DeWalt Reviews

I just got mine today so I have not alot of time invested in using it .
My nice bosch was destroyed being run over in the parking lot which was a great loss to me .
Not having the funds to spring for another new bosch at the present and since I can't live without a jigsaw this one looked like it may fit the bill .
I read many reviews here tryong to decide which would be the best buy for the money I had . The reviews did not look too good for the dewalt 321 or the 318 but no one had bashed this model yet .
I must admit when I got it I had doubts mainly because of the other dewalt model reviews and this saw did not have quite the same design as the bosch as far as the blade change and the shoe did not have positive locks as the bosch offers , but the 317 does offer a adjustable scale so once you set the base a perfect 90 degrees and adjust the scale to line up with that mark it cuts a 90 degree cut pretty well , at least i had no problem .
It does not have a blower to push saw dust off the line but I noticed the motor cooling fan did a pretty good job on it's own .
I was not certain about the blade guide since the other dewalt models seemed to present a blade drift problem on the 321 and 318 . I thought looking at the design and testing it it would be easy for the blade to leave the roller guide but in actual use the pressure from the blade against the roller held it in place even on curves . I cut straight and curves in 3/4" hard crate wood which was knotty and had warp and was harder than pine and the saw did the job even with the cheap blade provided . I realized i did not have the saw on orbit at all and once swithced it cut even faster and better along with a smoother finish cut .
The saw does not vibrate any more than the bosch did and I usually cut at about the middle speed but even on high the vibration was no worse than the bosch .
So I was surprised . I can't say how long this saw will hold up and I will use a jigsaw before any other saw I have so it will get alot of use .
I am not concerned with any cut other than the 90 dgree setting so a toolless base adjustment is useless to me .
The blade change works well , it's a U - shaped lever you lift and release , so removing a hot blade is easy and a new blade can be installed with one hand .
The case the saw comes in seems sturdy and has room and it has a real hinge not a fold over break off flex hinge .
I imagine with better quality blades this saw will work even better , I can't imagine why on earth dewalt would only provide one blade and such a cheap one at that , this does not reflex much thought to instill confidence in this saw .
It's not a bosch or a milwaukee but it does come close enough for me for now , it has plenty of power and is well made and the fit is as good as most dewalt tools or most other power tools at $180 in the jigsaw range .
It has a adjustable dial in the trigger for variable speed , I need to get used to this , the bosch was a separate dial and electronic .

After i use it more and with better blades I report back . For now it does do a real good job and I do hope it remains this way . I don't see any reason it should not but i can't say at ths point . It is far above all the other jigsaws I saw even near this price . One nice feature is the way the front of the handle rounds down , it makes a real nice stable steering grip , not a tall block like many others .

I bought this saw a few months ago and am quit impressed. It has a huge amount of torque for a non worm gear drive. It will easily rip a wet hemlock rough 2x4 lengthways as fast as you can push the saw. The only two minor drawbacks are that it will not sit upright, the shoe is to narrow, and it is quit heavy. After running this saw for a half hour my forearm is sore for two days. The only advantage to the narrow shoe is that it allows closer cutting.

This frame is easy to use and makes into a stationary belt sander fast. It also works vertical and horzional making two machines out of one.

If you've never used hook & loop sandpaper before, it's way better than adhesive backed. You don't need to worry about the sandpaper sliding around as it heats up--it really stays in place. I use the 80 grit first on clean up work on metal (aluminum), then up through the grits.

I upgraded from a B&D belt sander so this was quite a jump up in quality. It is sturdy, solid, well made, and has lots of power. The sanding belt tracked perfectly when in use and I was glad to not have to contantly mess with the tracking adjustment as I did on my old B&D BS. The spring loaded lever to change belts worked as designed and was easy to use. The dust collector bag and how it connected to the sander didn't work very well. A little tweaking of the bag is required to get it to fit proprerly and then the bag lock clip seemed kind of flimsy. The bag also didn't seem to collect a lot of dust. After extensive sanding, I had more dust in my lungs, face, hair, and shirt; then I did in the DC bag. I wasn't concerned about the lack of variable speed since I would rather vary MY sanding speed (and technique) instead of the sanders speed. IMHO I think variable speed in a belt sander causes more problems than it solves. All in all, I am really happy with this sander and would have given it 5 stars except for the ill fitting and ill operating dust collection system.

I have never used one of these before I purchased this one. We use pneumatic versions in our shop at work (I'm the shop manager there), to clean up metal surfaces before we reassemble pumps. I bought this grinder with the idea that I would use it for sanding, and specifically to cut a metal frame out of a window in my old house. It did work, but was very hard to control. It is heavy after using for a few minutes. You need both hearing protection and eye protection (ANSI Z71 safety glasses are a must with this thing) to use it safely.

I recommend it for what it is, but if you buy it go slowly and try a few test cuts before jumping into your project, especially if you are a novice at using one of these (like me).

I used this blade on a recent roofing job. To cut a groove in a chimney, while installing some flashing.This blade turns brick into a cloud of red dust leaving a very precise and clean cut. I was more than pleased with the results.Two thumbs up on this blade.From my experience it goes through brick like a hungry monster.I do recommend this blade highly.Now get out there and cut some bricks.

I bought this to cut some holes in a driveway to plant some small trees. It worked jsut fine for that.

Make sure that when you order the grinder and its guard, that you order the flange and nut (sold in the guard kit). I've been told by telephone sales that they are not included.

This is a nice litte blade. It comes with the DC385 Recipricating saw. I have abused the blade and it has only worn off the paint. I would not hesitate to purchase this blade again when a replacement is needed.