Review: Dewalt DWS715 Compound Miter Saw

The Dewalt DWS715 compound miter saw is a very popular saw with home and job site users and for good reason. It works very well and packs a lot of capability into an affordable package for a miter saw. Let’s take a closer look at this one.

Cutting Power & Motor

This saw has a lot of cutting power and can be used to cut up to 2×8 inch materials at 90 degrees and 2×6 inch lumber at 45 degrees. The motor has 15 amp power and runs at a max no-load speed of 4,000 RPM. The saw can draw up to 1600W during operation and people have noticed it can trip a breaker when there’s a lot of appliances already drawing power.

This saw uses 12 inch blades and has a 5/8 inch arbor. It is packaged with a 12 inch 32 tooth carbide blade to get you started. People find that upgrading the blade right away can be a good move, but the included blade isn’t all that bad.

People are able to make clean cuts through a 4×4 with this saw with no issues. Dewalt also says this can cut up to 6-1/2 inch baseboard molding vertically and 5-1/4 inch crown molding nested. Overall, this saw has enough capacity to handle the typical types of jobs any homeowner and most job site users will throw at it.

Bevel & Adjustments

This is a single bevel miter saw with the ability to adjust blade angles both horizontally and vertically. The single bevel design means you can tilt this to the left for bevel cuts, but not to the right. The bevel capacity is 0 – 48 degrees to the left and 0 – 3 degrees to the right. The miter capacity is also 0 – 50 degrees to the left and 0 – 50 degrees to the right.

The miter adjustment action is smooth and things clamp in an out of place easily and securely. The miter measurements are located on a removable/replaceable stainless steel plate. The miter plate has 14 positive stops for quick adjustments to common cutting angles. This makes the miter adjustments very quick, accurate and easy.

The bevel adjustment is just as easy to use as the miter adjustment for the most part but a little more basic. There is a visual dial for measurements but no multiple stops like the miter. The bevel adjustment clamps and releases quickly and firmly and it’s easy to make quick adjustments.

Cutting Table & Fence

This saw sports an aluminum cutting table and fence, both are smooth and flat with a nice finish to them. The fence is tall enough to support cutting base molding vertically. Dewalt also says that this has a 5-1/4 inch capacity for crown molding but some people find the blade guard can get in the way when cutting larger crown molding.

The fence has a feature where the left side of the fence can slide out to make room for the blade during bevel cuts. This can also extend the length of the fence when needed. There is also a small clamp that can be attached to the table to hold pieces into place, which is a nice touch.

Handling & Safety

This saw powers on with a trigger switch on the handle. There is an addition sub-trigger that needs to be switched before you can push the main trigger, which keeps you from accidentally powering this on. During use, things move smoothly and there really isn’t anything awkward in how it operates.

The blade cover works well and keeps the blade from being exposed when you are not using this saw or transporting it around. There are also small clips on the frame to keep the power cord out of the way and from accidentally coming in contact with materials or the blade.

Overall, this is a safe saw to use as long as you are using typical safety precautions.

Dust Collection

This saw does come with a dust collection bag, but it’s pretty small and not terribly effective on it’s own. People find that hooking this up to a dust collection system works a lot better if you will be doing a lot of cutting with this saw. The size of the dust collection port is 1-1/2 inches and can be connected to dust collection systems. Depending on the size of the hose or the system you are using, you may need to get an adapter for the dust collection port.

Build Quality

This saw feels very well built both when taking out of the box for the first time and when putting it to use. The first thing people notice is that it’s very heavy. It weighs in at about 43 lbs. The weight helps keep it feeling solid during operation and it sits very solidly on whatever surface you operate it on.

The frame and table are made from aluminum and other metals and they feel sturdy during use. The action for both the miter and the bevel also feel really good and don’t feel sloppy when making adjustments. There are a good amount of plastic switches, levers and knobs on this saw and there could be some potential for breakage there.

People who have used this saw for longer periods of time say it holds up well and outside of running into lemon units out of the box, this saw is built to last. Dewalt offers a good warranty and has replacement parts available if needed via support, just in case you get a lemon out of the box or run into problems early.

Included Accessories

This saw comes with a few accessories, here’s what’s in the box:

• Wrench (Allen and Torx)
• Vertical clamp

Setup & Assembly

This saw requires a little bit of setup time and you’ll want to take the time to check all the calibration points and align everything properly. After getting everything setup and aligned, you’ll be able to make adjustments and measurements quickly during use. It’s important to read through the manual on this one so that you catch the smaller details for calibration, blade changes and safe use.

Warranty

Dewalt offers a 3 year warranty on defective parts or workmanship. They also include a 1 year free service contract and a 90 day money back guarantee. This is good enough to help you out if you have quality control issues in that first year of use.