Home >> Saws >> Miter Saws
Home >> Saws
Home >> Construction Tools
DEWALT DW717 10-inch Double-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw | List Price: $972.30
Discount Price: $528.00
 |
|
Brand: DeWalt
Binding: Tools & Hardware
Features: - Exclusive Bevel Detent System with 7 positive stops and detent plate with 11 positive stops
- Adjustable stainless steel miter with capacity of 600 to the left and 520 to the right and fast locking cam lock miter
- Machined base fence support and dual horizontal steel rails with linear ball bearing for accurate cuts
- Vertical cut capacity nested crown up to 6 1/4-inch
- Tall sliding fence which supports up to 6-inch base molding to the left of blade and 3-1/2-inch to the right
Joins (but does not pass) the class leaders [Posted on 2008-09-17]
Bottom line - with only about three weeks of use (tons of trim work, light framing, and a large deck) this saw is very good at many things, not great at all of them. First, all saws need good blades - period. If yours did not come with one, don't review it till you get one (I replaced the stock 40 tooth blade with an upgraded). Secondly, sliding miter saws inherently add a degree of complication (or versatility depending on how you look at it) to your work, so consider what you really need. If your need is just trim - consider a non-slider. With that said I have always been a fan of 10inch sliders - they are the most versatile tool you can bring to the job site. This model replaces a pretty old Porter and Cable model that I was fairly happy with. Here is my take on the DeWalt. This is a very good saw, essentially a sliding version of the very popular DW703 and DW713 fixed models. The fence is an upgrade over those models, and the features make it a worthy competitor to the class leading Bosch and Makita models.
Here is what I like:
· Build quality - Solid, Limited plastic, Square table and fence, Good slides with no play.
· Adjustments - The wide angles right (60) and left (52) and compound bevel.
· Accuracy - So far (trim work and a deck) cuts are right on, with no slop or wave (I have not cut 12x's yet only 10x's and the saw held a compound angle arrow straight through the cut)
· Vertical capacity - cuts 6" high molding vertically.
· Pre-Sets on the Bevel - Seven different pre-sets for crown both left and right - great time saving feature.
Here is what I am not too keen about:
· The lock for the slide is a small round dial that is still hard for me to find (I would have liked a larger lever a little more prominent)
· Dust collection is not great
· The plates left and right are shorter than I am used to (this is true of the Bosch too) so I have had to adjust how I work a little.
· Set up took longer than I would have liked - Square and 45 were almost there right out of the box, aligning all indicators and making fine adjustments was tough - adjustment screws and indicators move a little when tightening them. Vertical adjustment for perpendicular (the most important) was the toughest.
· The blade provided is just not good enough - especially for the money
· It is a bit more expensive than the Bosch or Makita.
This is a very good saw - it is good at many things, but not great at any one particular item. I compared it mostly to the Makita side-by-side - the motor (higher RPM), vertical capacity, and the length of cut on a 45 were factors that tilted me in favor of DeWalt. The Makita has a bigger table which I like a lot (more like my old Porter & Cable) but the sliders are low which engineers will tell you promotes more deflection at the head. Most manufacturers now have the slides up higher. DeWalt used to actually stack the slides vertically, but now dual horizontal slides seems like the way to go. The spring that controls the plunge movement on the Makita is just a standard wound spring mounted vertically, this made for a jerk upwards when you let go of the handle and odd feeling back pressure when you pulled down. Also, all these saws need a good table or stand - you can be frustrated using a 10-inch slider with no clamps or a bad set up - make sure any complaints about a saw are not really complaints about a bad work area. Friends swear by their Bosch tools (I have a few and like `em) and the Bosch 10-inch slider is top rated by many, the DeWalt is at least as good, but not much better. So with the DW717, DeWalt only joins Bosch and Makita near the top of this category, not sure it will de-throne anyone - they are all good choices based on work style and preference (I still really like design of the Makita table). The durability of DeWalt, and the features I have mentioned are why I chose the DW717. I admit this review is based on limited use so I will update it after a few more projects.
Still not perfect, but they never are [Posted on 2008-10-04]
I will try to follow up with a more detailed review in a couple of weeks but I wanted to point out a few things after a week of using this saw as a full-time trim carpenter.
Mine was accurate out of the box, cutting all my door casing at perfect 45's with no adjustment. Same results when cutting a large 7 1/4" crown on the flat. I didn't use the detents and I am not sure why manufacturers continue to offer these settings as crown molding is rarely ever set with a proper milling cut to make these detent settings worthwhile. The saw is quieter than my DW706, but the blade is smaller which I am sure contributes to that. You still need to wear ear protection though IMO.
I really like the cam lock for the miter settings as compared to the turn knob that was on my 706. The miter detent override works great and it's extremely easy to dial in very minor adjustments of less than .25 degree by hand. I am very happy Dewalt has not changed the blade guard design with respect to the louvers. They work great for siting up your cut line with the blade and I would bet money I am more accurate and faster using this feature than people that really on gimmicky lasers on their miter saws.
The bevel detent system also works great and is accessible on the left and right hand side of the saw which is great. There is enough friction when the detent override is engaged to keep the setting in place while you tighten the lever to hold it in place when not using a detent setting. When setting the bevel to the left, it can be somewhat cumbersome to reach the lever though.
