DeWalt tell us that they have 54% of the UK mitre saw market which means that the other 46% is divided up among Makita, Bosch, Hitachi ,Festool and a few more also rans. That is an impressive market share but despite that, DeWalt for some reason, didn’t have a ten inch saw. They jumped up from an 8.5inch to a 12inch saw and that saw is seen on nearly every building site in the UK, and probably accounts for much of their market dominance. So apart from slightly better portability than its bigger brother what has the ten inch brought to the party? |
Let me first nail my colours to the mast. Up until the introduction of this DeWalt 10 inch saw, if money were no object I would probably have said the Festool 10 inch was the best option, simply because of Festools pedigree. Festool is generally regarded as being right up there in woodworking. The only reason they don’t sell more is the price, but on quality and features, this DeWalt saw gives them a run for their money and in some important respects, beats them into a cocked hat (whatever this is). |
Take the laser or in this case lack of it.
These days everything seems to be guided by lasers and while in some tools it is a gimmick, in mitre saws it has a real benefit. It saves you laying the non rotating blade down on the cut line before you fire up. That is the theory at any rate and if you are doing first fix work the laser is near enough, but then most carpenters can near enough guess where the blade is going to fall. Where the laser really helps is on second fix work and joinery. If you are cutting architraves or pelmets 2 mm is a lot. Lasers can give you this sort of accuracy but they fall on one side of the line and it is always the side you want. Some manufacturers get over this by making the laser switch able between left and right or by putting a laser down each side. |
DeWalt’s patented (almost) idea is called XPS and it is simply to shine an led light down from the top of the blade. The only place the light doesn’t fall is where the blade is. It is like a noon shadow right over head. That gives you an accurate guide of where the blade will touch the wood so you can position your pencil line where you want. Unlike lasers this doesn’t have to be adjusted to be accurate, because the light can’t do anything but create a shadow where the blade is, so even if you put in a thicker blade the shadow remains faithful. The bonus is that you also get a light shinning on your work-piece so it is easier to see what you are cutting. |
Belt drive versus direct drive |
These days a lot of double bevel mitre saws are direct drive which is generally a good idea until you stall the motor or cut through a nail. If you are unlucky the shock will knock a cog off the drive, but with a belt you have disengagement between motor and blade. Agreed it might slip once in a while and it will wear out one day but I have been running a belt driven saw for eight years with no problem. |
Accuracy is all. I have had a great deal of fun in the past testing mitre saws by making a simple picture frame. Most saws need setting up straight out of the box, but if you think that means you can then forget it run a square up against any blade on any saw and see how accurate it is. Vibration and shock loads don’t help, but some saws cope better with rough handling than others. Eight supposedly 45 degree mitres don’t always get you square. |
Apart from being knocked out, the presets can wear out.
Aluminium will wear fairly quickly and plastic gives even from new. DeWalt and Festool both go for stainless steel presets which resist wear. DeWalt also mills out the table to accommodate the rear fence, so you can be sure that it isn’t going to move about in its lifetime.
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Another handy thing about the rear fence is that it has screw holes so you can screw a length off wood to the fence to bring the work-piece out a bit. This is handy when you are trench cutting because you get the full depth right to the back of the cut. |
Rock & Roll |
While you are looking at the table run a straight edge across it. You can see from the photograph that the DeWalt cutting channel insert is below the table so it allows the wood to lie flat. Incredibly on some saws the work-piece actually rocks in the middle. If you think I am making a mountain out of a molehill here then you are a carpenter not a joiner. Nobody wants to be cutting mitres on mouldings that are wobbling. |
On sliding rail saws it is also worth giving the rail mechanism a little wiggle before you buy it. It is one of the first things I do to any saw, and though I thought this saw had no noticeable play, I have found play of a millimetre on some makes and this is when they are new. That can’t improve with time and DeWalt has acknowledged that sliding rail bearing can wear by providing an adjustment on that bearing. |
There are many other features on this saw such as improved dust extraction provided of course that you hook it up to a good extractor. For other details the specification sheet tells all. If you are looking for a ten inch I don't think you will be disappointed with this little beauty. |
Specification |
- Amps - 15 Amps
- No Load Speed - 4,000 rpm
- Blade Diameter - 10"
- Arbor Size - 5/8"
- Vertical Capacity: Baseboard against fence - 6" L - 3-1/2" R
- Vertical Capacity: Crown Molding Vertically Nested - 6- 1/4"
- Horizontal Capacity: Baseboard Lying Flat - 14"
- Horizontal Capacity: Crown Molding Lying Flat - 10- 3/4"
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