Power Saws Reviews

I have owned this table for 4 years now. Let me tell you about it. First the main table saw cast iron surface is not flat, there is a bow making it hard to align the blade at 90 degree. The blade insert is of thin cast aluminum and is bowed as well, not a surprise when you cast something with a long slot in it but inadequate for this use. The dust removal through is inefficient, you'll get dust inside and under the table. The miter saw extension is next to useless. It is also bowed from bad machining process (again a cast iron piece that has not been stress relieved before machining). The result is that it is impossible to align with the main table. The alignment system for the miter saw table is a four point system which means there is one redundant degree of liberty adding more difficulty. The miter attachement is also flimsy and deflects under load, it is very difficult to make straight cuts.

The fence is excellent with its tubular sliding mechanism. The power is good. All in all, a table for carpentry not for cabinet or furniture making where precision cut is needed.

I agree with the other review, Home Depot was rude and my local woodworking shop tried to push a Jet on me. I bought it at Amazon.com. I have the sliding table, 52" fence, both extension tables. My biggest complaint is the rear table is small and being I have it on a mobile base is a pain becuase it does not fold up or down. The saw went together very well and has adjusted perfectly. This is not a slap it together and expect it to be right type of saw. Plan on spending a few days getting it adjusted correctly. I had no issues with the fence or arbor alingment even after checking with a dial indicator. Out of the box the fence head slide stop was broken. I called DeWalt and was very impressed with their service. A new head was shipped promptly.
Side note: Don't ever believe Amazon when they say ships in two -three weeks............ I waited 3 months!!!!! If I was in need of a saw due to failure of my present one I would have cancelled the order. Over all this is a wonderfull piece of equipment and I rate it 95 out of 100....

I'll start with what's really important to me, and then I'll talk about the detractors. I bought this saw five months ago, but before I wrote a review I wanted to get some sawdust on the floor first. Bottom line this table saw cuts wood -- and does it very well. That's why I gave it a five star rating. I suppose a 3hp cabinet saw does a better job, but for a guy cutting wood in his garage that��s a bit of overkill. But hey, if you got the money, go for it.

What do I like about this saw:

-- It's heavy. It doesn't move a bit when you rip a big board.
-- The sliding table is a thing of beauty. It's massive and when you clamp a board on it to cut, momentum carries it thru the blade with no vibration or kick back.
-- The 52 inch fence is dead accurate. The first few weeks I measured every cut with a tape till I realized the fence was more accurate than my tape.
-- The mobile base is worth its weight in gold. It works like a champ.
-- It's made in the USA.

What I don't like:
-- The blade that comes with the saw is mediocre at best. Good for cutting your neighbor��s wood when he mooches off your table saw.
-- The sliding table came wrapped in cosmoline. It took forever to remove, even when I used steel wool.
-- The dust exhaust is at a very awkward angle. I connect it to my portable shop vacuum. Reaching it is a constant bother.

Words of caution:
-- Setting this saw up takes a bit of time. I��ve seen where some say they did it in 3 hours or less. Maybe they did. It took me two days to get it put together and properly tuned. Be prepared, there��s an awful lot of bolts, nuts and washers. This is not an open the cardboard box and start cutting table saw.
-- With the DW746KB model, there is a separate manual for each piece (outfeed table, fence, saw, mobile base, sliding table). The manuals don��t all work in harmony with each other. READ all the manuals first. Then start putting the saw together. HINT: Put the mobile base together first, then build the saw on top of it.
-- Pay very close attention to the tuning procedures. Take a break if you need to. Five months after building this thing, I know I need to go back and do one part of it over again to get it right.

Fine for cutting thin wood or plastic. I wish it cut deeper - say up to 1/2 inch. Also wish there was a way to manually move the blade protector out of the way while cutting.

I got this ool for my science class. We use it for building moust trap cars and it works like a dreem. great construcion and you can even get replacement blades for it. if you build mouse trap care this is a defanite.

I am amazed at the clean cut that this saw makes. I suppose it depends on the material you are cutting, but more often than not get a smooth, precise cut with no ragged edges. The saw is also remarkably easy to guide and cut a straight line. It's very well put together and I've had no negative issues with it whatsoever.

I've been a framing carpenter for 28 years and the Makita 5007NHK is one of the best that I have used. It rips through a 2 inch board with ease. Adjustment screw for a true square cut.
Quick flip of the lever for bevel cuts up to 50 degrees. With this saw I have cut hardiboard, metal roofing, steel rebar, and concrete blocks. That proves how tuff this saw is.

