Review: Dewalt DCS7485 Flexvolt Portable Table Saw

The Dewalt DCS7485 table saw is one of Dewalt’s more portable saws that employs their Flexvolt battery technology. That’s right, this is a battery powered table saw. It offers plenty of power and is easy to port around. Let’s take a closer look at this one.

Cutting Power & Motor

The cutting power of this motor is decent and has mixed feedback. The 15 amp motor can run at a speed of up to 5800 RPM. People who own this saw have good luck ripping 2x4s and 4×8 sheets of materials.

Some have had issues with the saw bogging down on harder or thicker materials. This saw seems to work best for people who need something for smaller jobs where power sources are an issue, and you probably get more cutting power out of a similar corded table saw.

Battery Power

The batteries are worth taking a closer look at to better understand. Most people using this saw will use either the 6AH or the 9AH batteries from Dewalt. The most common version of this saw is the T1 version (DCS7485T1) which comes bundled with a single 6AH Flexvolt battery.

The 6AH battery gives you 6 amps of power over 1 hr of use. The 9AH battery gives you 9 amps of power over 1 hour of use. The 9AH is preferred and people that are most happy with this saw are using 9AH batteries.

When you are looking at listings for this saw, keep an eye on what batteries are included, as some sellers will add an extra battery pack.

If you want to upgrade to the 9AH batteries, it can be expensive. A two-pack of these will run close to $300. So keep that in mind as part of the expense of this saw if you want two of the better batteries.

People find that if you are going to use this saw all day you can easily go through 3 or more battery packs, so keep that in mind.

There also is no alternative option to go corded and plug this saw in – it’s battery operation only.

Cutting Table

The cutting table on this saw is made from aluminum and has a powder coated surface. The table is flat for most people out of the box, we haven’t seen too many reports of issues with warped cutting tables or anything like that.

The table size is 22-3/4″ x 22-3/4″ and is a decent size for a smaller saw like this.

Rip Fence

The rip fence on this saw employs a rack and pinion design and can be adjusted quickly and accurately when it’s properly calibrated. Most people have good luck with the rip fence being aligned properly right out of the box, but as always make sure to double check everything during setup.

The rip fence extends far enough to offer a total rip capacity of 24 inches which is good enough to rip 4×8 sheets of materials. It’s moved with an adjustment knob and also has a flip down support to help hold materials when it’s extended.

Blade Height & Bevel

This saw allows adjustments for both blade height and bevel. The max blade height at 90 degrees is 2.5 inches and the max at 45 degrees is 1.75 inches. The bevel can be adjusted between 0 and 45 degrees. There are bevel stops at both ends to help with quick switching between 90 and 45 degree cuts.

The adjustments are smooth and accurate, people who own this saw don’t really have any complaints about this part.

Keep in mind that this saw uses an 8-1/4 inch blade so it won’t be able to cut as deep as a table saw with a 10 inch blade.

Sawdust Collection

This saw has a standard 2.5″ dust collection port and dust collection is decent with this saw. The dust collection on this unit will work best if you hook up a vacuum to the collection port. People don’t really have any complaints about the dust collection on this saw.

Safety Features

This saw has typical safety features and is a safe saw to use. There is a blade guard system to keep things from coming into contact with the blade accidentally. The riving knife keeps materials from pinching on the blade. The anti-kickback pawls will help keep kickbacks from occurring if something gets jammed or misaligned.

There is a safe restart feature on the power switch to keep the saw from turning back on automatically if power is cut unexpectedly.

Build Quality

The build quality on this saw is good overall, but there are some plastic parts that can cause people problems. This seems like a common theme with modern table saws and the use of plastic.

Most of the adjustment knobs and levers are plastic and will be prone to breakage. Some people have had issues with these parts breaking so it’s best to be careful with the saw during use until get a better feel for how much stress various levers and handles can take.

Out of the box people have pretty good luck with this saw. Dewalt has some of the better quality control out there. People aren’t really having issues with warped or misaligned parts out of the box as much as some other brands. So that’s good.

If parts do break, Dewalt offers 1 year of replacement for parts broken during use, on top of their warranty.

Portability

Portability is one of this saws strong points, and it makes sacrifices to get there. This saw weighs in a 48 lbs, which is very light for a table saw. Due to it’s lower weight and bulk, it’s still portable without being mounted on a stand. This saw is designed with a carry handle and is meant to be carried with one arm by an able-bodies person.

If you are wondering how heavy this will be to carry – next time you are at the gym grab a 50 lb dumbbell and walk around with it. That will give you a good idea.

The fact that this is battery powered can be a positive for the portability. You will be able to use this saw in situations where you don’t have access to a corded power source, which might be pretty niche but can be very useful.

Dado Blades?

This saw is unable to use dado blades and that is one of it’s drawbacks. If you are looking for a saw that can use dado blades, we’d recommend looking more at the portable table saws with 10 inch blades as most of them can fit 8 inch dado stacks and have aftermarket dado inserts available.

Accessories

This saw has all the typical accessories you’d expect from a portable table saw. And as expected the included miter gauge is not all the great. Everything else is pretty solid.

Here’s what included:

• Anti-Kickback Pawls
• Blade Guard System
• Riving Knife
• Push Stick

Setup & Assembly

Setup is pretty easy on this saw and most people find things aligned quite well right out of the box. We recommend to go through the manual and do all the recommended setup just so you don’t miss anything. It’s also a good way to get familiar with the finer details of this particular saw.

Setup should be pretty easy for most people that are familiar with saws, and it shouldn’t take too long to get this one up and running.

Warranty

Dewalt offers a 3 year warranty that covers defects in parts and workmanship. This is a pretty good warranty period and will help you get things right if you end up with issues out of the box.

Dewalt also offers a nice 1 year replacement of parts broken during usage. This is nice to have on top of the standard warranty in case you run into any broken parts or quality control issues in your first year of use.