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A serious tool capable of making a wide range of cuts, the DeWalt DW716 Double-Bevel 12-Inch Compound Miter Saw makes use of a 15.0 Amp, 3,600 RPM motor to ensure the power, durability, and versatility that professional craftsmen and women need. 11 positive stops on the adjustable stainless steel detent plate and a cam lock miter handle with detent override make all the most frequently used miter cuts easy to achieve. Furthermore, DeWalt's exclusive back fence makes it possible to cut two by ten dimensional lumber at 90 degree angles and to cut two by eight lumber at 45 degrees, while the unique double bevel design allows you create both left and right bevels from 0 to 48 degrees. Positive stops in commonly used positions make it easy to change the position of the saw instead of flipping the material to give you more complete control. A machined base fence support helps guarantee accuracy, while the innovative engineering behind the gearbox and belt-drive increases vertical cutting capacity. In order to help you take advantage of this capacity, the saws extra-tall fences leave space to cut nested crown moldings up to 6-5/8-inches and base molding up to 6-1/2-inches in a vertical position up against the fence. And you don't have to worry about these fences interfering with bevel cuts, because they slide neatly out of the way. This fully-featured miter saw is relatively lightweight at just 44 pounds, and it offers a built-in carrying handle that makes it easy to move from job to job. It's also noteworthy that this saw is designed for use with the DW7187 DeWalt adjustable miter saw laser system (NOT INCLUDED), which makes the cutting path visible for improved accuracy and easier handling. Included with this saw is a durable carbide blade, a blade wrench, and dust bag to get you started. This DeWalt high-performance industrial tool is backed by a 3-year limited warranty.
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 High Quality Miter Saw |
| Review Date: October 10, 2005 |
| Reviewer: groff5, Metamora, IL USA |
I was ready to upgrade from my Delta 10" miter to a 12", but was waiting for Dewalt to come out with a laser system. I bought this DW716 about 2 weeks ago and so far I love it. I opted NOT to get the sliding miter, since they are not as accurate as the non-sliding, especially for making furniture. This saw is very powerful and smooth, and the laser works well, though it took a while to get it set up (the instructions are marginal at best, leaving you to twiddle with it for an hour or more to try to get it to line up in every direction).
One thing I HIGHLY recommend is a RIDGID MS-UV miter stand. I found one at Home Depot and it is the best miter saw stand on the market, and very reasonably priced. It folds and unfolds easily, and the wheels make mobility great. It is MUCH better than the Dewalt or the Delta miter saw stands. Why Dewalt doesn't have a folding one with wheels is beyond me, and the Delta one is just too small for a 12" miter. The combination of a stand and a 12" miter needs wheels, as it is very heavy. You can leave the Dewalt 12" miter mounted to the RIDGID, and even set it vertically in the corner out of the way when you don't need it. Anyway, Amazon doesn't sell the Ridgid MS-UV yet, but Home Depot does. |
Excellent performer!
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| Review Date: January 9, 2007 |
| Reviewer: gary P., Austin, TX |
I purchased this as a replacement when my original De Walt single bevel 12" mitre saw bit the dust in November, right in the middle of a large deck job. I probably could have repaired the old one but it owed no service, having been with me for over 10 years in remodeling. A carpenter friend on my job last spring purchased the De Walt sliding compound 12" and I had a lot of chances to test drive its capabilities. It was an impressive saw, but it seemed like we really didn't use the sliding feature that much, with the exception of the oak stair treads...it was a great help on that task.
Under the gun to have a mitre saw, I quickly but intensely researched the sliders on the market and read every review I could find (including those at Amazon, thank you very much, fellow woodworkers). What worried me the most about them is, across the board, there seemed to be issues about accuracy due to play in the slider mechanism. Since I do custom work of all types, from framing to quality trim, stairs and built-in cabinets, accuracy in a saw is top on my list. My old De Walt was as accurate at the end of its life as it was when I bought it, with few adjustments needed in between. I looked at most of the popular sliders at the Home Depot and could definitely see how play could be an issue. Add to this their bulkiness and extra weight and you have some serious minuses on the old scoreboard.
So, I decided to stick with the strongarms of the staionary mitre saws, and purchased the double-bevel this time. So far, I have been very pleased. We were building an IPE', or ironwood deck ...one of the heaviest, hardest woods you will come across. With the included 60 tooth blade, the De Walt chewed through the IPE' like it was Spruce. I really think the belt drive on this model is an improvement. I was careful to let the saw get up to RPM (about a second) before starting the cuts, but then it was smooth sailing on even the nitpickiest angle. There is no room for error with IPE'... either it fits or it doesn't. We used the double-bevel feature a lot. It saved time when we had different, slightly off-square cuts to make on both ends of a board...didn't have to turn it end-for-end. When we were finished the deck looked like a piece of furniture, much to the delight of my happy clients.
If I had a con, it would be that the dust collector bag is small and stingy....I am using the one from my old saw. I have bought a better blade for when I do delicate stain-grade finish work, but I have not put it on yet. The 60 tooth works fine for most purposes.
I will try to give an update in 6 months or so. Right now, I'm a happy customer.
UPDATE: May '09 -- OK, so I forgot to do the update. Better late than never. This mitre saw is still going strong, and I use it frequently, though not every day on some jobs. Table still rotates smoothly, and cuts are still accurate and dependable. Still recommend it highly. |
Still a solid daily performer
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| Review Date: June 28, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Building contractor, |
The 716 is still the trusty model 706 saw with 1 change and 1 new feature.
