Customer Reviews

DEWALT DW706 15 Amp 12-Inch Dual Bevel Compound Miter saw

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Our small business specializes in finish trim carpentry. We have a number of miter saws to include the DeWalt DW708, DW705, Milwaukee Magnum 6496, and a Hitachi C10FC2. Each of these fine saws have unique qualities providing specific benefit.
Recently we purchased the DW706. Since purchasing the DW706 it is unquestionably the saw of choice when is comes to tall base and crown molding installation. The saw has a very smooth start and stops with little drop. It is accurate, has clear viewing areas and seems to take daily abuse to include being bounced in a trailer from job to job. We hesitated to buy at first when deciding to purchase, as we are less than satisfied with the compound accuracy of our DW708 specifically during full bevel operations. But the DW706 has impressed each of us. The only issue that keeps the saw from a five star rating is the lack of friendly release mechanism for the double bevel feature. I would not let it stop you from buying however. This is the best I've used to date.

I am a professional craftsman and was in need of a new compound miter saw. I looked at Bosch, Hitachi, Makita, Porter-Cable, and DeWalt. Based on price and performance, the DeWalt is the hands down winner. I read all the other reviews before buying the saw. The only things I have discovered are 1) the crown molding stops made by DeWalt will NOT let you cut 6-5/8" molding, though the saw is capable of doing it. I had to hold the molding by hand, and still made excellent cuts. 2) A laser guide would be nice, but its absence is not a reason to not get this tool. 3) The saw dust really doesn't collect well in the bag, but I have several tools with dust bags, and none of them work well, so big deal.

As far as some of the other negatives I read, like the saw jerking when the trigger is pulled - I had no issue like that at all. The blade jumps up a little initially, but the deck didn't move. Also, I don't know what people are complaining about reading the bevel angle. Sure, some sawdust collects, but why wouldn't it? I found this objection that I read a complete overstatement.

The blade that comes (premounted) to the tool cut perfect angles. I checked the stop angles and they were dead on out of the box. The only adjustment I made was about 1/2 degree on the bevel indicator.

The tool has a blade lock, and the bevel is easy to rotate side to side. Since I need to take this tool to job sites, I was concerned about ease of transport. This tool has a built in handle, and weighs only 44 pounds. It is easy to move around especially when you lock down the blade.

There is no doubt in my mind that I bought the right tool.

I AM A FINISH CARPENTER ,WHO CUTS AND INSTALLS A LOT OF CROWN MOULDING.I BOUGHT THIS SAW BASED ON INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THE DEWALT WEBSITE WHICH STATED THAT THIS MODEL SAW WOULD CUT UP TO AND INCLUDING 6" CROWN NESTED VERTICALLY. SINCE 6" CROWN IS THE SIZE THAT OUR COMPANY USES 70 TO 80 PERCENT OF THE TIME THIS SOUNDED LIKE THE SAW THAT I WANTED. BOUGHT THE SAW ,ORDERED THE CROWN STOPS(WHICH I GOT ABOUT 2 WEEKS AFTER GETTING SAW)USED THE SAW AND ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF IT, NOW THE PROBLEM,THE DEWALT WEBSITE SUGGESTED PURCHASING THE CROWN STOPS(IN THE ARTICLE ON CUTTING CROWN MOULDING)FOR CUTTING CROWN MOULDING NESTED VERTICALLY UP TO 6",WHEN CROWN STOPS ARE ATTACHED TO THE SAW AND POSTIONED AS FAR BACK AS POSSIBLE YOU CAN ONLY GET 5 1/4" CROWN TO SIT PROPERLY AND MAKE THE CUTS.,SO I FIRED OFF AN E-MAIL TO DEWALT ASKING FOR ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW I COULD MAKE THE CROWN STOPS WORK WHEN CUTTING THE 6".CROWN MATERIAL,THEIR ANSWER WAS LESS THAN SATIFACTORY:THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE WERE NO PLANS FOR THEM TO REDESIGN THE STOPS ANYTIME SOON. YES I KNOW THAT I CAN CUT CROWN MOULDING LAYING FLAT ON THIS SAW, BUT I BOUGHT IT SO THAT I COULD CUT 6" CROWN NESTED VERTICALLY FOR ALL THE REASONS(LESS SET-UP WITH BEVEL AND MITER SETTINGS,MORE CONSISTENT CUTS BY LOCKING MATERIAL SECURLEY WITH STOPS AGAINST THE TABLE AND FENCE,ETC, ETC.ALL IN ALL I REALLY ENJOY THIS SAW.GREAT SAW, BUT DEWALT TECH WRITERS REALLY SHOULD FIELD TEST THEIR ACCESSIORES BEFORE MAKING CLAIMS ABOUT HOW THESE THINGS WORK.

