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I ahve been looking at this saw for the last month, the list price anywhere has NEVER been more than $525 and its on sale at Lowes for $499. The list price here is $966, on sale for $499. Shame on you Amazon com
No major adjustments needed out of the box. The box showed no signs of damage to indicate the problem was due to a shipping problem.Questionable engineering quality: The throat plate and the blade guard/splitter assembly re-design appear to address defects with the original saw design. The old splitter only had one position, and required adjustment using shims - no shims with the new splitter.The new saw set up was as advertised. The new saw comes with a push stick.I've not used the saw yet, so I have no feedback on operational quality.However, if you're thinking about buying this saw, make sure you get the new saw with the design fixes mentioned above (look for new blade guard style and included push stick).
Here is a link to the Dewalt web page with a picture of the new saw - note the change in blade guard.[.].Summary observations:Questionable manufacturing quality: The fence and rack-and-pinion mechanism on the first saw were not even close to being adjusted correctly. Furthermore, I was not able to align the fence following the instructions in the manual - fence was still ~1/8 inch out of alignment with blade.Amazon customer service was fantastic. Questionable documentation quality: The original documentation indicated the saw comes with a push stick. Apparently, the old non-locking plate is dangerous, because the manual issues a warning to always have the plate locked when the saw is in use.2) The blade guard, anti-kickback mechanism, and splitter have been totally redesigned. Out of the box, the rip fence was more than 1/2" out of alignment (manual indicates the fence should be pre-aligned at the factory). The CSR issued me an RMA for the defective saw, and had a replacement saw over nighted to me.The replacement saw apparently is the latest Dewalt revision. The splitter now has two positions: one for through cuts, and a second for non-through cuts. The fence is perfectly parallel with the blade.
In fact, it only came with instructions on how to make a push stick. The rip fence on the first saw I received would not align parallel to the blade. It has a couple of design fixes:1) The throat plate is redesigned with a lock-down mechanism. The new saw also comes with a push stick.
As i work on my own the additional 30 inches of outfeed support has to be balanced against the extra weight. The threaded bar that is attached to the handle that raises and lowers the blade is exposed, hence the threads get clogged with saw dust. I stripped out the threads in the bolt housings which unfortunatly are part of the cast table. This is not a huge issue for me as i rarely use it, when i do use the mitre gauge i push against the side of the mitre slot nearest the blade when making a cut. I removed it, it might be intended to be left in place if a shop-vac were attached to the dust port. The saw sits securely on the stand and has all the power anyone should need in a contractor saw. The mitre gauge seems as on all contractor saws to have been a bit of an after thought, there is a 1/16 of an inch of slop between the gauge bar and the gauge slots. This always seems to happen no matter how many times i re-adjust the fence.
It is ideally a two man lift not so much because of the weight but because it's awkward to man handle on your own, owing to the large table. I also removed the blade guard and the riving knife, these imo are workshop acessories. Making it almost impossible to raise and lower the blade, i modified a piece of plastic tubing with a slightly larger diametre than the threaded bar by slitting it down the middle and slipping it over the bar. There are two 10mm bolts under the fence at the back of the table which need to be loosened to adjust the fence for parrallel. I recently went to re-adjust the fence and ended up tightening the bolts when i should have been loosening them, this sometimes happens when the bolt heads are facing down rather than up. This has kept the saw dust off.In conclusion i would'nt advise someone working jobsites on their own to buy this saw, it's just a bit too heavy and awkward.
I place the fence on the right hand side of the blade so the rip scale is set for me, anyone who sets the fence on the left will have to use their tape measure. I took the saw to the service centre and they gave me three options, thread locking compound, a new table, or a new saw. There is onboard storage for spare blades and blade spanners, it's a pity Dewalt couldn't have included a cord wrap and onboard storage for the mitre gauge. I also purchased the additional outfeed and side supports which are great but they also add weight to the saw which have made it even heavier. The rack and pinion fence is excellent and the best on the market in my opinion.
There is an aluminum shield with a rubber extension which covers the bottom of the blade underneath the saw, this seemed to be holding the sawdust and overheating the motor. Expensive mistake. I choose the tread locking compound as a temporary fix, a new table will cost me 250 Euro. I bought this saw primarily as a job site saw but it has seen some service in the workshop as well. The rip scale was out by a 1/16 of an inch and the fence was a 1/32 of an inch out of parallel with the blade.
Ideally i'd leave the DW744 in the workshop and buy the DW745 which has the same size motor but with a reduced rip capacity and hence smaller table.Just a little update on the above, the fence on my saw has a tendancy to drift towards the back of the blade which burns my stock as it clears the blade.
I really wanted the Bosch 4100 or the Ridge models with wheel. good powerBad:1). I think it made from plastic with a very thin metal plate on it. Rip Fence - it rack and pinion design is great, and easy to operation. Stands/legs are stable4). However, those are priced at around $600, which is too much for my budget and use purpose. And I used this saw for 5 months now.Overall, the goods are: 1). meansure can only set from cutting from Right, not like Ridge model which has retractable measure, allowing you to measure from both left and right.3).
I need it to cut 4' x 6' boards, and similiar size boards in general. easy to set up.5). need to do a lot of adjustment: like realign the rip scale. rip fence need to realign parallel to the blade4). Throat plate is kind of cheap. off by 0.75".
(yes, got it for a famous national hardware retailer, and authorized dealer) I got comments that it should be better than the Craftsman saws. For sure not solid metal.5). It allows accurate measure easier by just "rolling" the wheel.2). And I need a stand, and preferrably with wheel. Anyway, I found this saw on sale at around $300.
Decent size table, and seems durable.3). However, you will need to do a lot of manual adjuestment. Yellow casing seems a little weakOverally, I think it is a pretty decent table saw. I was looking for a table saw for causal use. Since they are similiar priced, I got this model.
2).
THE KNOBED CONTROLLED RACK AND PINION IS THE MOST USER FRIENDLY FENCE OUT THERE COMPARIED TO THE BOSCH OVER TIME ITS FENCE DOES NOT SLIDE HANGS UP PAINFULL AS WITH MOST ALL HAND SLIDING FENCES LIKE THE MAKITA OR RIDGID. WHEN IT GETS WET AND FREEZES THE FENCE NEEDS TO BE HEATED BEFORE USING. A PORTABLE JOB SITE SAW MUST BE STURDY AND POWERFULL AND THIS SAW IS. THIS SAW IS NOT PERFECT I HAVE BURNED UP 2, SMOKED THEM ASKING TOO MUCH FROM THAT MOTOR.
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