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DEWALT DW384 8-1/4-Inch Heavy Duty Circular Saw with Brake and Rear Pivot Depth of Cut Adjustment | List Price: $363.41
Discount Price: $208.49
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Brand: DeWalt
Binding: Tools & Hardware
Features: - 8-1/4-inch heavy-duty circular saw with a 50-degree bevel capacity
- Rear pivot depth of cut adjustment allows your hand to remain behind the tool at minimum depth of cut
- Powerful 15-amp/2,075-watt motor; heavy-gauge, high-strength aluminum alloy shoe
- Includes blade wrench and 24T carbide-tipped blade
- Weighs 16 pounds; 1-year warranty
Power Power Power [Posted on 2004-01-01]
I had several saws before , but this time I decided to spend the bucks and buy a good one that would be worth fixing if the bearing went out.
Well this is everything I thought it would be and more, The only draw back is that this baby has some weight to it, My wife helps out alot and she complained the firest time she picked it up so if your not a strong arm person , this is not the saw for you.
keep in mind the 8 1/4 blades are not cheap when they can be found , but you can use the 7 1/4 if the size is not in demand.
DeWalt 8-1/4" Circular Saw [Posted on 2006-10-09]
This saw is being presented as the replacement for the earlier Black & Decker 8-1/4" Sawcat. If only that was true. I purchased not one but two of these saws and found both of them to have the same defects. There was severe blade wobble with both saws, that resulted in a 3/16" and wider saw cut while using a thin kerf blade! Three brand new blades were tried to assure that the problem was not with the blade. It wasn't. The height adjustment is very rought due to crude castings and rough metal to metal slide. The supposed electric brake doesn't really perform like a brake at all but merely a slow down of sorts. This saw in no way compares with the Black & Decker Sawcat of the past, and anyone expecting that will most assuredly be greatly disappointed just as I was. I also feel that for the cost of this saw, a rip guide should be included, but it isn't. Neither is a carrying case. The smoothness of the armature & bearings seems very crude and it's doubtful that this saw would perform as flawlessly as the B&D Sawcat did over the many years I owned it. What a shame, and my search for a replacement saw will continue.
I wish... [Posted on 2007-03-09]
I needed an 8 1/4" saw. I shopped the site, checked reviews and price. My gut told me that I should buy the Mikita because I really like their saws. But, have always had good luck with Dewalt tools, so I decided to save 40 bucks and buy the Dewalt. Wish I had of listened to my gut feeling. The Dewalt is heavy duty and has great power. But, I am cutting through 2 1/2" of foam with poly straps in it (ICF forms). The Dewalt is heavy to use cutting horizontally on a wall. You can't grip it very well so as to hold back the blade guard when doing a plung cut. It just isn't ergonomically correct. I will probably love it when cutting timbers on my next job though. It is meant to be a beefy wood hog, not a cut out opening in ICF walls saw. Reminds me of a Black and Decker I used framing many years ago.
Disappointed [Posted on 2007-03-15]
I'm cutting a timberframe and needed a saw to make accurate 3" deep cuts. I own the big Makita, but that 16" blade tends to wander a bit with the grain. Plus, the base on that saw is very flexible. It's difficult to get dependable 90 degree cuts with it. I was hoping the Dewalt would give better results. Unfortunately, the Dewalt was a big disappointment.
The biggest problem was the obstructed sightlines. The housing extends so far around the blade that it's practically impossible to see the front edge of the cut. By the time you contort far enough to see the cut, you're practically standing on your head! It's very difficult to control the saw with your balance so far off. To make matters worse, I can see no reason for the over-sized bonnet. It seems like the designer simply had no idea how to use a saw!
NOTE: I know a lot of folks use the notch in the base as a guide. I've found that to work well if you want a straight cut that's somewhere near your line. If I want to cut TO the line, I have to see the cut.
In an effort to get an accurate cut, I resorted to using an edge guide. (I hate to do that. With the dozens of cuts I make in an average day, the extra setup time is unwelcomed.) But here again, DeWalt let me down. The base is out of alignment with the blade by over 1/8". This seems like a common complaint with modern circ saws. I know these companies are driven to keep prices down, but how much would it take to align the base???? My Porter-Cable is aligned to within a couple of mils (.002")!!!
This saw does have great power and provides a good depth of cut. The overall quality of construction (aside from the base misalignment!) is average to above average. The functionality - if you want to make an accurate cut - is extremely poor. Seems to me that, for $200, Dewalt could have done MUCH better.
Cuts through 12/4 Hard Maple with ease [Posted on 2007-03-29]
I bought this saw because my table saw was struggling to get through the 12/4 hard maple I use to make furniture. 12/4 maple is so heavy I wasn't getting clean straight cuts with my table saw because the board is so clumbsy. Now with this 8-1/4 circular saw I don't have to wrestle with the board, I can move the tool instead. I also got the DEWALT DW3278 Circular Saw Rip Fence. Now I can rip perfect identical legths of 12/4 hard maple with ease. This saw works better than I expected it to. The thick hard wood doesn't bog down this saw like I expected it to.
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