Customer Reviews

DEWALT DW712 8-1/2-Inch Single-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've had this for about 6 months and it's never let me down. It takes a little getting used to if you've never used a sliding miter saw before, as the technique is somewhere between a radial arm saw and a normal fixed miter saw. As a couple of other reviewers pointed out, you have to make sure you slide the saw all the way home or you'll leave a little bit uncut.

One thing I've found is when I'm cutting narrow planks (4" or 6") I've gotten into the habit of pulling the blade toward me past the front edge of the piece, dropping it down, and then sliding it back through the piece - instead of just plunging the blade straight in, as you'd do with a fixed chop saw. This seems to significantly reduce bottom tearout.

It's undeniably a very pleasant tool to use; if you've only used saws that have a vertical handle you won't believe the difference the horizontal handle makes. The switch is well designed, it's not easy to trigger by accident but not fatiguing to hold. The action of the slides is smooth as silk, and setting the miter angles is quick, easy, and very positive. The motor has plenty of power for any kind of wood I've ever sent its way.

The 8 1/2 inch size has some advantages - the blade seems to be more stable, even without a stabilizer, than most 10" blades. Also in my experience 8 1/2" blades are a little cheaper than the equivalent 10" blade. But, it won't cut a 4x4 (or a 2x4 on edge) in one pass - a 10 incher will. Whether or not that matters depends on the kind of work you do.

You'll want to replace the blade that the saw comes with, it's fine for chopping up 2x4s (but if that's all you want to do you don't need this saw) but not good enough for finish work. There aren't a million blades available for this size of saw, but there's a decent selection - although not all the catalogs carry them. My favorite is a 60 tooth DeWalt finish blade that you can find most anywhere for about 50 bucks and does great work for me in all types of hardwood. Freud makes one that's pretty good as well. Forrest makes one of their chopmaster blades in this size, I'm sure it's great but it's $100+ and since I'm happy with my current blade I've never tried it.

Overall fit and finish is very nice - as you generally expect from contemporary Italian manufacture. After taking it out of the box, I went over it completely with my machinist square and couldn't find anything out of alignment. The only quality complaint I have is the crummy screws holding the blade guard on - blade changing is not exactly a snap with this saw and they really don't help.

There's no clamp included, unlike some other manufacturers - since I prefer to keep all 10 of my fingers I bought one - but they soak you on this item - $35!! Actually I bought two but you only need one - you hardly ever use both at once and it takes a second or two to swap it from one side of the saw to the other. Also, while it holds well, it's a screw type and I would prefer some type of cam action - I think that would be faster and easier to use.

But overall if you want a really sweet, pleasant to use saw and you don't normally need to cut large timber, I'd recommend this saw - I'm certainly very happy with it.

I have just bought the DeWalt712 to replace an aging Makita LS1040 I have had for four years. I was really impressed with the facilities and price and I have been very happy with all the DeWalt tools I have purchased, so it was an obvious choice.

The saw cuts wood! the extended ranges of cutting angles is great and the machine feels realy good to use, soft start, and it has good ergonomics; (on the 240v version only two buttons to press, make it easy for someone with small hands: but on the battery powered version 3 buttons are not so easy).

However I have a couple of complaints with the machine;

Firstly the guard runs along the workpiece on a wheel and I find that it feels like the wood is cut through when there is still a small corner left to cut and it can snag the workpiece when cutting some mitres. This could be operator error and I will probably get used to it in time.

Secondly the dust extraction is very poor. I have a workshop with a built in dust extraction system, with a 2Kw industrial vacuum unit I am used to a reasonably dust free workshop but this machine fires dust everywhere. I have to wear a dust mask when I use it, as the dust hits the piece of fabric behind the blade and bounces into my face.

I really like this machine and if you work on site I could recommend it to you; but unless I find a solution to the dust problem I am going to take advantage of the 30 day return policy and take it back, although I will be very sorry to part with it.