The design of the saw head which allows you to cut tall molding against the fence is fantastic. You will have to adjust your cutting sequence when you have to miter to the right because the belt drive mechanism will come in contact with the stock prevent you from getting all the way through it. After a few tries, you will quickly realize that you can slightly alter the way you set up your cuts to overcome this. Then fence could have been another 1/2 " taller in my opinion, but it's very useable and better than the fences on the 716's and 718's which had too much flex in them if you pushed on them too hard. The simple but effective latch that locks the saw head in place to take advantage of the 10" blades maximum cutting height works well and eliminates guess work.
There is some movement in the head assembly when you apply pressure side to side, but that is true of ALL SCMS's. It is my understanding that this is a design feature that allows the saw to absorb the shock of a piece of wood that becomes jammed between the blade and the fence. This will happen to everyone from time to time and without some flex built into the saw it could cause substantial damage. You need to learn proper technique for using a SCMS before blaming it for sloppy cuts... You also need to buy a good blade as stock blades produce slop even with the best technique.
The rails slide easily through their range of travel, but not as smooth as the Milwaukee or Makita SCMS which were set up in the tool isle did. I have also noticed that some of the dust stays on the rails and is not removed by the ring which is supposed to seal the dust from entering the housing where the ball bearings are. Not sure if this happens with other saws so I can't say that is a problem or not.
The saw is very portable for it's capabilities rivaling a 12" SCMS.
Now, for the bad.... After decades of building saws Dewalt still fails miserably in their dust collection !!! I rate the dust collection on this saw a 1 star out of 5. When the saw is pulled down to the table in cutting position, the dust bag is in a position that causes any dust it did collect to fall right back out onto the table. What is wrong with the designers at dewalt? A moron could have seen this was not going to work. Before buying the saw I figured this was going to be an issue and it is. Milwaukee beat the pants off dewalt with the design of their new 12" models and if it wasn't for the 15 extra pounds and $170 higher price tag, I think I would have gone with the Milwaukee.
The bevel gauge is obscured from clear view and you must duck down to see what your setting is.
The stock blade is crap. Throw it in a box to be used with framing lumber or shelving and buy yourself a good, high quality 60 or 80 tooth blade. I went with the 70 tooth Makita blade which is standard on their 10" slide. Why only Makita puts a good blade on their saws is a real head scratcher to me, but they all have to save money somewhere and I guess that is the easiest place to do it.
I really wanted to give the saw a 4 star rating but the dust collection design really pissed me off considering Milwaukee was able to work out a much more intelligent set up than Dewalt did. IMO, dewalt is just lazy when it comes to dust collection and they put no real effort into benefitting the user with a well thought out dust collection feature. For that I deducted a full star rating and say shame on dewalt for not getting it right this time.
5 start cutting, 4 star setup [Posted on 2008-11-14]
I've just recently purchased this saw so I don't have a lot of experience with it yet. This is also my first sliding miter saw, so many of my observations may be true of other sliders. I'm not a professional carpenter, I'm a proficient amateur in the middle of an extensive renovation of my Victorian.. read Lots-O-Trim. My previous saw was a 15 yr. old Delta compound miter saw which is still serving me well... I just need more cut capacity.
Good:
1) Accurately adjusted right out of the box
2) Relatively lightweight/compact. Even though this saw has a much larger cut than my previous saw, it is roughly the same weight and can be folded into a reasonable size. My old Delta was made of cast iron instead of aluminum.
3) Nice big bevel scale.. my 45 yr old eyes often had a hard time seeing the scale on the Delta in poor light with safety glasses ..or maybe I just need reading glasses.
4) LED light does a nice job. When used indoors, my Delta would cast a shadow on the cut line. This does not "project" a line like a laser, it casts a shadow of the actual blade. Note that the blade must be lowered to project a clean shadow. It essentially allows you to do a "touch alignment" very quickly and does not require any adjustment as you change blades or cut on either side.
5) Nicely portable, just as easy (or hard) to carry as my old saw.
6) Huge cut capacity. I had thought I would need a 12" slider to build my upper kitchen cabinets but this 10" has more than enough capacity.
7) Nice big fence (as compared to the Makita)
8) Nice detent controls
9) Dust collection works well when connected to my Fein vac. Others have complained about poor collection with the bag. I needed to add a little band clamp to strengthen and tighten the mounting point. The nice thing is that it fits the Fein without requiring an adapter.
Bad:
1) LED installation was a PIA. They are trying to keep the packaging small which made connecting the tiny wiring harnesses difficult. While installing the light you need to hold the guard up while trying to connect and conceal the tiny wires without pinching them. Seems like this could have been engineered a little better. Since this is a one time problem I did not deduct any points.
2) Blade change seems clumsy compared to my old Delta. Gaining access to the arbor requires you to partially unscrew a hold down bolt until you can move the blade guard down to expose the arbor. It takes a little fuddling to figure out how far to unscrew the bolt. My first attempts were rather frustrating several times resulting in a "jammed" mechanism. I don't change blades on a miter saw very often so it's not that huge of a deal. I should get the hang of this over time.
Neutral:
1) Splintering of the top surface when using the proper pullout-plunge-push method of cutting. This seems to be an issue with all sliders since the blade first cuts the wood on the underside. If you plunge first and then pull the problem goes away, but this technique it not considered safe since the the blade can "climb" the wood. With my chop style I always put the good face up, placing the good side down or standing the piece makes the problem go away.
2) Smaller table than the Makita, but a better miter scale position and more compact as a result.. it's all about the trade-offs.
3) More dust escapes from the left side of the saw.. not a problem just an observation.. keep your soda can to the right.
Click here for more details and discount information...
|
){kind=link}