Very good saw, light , good blade visability, powerfull. would definitly buy again

I purchased this circular saw a couple weeks ago to replace my old Black & Decker in preparation for a fairly serious reconstruction of a termite damaged bay window job. It has performed beyond my expectations for the price range. Easy to use and nice clean cuts. Only my Bosch 10" Miter/Slide saw can upstage it, but I consider them equal for the tasks they were designed for. Most of the contractors I know will recommend Makita for a fine quality, dependable, and reasonably priced on the job circular saw. I must add my recommendation as well. Jerry Davis, Michigan

The one set of instructions that came with this item seem to have been generically written to cover all models (maybe) and some of the descriptions of certain features and their safe use do not exist on the model I have, so I'm wondering what else in these instructions do not apply to my model and how can I be sure I am using this one safely.

It is a great addition to yard work tools! It is perfect for light duty work, cutting limbs off trees that your long handled limb pruner will not snip off. Do not try cutting down large trees with this item. It is ecological too in that you don't emit gas fumes into the air while using it. Follow instructions for hassle free cutting! Be sure to use and outdoor rated extension cord with ground plug.

I bought this chain saw for the occasional need and because I got it for only $36 shipped from Amazon.

I have used it now and it is very effective. I wouldn't try to cut down a 30 foot tree with it, but for branches up to 4-5" in diamenter, I think it does a GREAT job very quickly. Just make sure you have a long enough power cord for the job.

I bought this saw instead of the comparable Hitachi because it was a bit lighter and more powerfull. The product details said it has an electric brake, an essential safety feature in my opinion, but it DOES NOT! I will be returning mine and purchasing another, but not from Amazon.

This saw was purchased to replace an underpowered Black & Decker, which bogged down when ripping hardwood trim for bookcases and cabinets. The power of this saw is excellent, although DeWalt's own rip fence flopped around in the slot so badly that the trim cuts were practically useless. I tried putting tape around the rip fence to steady it in the slot, but it didn't help much. Since the saw has good power, I use it to rip plywood panels to size before precision trimming. For basic construction and framing, this saw would probably be more than adequate, but not for precision trim cuts. As others have reported, the shoe flexes too much (probably because DeWalt tried to keep it as lightweight as possible), and when combined with the shaky rip fence slot, it will probably give rough edges to your trim.

Luckily, I haven't noticed the flex in the base that was mentioned by a previous reviewer. I have used this saw for several small projects and am very happy with it.

I do recommend adding the Dewalt edge guide, which is available from Amazon. It slips into a slot on the base and is held in place by a bolt. The edge guide helps in starting and keeping the cut square.

The saw appears to be a good one, however, upon opening the original box, found the end of the securing screw/plate for the item to be sawed broken into several pieces.

It's not a bad chopsaw, but I hate the way the miter lock works. Even when you have it set, if you try and tighten the work a little too much, the angle will move on it's own. Hard to describe, but just don't depend on the miter angle that much.
Besides that, it has great power. Cutting 1/4" square tube will take some time, but that's a given.

I have bought lot's of dewalt tools in the past this chop saw has seen sevear duty in my line of work, it usually performs well but it is very hard on the brushes. It usually FRIES one brush but doesn't hurt the other one hard'ly at all.For the most part it is a pretty good chop saw, that preforms pretty well.

powerful chainsaw for dry wood...wet wood is another matter with this saw. the chain that came with the saw jumped the bar after about 15 minutes of use on the 3rd chain adjustment..you can get a better repalcement chain for it right from home depot. Also the wire coming from the shut off switch keeps working loose from vibration.
it does eat alot of gas but the engine doesnt say maybe as long as the wood is dry.

its an ok saw for the price.. ya get what ya pay for!!!

This is a great chain saw! Great price for 49cc with very easy starting. (This is my second chain saw, after killing a Craftsman 18in.) Please note: the replacement chain part number is wrong in the manual--it's really MC-9220-31B203! So, getting replacement blades is a little harder (not available at Sears), but you can order them with the CORRECT part number from buymtdonline.com.

This saw is easy to start and runs well. The only thing I wish Troybilt would have done was included specs on the chain in the instruction manual for chain sharpening (file size and angle) and replacement. Also, the rpm's on the high side should be a little faster for quicker cuts, but over all, it's a good saw.

It's a good switch, but didn't install as I had anticipated.
I had intended to mount it on the bottom miter track slot, as per instructions. According to the specs for the switch, 'all new Bench Dog router tables come equipped with this slot'. However, the new Bench Dog RT150 ProTop I just purchased did not come equipped with this slot! I did not want to mount it on the fence. It was pretty easy to come up with a good alternate mounting solution. But, if I had known this, I would have purchased a less expensive saftey switch locally.
I guess the 'new' RT150 they sent me wasn't their newest.