Well, I took it back and swapped it for a DW706, which I really did not like. Very fierce start and big blade did not suit me at all (I know I would have been better with the variable speed version).So I returned it next day and got my DW712 back!

The dealer tells me there is a dust extraction kit, despite the fact DeWalt told me that no kit is available, so I have ordered it and hope it is effective.

I've had the saw for about a week and am very pleased. I bought the DW723 stand too and that's also great. A few reviews have knocked the product, but I suspect that's due to misuse or lack of thinking or experimentation. For example, the amount of dust thrown and collected is one issue. I use the saw with a shop vac on the dust outlet. Used straight down on the workpiece like a chopsaw it throws quite a bit of dust. But if you start the cut with the saw close to you and cut full depth towards the back, it throws almost no dust that the vac doesn't pick up. (I DO wish DeWalt had seen fit to design it for a 2.5 inch vac hose rather than 1.25 to increase the air flow and dust capture.)

Also I've seen gripes about the material supports, but I don't understand why. The saw can be positioned anywhere along the rail of the stand, so if the saw is set at one end, support is available on the rail infinitely out to 4 feet and then the adjustable support adds another 3.5 feet. I suppose cutting a miter on the end of a 20 foot long board would demand additional support -- but DeWalt must have found that's a rarity and didn't want to add the extra weight -- understandable.

Finally, availability of the 8.5 inch blade is NOT an issue. I found 60 tooth carbide tipped blades made by the GREEN Japanese tool company both at Lowes and online at Amazon for less than $30. They make a beautiful cut. Several other makes of the 8.5 blades are available too -- but their prices are generally substantially higher.

Hope this corrects some misleading information in a few reviews.

Let me start off by saying that I have yet to find any miter saw that I would rate at five stars(although I do believe I rated the 12" Dewalt slide at 5 stars) because every manufacturer does put profit above product. However, I do like this saw very much. Slide is smooth, fence height good(when will Makita and Hitachi finally get the fence height right and even on both sides), lever action miter lock is awesome(knobs stink), blade deflection is good(it is only a 8-1/2 blade afterall), overall a really good saw. Dust collection complaints are irrelevant, as anyone expecting a slider miter saw to have good dust control lives in the world of clean radial arm saws too. I have yet to figure out what a "material hold down clamp"(or work clamp) is, but if I ever do, it means that I cut off on of my arms/hands and should not by using this saw anyway(we pros dont have time for clamping down wood prior to cutting it[short pieces should be cut from a long one, afterall]). I would buy another one in an instant.

Fine tool in most respects. It is very accurate and well made. The bevel gauge however is inaccurate: 0 degrees is a 90 degree cut. However when the blade is tilted to 45 degrees the gauge reads at 46 degrees. This means you have to fudge bevels (already difficult to get right) when cutting crown moulding on the flat. Ie. a 33 degree bevel must be cut at 32 2/3 degrees on the scale. Its a pretty anoying flaw in an otherwise sensibly engineered saw. I emailed Dewalt and got a lame, formula answer.
The saw is about about 42 lbs. but feels lighter than my Dewalt 12" compound saw (which is the same weight, or a little less). The compactness of the tool is one reason I bought it...its easy to carry without a lot of shin-banging. The motor is powerful and the tool feels nice to use. Larger sliders have considerably more blade deflection, making for less accurate cuts. I built furniture and cabinetry, so cutting 4 x 4s is not a usual thing for me. This saw performs well. I would be curious to try the Hitachi and the new 29 lb. Makita.