DeWalt has broken new ground with this design. Moving the motor to back of the saw has added flexibility unknown with any other miter saw. The obvious advantage is the huge cuts you can make with this saw. The not so obvious advantages are: There is no motor in your way when you're holding a piece of wood to the right of the blade. How many times have you tried to hold a piece of wood on the right side only to have the motor come down and hit your hand as you make the cut? Even more difficult usually, is tilting the saw to the right on a bevel and again having the motor get in your way. Last, there is a nice TALL fence on the right hand side, something I've not seen on any other saw.

This saw rocks!

You can do surgery with this saw. We use it primarily for fine finish carpentry and crown molding work, etc. Chose this saw over the sliding model because you can work with larger crown using the crown stops and we felt the accuracy would be better than the sliding model. Can't speak for the sliding model but cutting precision on this model, once we upgraded to a decent blade, simply couldn't be improved on. Those that can only afford a single miter saw and want all the bells and whistles may prefer the sliding model but I'd recommend this one over the slider for those who want perfection in their cuts.

I purchased the Dewalt dual bevel miter saw in May. I have been working on a solid Walnut computer desk and wanted a decent miter saw that would cut accurately and be big enough for the more chalenging jobs. I was split between the Dewalt and the Delta. After testing all the other brands they seemed to be the only two that would lock down tight in the preset angles. The Dewalt was almost two hundred over the Delta but it had the dual bevel feature(very nice) and the largest cutting capacity. I also like the no hassle return in thirty days. As a whole I am partial to this company but I have had some bad products from time to time. So I eventually went with the Dewalt. I could not be any happier. The features work great and it cuts smooth and accurate every time. Although I did have to slightly adjust the verticle stop on my model. It was off by about a 64 of a inch from factory. The procedure is spelled out very carefully in the manual and it goes by smoothly. The only real complaint I have is the lack of excessories. The clamp(a must)is fourty five and the extension is fourty. For the price of the saw I just think that Dewalt could put one of the two packaged with it. Otherwise a great saw and must for anyone that wants a good accurate compound miter saw.

Bingo. DeWalt has the best 12" mitre saw going, especially since it tilts both ways (double bevel) and has a great way of setting the stop and preventing movement of the arm. Mine is dead on...and I've aleady cut some hard angles in just the past few weeks.

One key to moving through the work, be it crown moulding or just pressure treated deck lumber, is not having to either move the work around (especially long boards) or having to think about the cut again and doubting what you're doing, because the double bevel lets you cut the work they way you can picture it.

Crown moulding and chair rail in 16' lengths? No problem, just flip the saw. All the stops are firm and smart. I did not need to adjust the saw, althought there are directions to check the angles, just in case.

The motor is set back, not near your hands...the whole platform is open to move around.

The arm angle (bevel) gauge could be a bitter clearer (metal etched markings on metal), but this is a minor nuisance. Getting the free sander offer made me feel like I stole a great tool.

Never never skimp on a mitre say if you have any intentions of getting tight fits.

I recently decided to buy a 12" compound miter saw, for use at a crosscut station I planed to build up against a wall in my shop. I had a Makita LS1013 slider (a very nice saw, now being enjoyed by my #2 son), but it took up too much room, front-to-back. In general, the minimum fence-to-wall distance seems to be 10'-12" more for sliders than non-sliders. I much preferred the 12" CMS's to the 10" ones, for their increased cutting capacity and beefier construction.

Initially, I was intrigued by the laser-equipped models. Were I a trim carpenter, I'd consider a laser guide essential, because of the productivity benefits. I'm not one, however, just a duffer who enjoys making sawdust. Moreover, I rarely cut boards by making a mark and cutting to that mark, which is where lasers are helpful. I have an extended fence on both sides of the saw, to which are attached adhesive-backed rules. I normally set a stop on the fence to the desired cut-length, place the board against the stop and cut away. (If the board is so short it doesn't reach the extended fence, I set the stop for 10" more than the cut-length and insert a piece of aluminum exactly 10" long between the stop and the workpiece.)

Once I reclassified the laser guide feature to "nice to have", a number of very fine saws became candidates. After some tire-kicking and research, I made a short-list of three saws: the DeWalt DW706, Bosch 4212 and Delta 36-412. I found these three saws had more similarities than differences. All were very well made, accurate and had very good ergonomics. I expect I would have been happy with any of them.

