Great saw. Feels much lighter than my big 12 inch Dewalt. After using a sliding miter saw for so long I am glad that Dewalt has made one that I can move around without throwing out my back. There are lighter saws on the market but they are not sliding. To me a sliding miter is much better than any regular miter saw. I got this saw about a month ago and used it to cut treated 2×4 ‘ s and spindles on a deck job. The saw worked great and cut through the material accurately and easily. The stock blade works great for framing but is not intended for fine finish work. I would recommend this saw to anyone who is looking for a light and portable saw that can do pretty much everything a 12 ” can do with less weight. Reviews of DEWALT DW712 8-12-Inch Single-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

I have owned Makita, Delta, and Hitachi compound miter saws. Most larger saws have too much ” head flex ” if you are into precision cuts, you will know that term well. The reason I bought this saw, is because it has that precision cutting and well engineered from ITALY. Read the small print on the motor. I almost bought the Hitachi, but the Hitachi does not have good fences on both sides and the Hitachi is a little awkward. It ‘ s like buying an italian sports car, this is the Lamborghini of compound miter saws. Reviews of DEWALT DW712 8-12-Inch Single-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

I work back stage in a small but well equipped community theatre in Brooklyn. We build both back stage and on stage so all our big saws have to be mobile. We have pretty good tools, pneumatics, table saw, etc. and 10 ” Delta chopper mounted on a a ‘ Sidewinder ‘ fold up cart. I have been eying a new slider and new bench for some time and finally got it. The saw mounted easily on the the Rousseau bench.

Most of our materials are 1 ” to 2 ” thick so this is an prototype saw for us. I have not used a slider before, but had used radial arms – very coincidental cutting feel; silky compared to the decrepit chopper. Perfect and smooth cuts. Also bought one of those laser guides ( Laser Cutting Example – northern tool ) – what a collection.

Contrary to the other review, blades ARE available, but not so readily as say a 7 – 1 / 2 or 10 inch. Try Home Depot or Lowes for sure, or probably any other large building materials supplier. Unlikely at a local ” mom and pop ” hardware. They were listed on Amazon too, but there was some glitch in their supply resulting in an extremely long delay in delivery, so I cancelled. I have three 60 tooth blades and they work great with the saw. Reviews of DEWALT DW712 8-12-Inch Single-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

I totally disagree with all of the negative reviews posted. The saw I received had none of the defects mentioned. The accuracy is excellent and I can make repeated cuts that are accurate enough for fine carpentry. Mechanical actions are all silky smooth. The bevel can be set to precise settings. All of the controls are placed logically and are right where you would expect to find them. The sawdust collector works well. I would buy the item again and I ‘ ve already recommended it to several friends. The item arrived a couple days early.Reviews of DEWALT DW718 Heavy-Duty 15 Amp 12-Inch Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

I ‘ ve owned this saw for about a year and I continue to be impressed with it ‘ s quality, ease of use and accuracy. I own a small cabinet shop and bench – mounted this saw to cut everything from face frames to intricate crowns. The indents were absolutely accurate right out of the box, and I especially appreciate the ease of locking in any angle. My shop space is limited and being able to mount the saw only 17 – 1 / 2 ” from the fence to the back wall is a real bonus. Because of it ‘ s size and weight I ‘ d think twice about using it as a portable saw, but as a bench mounted unit it can ‘ t be beat.Reviews of DEWALT DW718 Heavy-Duty 15 Amp 12-Inch Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