I researched for months and found the reviews at Amazon made me decide on this saw. Almost bought the 8 1/2" Hitachi but comment about D Handle is right on. The vertical handle Hitachi has is awkwade and unconfortable to use. A lot of cutting fatigues the wrist. D Handle is great. Blade with the Dewalt cuts beautiful, cutting MDF 3/4" like butter and clean. Also crosscutting 24" stock with full 12" pass and fliping material. The slide makes it easy to line up exact ( no power on first to allign after flip). I like all the notches in the adjusting curve and I adjusted the 90 degree, easy with wrench that came with saw. Has a depth gauge that can be adjusted if you want to cut groves and not go through material. Easy flips out of way. Asked Carpenters in my development why they use Dewalt, answer, they like the saws and they are accurate, good enough for me. I am cutting material for finish carpentry and love the saw. Weight is very important to me and this saw is portable and light.
Saw came in 2 days with the free shipping, can't beat that!
Tony - Hamilton, NJ

Picked up this saw this past summer our local bigbox had it on clearance. I have nothing bad to say about this saw. I was debating between a 12" slider (either the Rigid or Dewalt) and this 8 1/2". What made up my mind was, a friend of mine bought the 12" Rigid Slider. Although it's a good saw, its a monster to lug around. One of the features I wanted in a saw was portability. This Dewalt is very easy to transport around and set up, it's lightweight but seems very durable. It has a very nice fence system, it moves between angles very smoothly, some sliders I looked at just felt very "cheesy" when you moved the mechanism between angles, this one does not. It was accurate right out of the box, both on the 90 & 45. I had to rebuild my cedar deck this past summer and replaced all boards with 2x treated wood. This saw handled all the cutting tasks (both 2x4 thru x10's) with ease. The only thing this saw won't handle that the 12" will is cutting 4x4's. But to me that's a small price to pay for the added portability, I don't find myself needing to cut 4x4's very much anyways, but if you do this saw isn't for you. The blade that comes with a saw never plays a part in my decision to buy a certain saw of not, I expect cheap blades anyways. But the blade that comes with this saw is better than average. I cut alot of 2x stock and haven't changed the blade yet. Bottom line, if you do trim work from site to site, don't have a need to cut 4x4's, I highly recommend this 8 1/2" saw.

Overall I think this saw is an excellent saw,it cuts smooth and acurate and is lightweight.Ther are a couple of things I was dissapoionted with,first of all the if you are going to do any kind of finish work you need to replace the factory blade which is only good for cutting 2x's and a good blade is going to cost you and extra $100 or so.I was also dissapointed that the saw was not manufactured in the USA,the technical details provided in the review stated it was, and that played a large part in my descision to purchase this saw.Last of all the saw could of least came with dust bag which costs an additional $15.Whith the addition of a new blade and dust collection the performance of this saw is very good.

I got my DeWalt saw a month or so ago for use on job sites. The first project I did with it was to build a 100 square foot sauna with three rows of benches.

The saw was dead on accurate right out of the box. I was immediatly impressed with its light weight and compact size. The saw cuts beautifully and slides nicely on the rails. It is also much quieter than other miter saws I have used. The cutting capacity rivals bigger saws, except you can't cut a 4X4 in one pass (something a trim carpenter/woodworker like myself never does). The horizontal handle is very comfortable to use, even after long days. The depth stop is perfect for jobsite dados.

Dust extraction was good. It does not come with a bag, but I noticed most of the dust escaping through the port. When I hooked the saw up to my Fein vacuum, the dust collection was very good.

The supplied blade is suitable for most carpentry, but is not sufficient for nice trim work. The nice thing about an 81/2 inch blade though is that a new one won't break your wallet like the 12 inch blades will.

Overall, a very nice, light, and compact saw, which exceeded my expectations for the $399.00 price. It is the first saw that I have seen designed for the woodworker or trim carpenter. If portability is important to you, this is an outstanding saw. If you are going to set it up relatively permanently in your shop, then I would suggest a 10 inch slider (Makita makes a nice one). I can't imagine a need for a 12 inch slider.

I picked up the Dewalt 712 to replace my 10" makita. Cuts smooth and was cutting square out of the box. The one thing I found was when you finish the cut, you have to make sure the saw head has been pushed all the way back or else it leaves a small amout of material uncut. They need to push the fence forward a 16th of an inch. Also for $400.00 they should include a dust bag! Overall a good quality saw.