks. Just a good strong saw that cut accurately. Should have never sold mine. I replaced with the 718 which was an absolute joke as far as a finish saw. I sold it to a framer and warned him of the saws limitations. That saw would cut perfectly square until you tried to make a long bevel cut (example was trimming my personal home with 7 1/2" base). When you beveled the saw either left or right, it would throw it out of square almost 2 degrees (this equaled about 1/4" on 7 1/2 material).Anyway, I returned the saw and have no intentions of buying another Dewalt product (of any kind) until they can get a slide saw out that will perform. I'm sure someone is going to ask what I ended up with...I own 2) Hitachi C10FSH saws and also a Festool Kapex (I had 2 of them until some thief decided I didn't need it any longer). I am currently using the Hitachi while the Kapex rests on the shelf for nearly 3 months now. Hope this review helps and I welcome your comments or questions.

this saw does not even deserve a star. this is by far the cheapest and worst made miter saw i have ever seen. slides very hard and it is impossible to work with. i am defiantly returning it. big disappointment. among other things, the bevel stops wobble a lot and setting the 22.5 and 33.9 bevel is very inaccurate.

The biggest piece of junk I've ever owned. Can barely cut through trim molding.. Adjustment sucks... Junk junk junk

sent back husband didn't want

Works well.... very satisfied. Shipped as promised on time.

It was used, when it was sent to me. If I could get ta new one as ordered it would be a higher rating.