I've been working on what I wanted in a router table for awhile and decided to built my own router table into the right extension of my tablesaw which I built to my specifications.
I wanted to use a switch and a miter slot and when I stumbled upon a BenchDog aluminum extrusion for the outer edge this was the perfect switch for it.
Although I struggled with the price and thought about other options I went with this.
You can bolt it to that piece of aluminum and you can move it slide and turn, depending on what side of the table you're going to work on. That was an added bonus for me.
So far so good. I have a router table that look like it was purchased. But then it was wasn't it, I just put it together and routed a hole where I wanted the plate to go. Could just buy the thing all done and saved some time? Well I did use better supporting material making it match my equipment and there's something about making your own stuff that's more satisfying. So much for saving money building yourself. But if I really was interested in saving money I could have just bolted the router to a piece of plywood and clamped it in a vise.

Like all Bench Dog products the quality and ergonomics of this switch are top notch. And like all Bench Dog router table accessories the price of this switch is a little steep. (Hence the 4 stars)
Installation was a snap and I love the option of either mounting it high on the router fence or low under the miter slot.
Use of the switch is straight forward and I like the safety button you have to depress in order to turn it on.
Sure beats squatting down to turn on the router!

Don't buy this saw unless you want a lot of grief. Why? You will not get the Twist Lock Plug that is nessessary to have before you can plug the darn thing in. You would think that Bosch would not be so stupid to leave this critical accessory out. Think you might pick one up at Home Depo or Lowes? Good luck. I even drove across Dallas to the Bosch Service Center (a couple gallons of gas and lots of traffic) to pick one up after I called to make sure they had one in stock. The clerks don't even know enough about this saw to understand it does require a twist lock and not a regular plug as Amazon states in the description. The clerk at the Bosch Service center just shrugged and said he could special order it. I need that saw tomorrow. I have a number of Bosch tools and I am very happy with them. I have ordered several items from Amazon with no problems. But this time I got lots of problems from both. I'm not a contractor, just a home owner. I will try to make something that will work from an extension cord (12Ga) and a twist lock connector I picked up at Home Depo ($48.38). My advice to you is buy another saw unless you really want the grief and added cost in both time and money.

This saw requires a cord with a NEMA L5-20P female twist lock end. I couldn't find one at Home Depot or Lowe's. I needed to use the saw right away so I purchased a standard 25' 12ga extension chord, cut off the female end, and hard wired the cord to the male prongs on the end of the saw. Soldering, heat shrink tubing, electrical tape and an hour and a half to get back to work.
This saw uses a diamond shaped arbor. I am using a Dewalt finishing blade. The Dewalt blade comes set up for a round arbor but a piece can be popped out to fit the diamond shaped arbor.
Once the saw was up and running, I found it to be a dream to use.

Amazon made an important mistake in their description of this item

The phrase "Plug any 12 gauge extension cord directly into the tool" is from a similar model. With the 1677MDT you need a special twist-lock extension cord, which I had to order directly from Bosch, because it seems no one sells them. Not only an unexpected additional expense, but I also couldn't use the saw at all until the cord arrived.

Another thing that's important to know is that Bosch Worm Drive saws take a special kind of 7 1/4 inch blade with a square arbor, not the regular kind of 7 1/4 inch blade with a round hole in the middle.

Following the recomendations of various reviews I purchased this saw to replace a 23 year old Milwaukee that fell 30 feet off a roof bending the plate badly. In six months of owning it both the angle and depth knobs have broken off, the plate flexes badly when used for a depth cut, and today for no apparant reason the guard handle broke off,just sheared right off the guard rendering the saw useless. I own a number of other Bosch tools and can't say enough good about them. For all the obvious excellent engineering the saw has it's not a professionals tool. I fixed the bent plate and put the old Milwaukee back in service.

Purchased saw 4 months ago, depth gage...broken, angle gage...broken, 1 year refund...useless because some pencil pushing consultant at bosch said the saw was misused. The bill to fix the $100 saw is $80. I have a porter cable circular saw that is over 20 years old and has taken twice the beating the bosch will ever see yet nothing is broke on it. The bosch took a 1 foot fall off the underside of a sawhorse and the fall broke the angle gage. The depth gage adjuster broke during regular use. I do not "misuse" my tools but I do use them!

I bought this saw a couple of months ago. Overall I'm really happy with the decision. It's relatively light and well balanced. The sight line is truly the best that I've came across. Angle and depth adjustments could not be any better. I've had no problems at all. The only gripe is that I wish Bosch would include a case instead of the bag for storage. The bag just doesn't protect the saw that well, and there's no pocket for the wrench.

Update: The direct connect cord system is really a pain in the rear. Its not easy to get a cord plugged in. I've bent the prongs several times. I think the prong will break before the year is over. My suggestion is to get a the model with the included cord and leave it plugged in to the saw permanently.