Gone is the twist knob to set the angle,
in its place is a push lock, like a table saw fence, which is quick and easy to use
( make sure you adjust it if its to stiff).
The new preset miter stop release lever is a very nice feature,
allowing you to over or under cut angles without the saw snapping itself into the preset lock
Excellent saw, powerful and accurate. |
excellent saw
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| Review Date: April 14, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Chopper, California |
I have used up several delta 12" compound saws. They were good, but I cut a lot of large aluminum and steel solids on them, and it is very hard on them.
I decided to try this Dewalt because it was belt drive, and I thought that would smooth it out on fierce cuts. That proved to be the case, it has been a very good and very smooth saw. So far, no problems, have had it about a year and half. It also has very good power. Adjustments are easy, table section is reasonably stout.
All in all, I am pleased |
Used by a finish carpenter everyday
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| Review Date: April 2, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Joshua Briere, scv, CA |
| OK so lets make something clear really quick before I talk about the saw. A lot of carpenters ask me what I think the best saw is. Depends on what you do for a living and how you do it. No tool manufacture makes all perfect tools, only some. The Dewalt 12" slider is a piece of junk but this saw rocks. The Bosch jigsaws are amazing tools but Bosch's 10" slider is always a pain to stay square. With that said here is my review on the DW716. I need two saws for being a finish carpenter. A 12" miter saw for cutting big material and big crown and base in position is amazing. I also have a Hitachi 10" slider that I love if I am doing a huge 8-10" crown, paneling, or lid work or small cuts with base cap or even large casing. I've beat the crap out of the DW716, cut miles of base, crown, deck work etc and it does a great job. I recommend for this product to get a thick kerf saw blade with 60+ teeth because of the saw capacity you will use it to cut tall material vertically, and you don't want a thin kerf to wonder when you go down to make a cut. A CMT or Forrest ChopMaster are great blades to use. The Freud Industrial blades are decent but spend the extra 20 and get the other ones. Another thing to mention is how convenient the miter over ride feature is for changing a 45 to a 45.5 etc.. This saw stays accurate and is very accurate. This saw is not the same as the cheaper 715 because the 715 has the motor on the right that gets in the way and the 716 motor is placed higher up and has the bigger fence and dual bevels for changing weird base cuts etc. It is very accurate, cuts great and does a great Job for most tasks. It only cross cuts 8" however I flip the material over all the time and it always turns out a perfect 90.. I recommend also to build an auxiliary fence out of hardwood to not rely on the fence. They move a little with pressure because they are so tall but it's not worth discarding the thought to purchase this saw. Dust collection is suprizingly good and the bags fills up quickly. I could care less about dust collection because to me its no reason not to buy a saw. The saw is very powerful and you can tell when you squeeze the trigger it jumps. No big deal if you're a carpenter, but an inexperienced do-it yourselfer might be intimidated by the power. I'm a finish carpenter and highly recommend in the Dewalt miter saw line as follows-the 708, the older 12" slider not the newer DW718, this 716 and the new 8 1/2" slider. The rest of them have been very disappointing on the job site. Hope this review helps a professional. |
The DW716
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| Review Date: May 12, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Charise White, Wisconsin, USA |
Growing up, I was spoiled by my dad's DeWalt radial arm saw that was built like a tank. There are few tools that can compare to a good radial arm saw in versatility and accuracy; however, it sorely lacks in portability. After using the DW716 for awhile, I've finally found a tool I like more than the tank of a radial arm saw. While the sliding compound miter saws rival the cutting capacity of a radial arm saw, the sliders tend to be less accurate. Furthermore, the sliders take up a huge amount of area on a workbench because of the added depth of the rails. While the cutting capacity is nice, I find that I don't need to cut 14" boards very often (a circular saw can suffice for cutting 2x12s since that's generally a roughing project anyway).
The DW716 has several features that are extremely useful. The miter detent override is particularly useful for those not-quite-45-degree miters by preventing the saw from slipping into the normal detents. The tall fence is great for large crown molding, and the double bevel feature comes in handy then too. The way the saw is set up allows for very tall vertical cuts, which is much easier on the saw. The belt driven operation makes a much different noise than traditional direct drive saws, but the motor is then out of the way for bevels to the right and vertical cuts.
There are several complaints people have about the saw. Firstly, it's expensive, but like that radial arm saw, it's built to last, and it works much better than cheaper saws. Secondly, people are disappointed that for the price there is no attached laser or work light. The work light might be nice, but a normal worksite light works better. Lasers are a joke for serious carpenters. The best way to get an accurate cut is by inching the running blade up to the line with a false cut or two on the scrap side; then you know exactly where the cut will be. Lasers have to be calibrated perfectly (and recalibrated too) to be accurate, and you're also left with the problem of the laser being sighted to one side of the blade or the other. The laser can't be in the center of the blade because it won't adjust for the width of the kerf (always remember not to get a thin kerf blade since they wander and won't make as accurate of cuts), and if the laser is to the left or the right, you can only be accurate when your line is on that side of the board. And all of those little gimmicks just give more opportunities for things to break.
Dust collection on this saw is bad, just like every other miter saw. The fulcrum for the arm is up high so as to allow for taller vertical cuts, resulting in the dust bag being too high for reasonable dust collection. I hook my shop vac up to solve the problem, but dust still flies. And yet I don't loose sleep over this.
You're not going to regret buying this saw.
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