Another thing in common with these three saws is that they are all dual-bevels. On rare occasions, I'll probably appreciate not having to flip a long board end-to-end to cut a bevel, but I like the dual-bevel feature for another reason. To be able to cut bevels both ways, the manufacturers have to move the motor up and back. This improves both the visibility of the boards you're cutting, and improves the balance of the machine. DeWalt accomplishes this by using a belt drive, which reduces noise. I think Bosch also has a belt drive; Delta uses gears.

Bosch and Delta both have the bevel lock at the front of the saw; DeWalt has it in the traditional location in the back. Were I cutting crown molding all day, maybe I'd pay something for an "upfront" bevel lock, but I don't, so I won't.

The Delta has one feature I found tempting. At zero degree miter and bevel, it is capable of cutting boards up to 9.5" wide. All other 12" CMS's seem to be limited to about 7-3/4". Considering that I have a sliding table on my table saw, which makes crosscuts easy, I concluded that the extra capacity offered by the Delta was of limited benefit to me.

All of these saws will no doubt be equipped with laser guides in the near future. (I'm told the Delta will appear with one within a few weeks of this writing.) So if you like one of these saws, but really want a laser guide, and can wait awhile, I suggest you do just that.

There were two considerations that caused me to cast my vote for the DeWalt. The first was that the DeWalt is the most compact, having the shortest minimum fence-to-wall distance. With the DeWalt I can build wings on either side of the saw that extend only 24" from the wall. The second and more important consideration was that I could get a great deal on the DeWalt. When I was ready to buy, the DeWalt was on sale at a great price, and DeWalt had a promotion going where they would throw in their DW723 miter saw stand for just the cost of shipping. My #2 son praises the stand, which he uses with his Makita. The stand sells for about 75% of what I paid for the saw!

One last thing: the DeWalt, and some other miter saws, have been criticized for not having "soft-start" motors. I don't understand that. I actually prefer the quick-start motor on the DeWalt to the soft-start on my (make that my son's) Makita slider, because it enables me start the cut sooner. On startup, the DeWalt rears slightly, but it doesn't lurch, or cause the table or material to move. I hold the handle loosely when I turn on the saw, and then pull it down for the cut.

I've had this saw for about 2 years now. I wanted the DW708 Sliding miter saw, but $399 was more attractive than $599. For me, that was a good choice.

1) AMERICAN. I like to try and buy American first if possible. This one has more American content than most (The box said so, anyway).

2) RELIABLE. I use this thing all the time, and always has been excellent.

3) ACCURATE. Mine was aligned well, and I have not found anything that assembled improperly due to this saw's alignments. I have built several custom cabinets from Maple and Walnut, and all the joints I got from this saw were square and tight.

4) UTILITY. Functions great and easy to use. I wanted the 12" slide saw, but this already would make 95% of the cuts I need, and costs a lot less. It has a good-sized table, and the table is not two-thirds removed for the miter gauge, so it supports smaller pieces more completely as well as longer pieces.
I see that Hitachi has a digital readout saw now, but I'm not sure I would want that. More complexity than I would want. The only thing I wish this saw had from DeWalt was a laser guide.

Summary.
Mine has been excellent. I picked carefully from the above points and have not been disappointed. If you like to woodwork and have never used a compound miter saw, this will become your favorite tool quickly.

As my wife actually put it "That is a great tool." We were cutting off 4-4.5" pressure treated fence posts for a horse pasture. She got sick of seeing me do that with a hand-held circular saw and actually told me to buy a more appropriate tool.
That is really tough cutting. They are very hard and the blade that came w/ the saw cut right through. Also, with the 12" blade, it was just one cut. A couple of the posts were probably closer to 5" around and they were on the ragged edge of being too big for one cut. Another bonus is that with a 12" blade it doesn't get hot quite as fast.

The motor seems quite powerful and it made cuts easily that my circular saw had trouble with. My circular saw is a 15 amp Porter Cable, so its reasonably powerful too.

It seems to have a nice combination of being heavy enough not to move around on a work surface, but light enough that you can easily pick it up to put it away.

Definately spend the $$$ to get a double bevel. If you're cutting off anything longer than 4 feet, you probably won't have room to reverse the board easily...It is really nice when cutting a double angle to just swing the saw around. It takes ~5 second to do this.

The sawdust bag even seems to actually catch a lot of sawdust. Much appreciated when cutting up nasty pressure treated wood.

A final thing I would have to saw about this saw is that it is really quite safe. My wife hasn't used powertools much, and I don't feel at all hesitant to let her use this unsupervised whereas I keep a pretty close eye on her with the reciprocating saw and jig saw and won't let her touch the circular saw. All you have to do is pull the arm down and keep you fingers out of the way.