Dewalt Miter Saw DWS 780
Created in 1924 by Raymond Dewalt the Dewalt tool company in a sense has stood the test of time. After over 100 years, and numerous companies acquisitions the name Dewalt lives on. Dewalt’s first major hit production was the radial arm saw, which is considered to be the miter saws predecessor. That being said the Dewalt DWS 780 should be thought of as the culmination of 95 years of innovation.
Standing alone as my first and only miter saw I purchased the DWS 780 two years ago for $599 at my local big box store. This was a big purchase for me at the time. It seemed to me that this miter saw was the one for me, and the 95 years of innovation I paid for has lived up to the name.
That being said there are 5 criteria I judge every tool around.
Cost - I place Cost above all else because you’ll find that there is no end to how much tools can cost. When you go down this rabbit hole, you can probably find a super expensive version of this tool that will do what you want, 20x’s faster, be automated, and tell you where you left your keys.
Performance - Does it do what I paid for it to do? Can it perform the task I need it do well?
Durability - How long will it do what I ask it to do? Is it flimsy? Does it feel “cheep?” It can be a little difficult to use as long as it’s going to stand the test of time. A new tool that’s easy to use but breaks immediately is worth less than a tool that is “fidgety” but lasts forever.
Ease of use - After I buy a tool the first thing I do after opening it is throw the instructions immediately into the trash. This is because I’m a man… and that’s what we do. It’s to test the tools ease of use. Is this thing easy to use? Is it intuitive? Does it have a million parts? If I have to put this thing together, does it make sense? If, the answer to any of these questions is unfavorable I run to the trash and get the directions out.
Aesthetics - I’m not too picky. Aesthetics doesn’t mean much as long as the other 4 criteria are met but I don’t want a tool hogging up space in my shop that looks like it came from the stone age.
For simplicity's sake each criterion can only get up to 1 Star. At the end I’ll add the stars up. No scale and no math. Highschool was almost 25 years ago. I’m not using any equations to review tools.
1) COST - .5 ⭐
The cost of this machine is nothing to “thumb your nose” at. At the time of this post the saw comes in at around $600. While this can sound like a high price, it comes in at less than half the cost of the Festool KAPEX. You have to consider what it is you expect to build because you can also buy a 7.25” saw that slide or bevel for $119 at the local big box store. There are literally multiple manufacturers that make dozens of variations of this style saw but the Dewalt DWS is a 12” double bevel sliding miter saw. At this price point, it’s important to consider what you expect to get out of the saw you choose.
2) PERFROMANCE - .75 ⭐
This saw came out of the box almost perfectly calibrated. The detents were spot on but non sliding 90 degrees cut took a smidge of work. The bevel stops were also nearly spot on. Deflection of the blade and handle are basically zero when the head is pushed fully back. It does deflect a smidge when pulled fully forward at full extension, but it’s only a generally a hair amount that can be sanded out. The blade that came with it is good enough, but I naturally upgraded it immediately. If you’re considering buying the Dewalt DWS779 go ahead and pony up a little extra cash for the XPS system. The shadow cutline system is hands down a game changer. The Dewalt DWS780’s XPS system allows you test where your cut will be down thickness of a pencil line. This makes those “creep up on” adjustments very simple. The one of the major benefits I was looking for was cut capacity. The Dewalt DWS780 technically has a larger cut capacity 4.4” thick and 13.75” wide while the Festool KAPEX can only cut 3.5” thick and 12” wide. So, no 4x4’s for the KAPEX. No deck building for the KAPEX. This is because the Dewalt Head and support bars slide through the base and the KAPEX slides the head of the saw through the base mounted bars. This might be the source of the Dewalt DWS780’s greatest strength and weakness. Everything on the Dewalt saw performs beyond expectations except one thing. The dust collection sucks. OR actually doesn’t suck very well at all. From what I see from online the KAPEX has great dust collection at the cost of cut capacity. Is this the trade off that breaks the deal for you? Do you want to pay 3x’s more for smaller cut capacity to get better dust collection?
***All this being said I found an aftermarket upgrade that is a game changer for the Dewalt DWS780!***
After realizing how bad the dust collection was, I turned to the ever-omnipotent Google. I found a great online store called Shop Nation. These guys make great aftermarket upgrades for power tools. Using 3D printing technology Shop Nation creates easy to install products to correct your power tools worse feature. The kit I purchased for about $50 came with a new intake, hose, and multiple outlet adapters that easily synced with my dust collector. They even provide a video that step by step explains how to install. The best part is installation only takes a few minutes and a screw driver. Check it out at DeWalt DWS779/780 Sliding Miter Saw Dust Collection This upgrade dramatically increased the DWS780 dust collection!
3) DURABILITY - 1 ⭐
So far, I have had zero issues with my Dewalt saw’s durability. It performs well after 1000’s of cuts. Which is, for some reason, not what I’ve seen online about the Festool KAPEX. Festool says that they have fixed this issue but when I bought my Dewalt saw the KAPEX was notoriously known for motors that would burn out. Now personally for $1600 I expect the most important part of my tool to function well. Dust collection doesn’t matter if the tool can’t cut some wood.
4) EASE OF USE - .75 ⭐
Dealing with dust collection is terrible. For almost $600 I expect this tool to come with at least a decent dust collection setup. It came with a bag… I suspect the problem comes the stock molded plastic pipe. It connected easily to my dust collector with adapters, but the intake end was rather small and had a very narrow shape to it.
All the other functions perform 100% as advertise. It came out of the box nearly perfect when it comes to detents, stops, and cut angles, and calibration is simple. All setup calibrations can be performed in minutes with the provided custom torx headed hex wrench. Even changing the blade only takes a few minutes. I even used the stock blade for a about a month and tear out wasn’t terrible. It worked well for framing my elevated bucket garden. Operation is intuitive and becomes “second nature” within a few times of use.
5) AESTHETICS - 1 ⭐
Not only do I love the yellow and black color scheme, but this machine looks sharp. It’s got some weight on it and appears “beefy.” It’s not oddly blocky like it came from a 1980 automobile magazine and doesn’t look it’s trying to be a space aged prototype.