I been a woodworker for 47 + years. Reading some of the reviews of this saw, I must be either very lucky or Dewalt has made improvements. I used a DW 716 for two years and liked it so much that I bought the DW718 three years ago to replace a 20 yr old Delta CMS, even after reading the poor accuracy reviews. I have not had the accuracy or quality problems described by some. I haven ‘ t had any problem with it maintaining accuracy from one cut to the next and it is my most used shop tool. I should note that my saw leads a sheltered existence. I leave it attached to the DW 723 stand in my shop and rarely move it although I have taken it to several job sites to trim out houses.
I also admit that I check and adjust it if needed at the start of each job as I was taught to do with all my tools by a crackerjack cabinet lord 45 years ago. I have to adjust it far less than either my table or radial arm saw.
The only thing I dislike about it the poor dust collection. I ‘ ve found it halfway impossible to coadunate the dust port to my central collection system. When I jury – rigged a connection, it didn ‘ t work well enough to justify the dilemma.
One last thought. I got a really good deal ( under $400 ) on my DW718 so I am not just defending a tool I paid too much for as a few of the less happy reviewers have suggested.Reviews of DEWALT DW718 Heavy-Duty 15 Amp 12-Inch Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

I am a carpenter by day and operate a small furniture building business nights and weekends. This saw has been with me for 2. 5 + years now and gets used daily for all types of woodworking. Sometimes framing or trim, but mostly cutting parts for fine furniture. The blade that came with it is junk for anything but framing. With a good tune up and a Forrest Chopmaster blade, this saw is capable of doing extremely precision work. The following is a review I posted on a woodworking newsgroup shortly after I purchased the saw. It explains what I was looking for and why I bought the DeWalt:
” Well, after 6 weeks of borrowing co – band saws to trim houses out because
I couldn ‘ t make up my wits on which saw to replace my old 12 ” Ridgid MS, I
made the judgment yesterday to buy a new one. The choices narrowed down to
two, Hitachi ‘ s 10 ” slider, which I ‘ ve used positively. The Bosch 10 ”
slider, which I ‘ ve never actually used, but the upfront bevel lock was worth
putting it at the top of the catalogue. The new 12 ” DeWalt slider, which I
happened across browsing the tool section of HD earlier this week, was a
tardy entry in the running, but worth adding to the brochure.
I went out yesterday to get the Bosch. I own many Bosch tools and have
been very pleased with all of them. After playing with the Bosch a while,
sequentially putting the saw through the motions as I would if I were really
cutting with it, I couldn ‘ t avail thinking about that DeWalt. Decisions,
Decisions, Decisions!!!
Anyway, I decided to drive over to the HD to give the Dewalt a second
look. On the way there, I put together the perfect miter saw in my gray matter,
somewhere combining all the things I ‘ ve liked about saws I ‘ ve used over my
18 years as a carpenter into one perfect saw. Expert I ‘ ll never find this
one, I ‘ m gonna settle for the one that is as close as possible. Here ‘ s the
catalogue:

I was very happy with how accurate the fence on my mitre saw was right out of the box. The saw is still fairly new, but feels very sturdy and powerful to me so far. All of my cuts and projects have turned out great, and this saw has been so much better than my old craftsman saw I owned. I mounted my saw on a Ridgid Mitre Saw Utility Vehicle and like the feel of this setup. If you are a contractor and move your saw around alot, try securing it to the Ridgid MSUV, its a very sturdy platform for a portable stand. I recomend this saw to anyone, I am very pleased to finally have one after wanting it for the past six months. I think there must have been some early problems with the saw. Reading all the reviews, it seems the people all had the same problems more in the begining than they do more recently. I am sorry to all of those people who had a bad experience and did not like the saw. So far I love it! Last… If you are a real woodworker, you would know that the 40 tooth blade it comes with is not something that you use on fine finish work. The 40 toother is just a all around construction blade. If you want smooth razor sharp cuts, you need to start with atleast a 60 tooth – at the least. I prefer an 80 tooth for most furniture and trim work.Reviews of DEWALT DW718 Heavy-Duty 15 Amp 12-Inch Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

I have owned my DW718 for a couple of months now and have not experienced any of the problems other reviewers have mentioned. I have found the saw to be strudy, well constructed and capable of repeated accurate cuts. I have used it to cut everything from crown moulding to large tembers. My saw is rather new so maybe many of the problems of earlier production have been corrected. I am quite pleased.Reviews of DEWALT DW718 Heavy-Duty 15 Amp 12-Inch Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw