Getting myself a new miter saw for Christmas...some last minute questions

[KingwoodFan1989]

Probably at least 10 years ago on the DW705.
I'd say about the same on the DW708's I have. I remember buying the second one on clearance about that time, for half price. It sat in the box unopened, until about 5 years ago.

Gotcha. You think I'm good to go with the 709's knob?

[jteneyck]

I would not buy a slider of any ilk if it didn't have a depth adjustment feature.  That is such an incredibly handy feature for cutting dados and rabbets that it makes no sense to me to buy a SCMS w/o it.  

John

[KingwoodFan1989]

I would not buy a slider of any ilk if it didn't have a depth adjustment feature.  That is such an incredibly handy feature for cutting dados and rabbets that it makes no sense to me to buy a SCMS w/o it.  

John

Tbh, I would never use a miter saw for that. I'd use a table saw with a dado blade or a router to do those joints. In other words, a depth stop on a miter saw for me is a luxury I not only can live without, but isn't even a deciding factor.

[Tapper]

I would not buy a slider of any ilk if it didn't have a depth adjustment feature.  That is such an incredibly handy feature for cutting dados and rabbets that it makes no sense to me to buy a SCMS w/o it.  

John

Good point, John. I've used that feature on my Milwaukee many, many times.

Doug

[Stwood_]

I've never seen a miter saw, slider or otherwise, that did not have a depth adjustment.

And I'm with kingwood, I'd never put a dado blade on a mitersaw, even if you could buy one that fit on one.

709 knob looks ok to me.

[Bluepine]

I have the Dewalt 718 and love it, it has the same locking knob as the 709 and never had any issues.
Very tough saw and gets used hard with everything from log furniture to hardwood cabinets and still holds its settings.

Whoops I thought it was the same mine has a cam lock but still a great saw, sorry.

[KingwoodFan1989]

I have the Dewalt 718 and love it, it has the same locking knob as the 709 and never had any issues.
Very tough saw and gets used hard with everything from log furniture to hardwood cabinets and still holds its settings.

Whoops I thought it was the same mine has a cam lock but still a great saw, sorry.

No problem. Have you had any bad experiences with miter saws that had knobs (like the table moving when tightening)?

[Bluepine]

I've used a bunch of different Dewalts and never had an issue with a twist locking knob.
I shopped every brand of saw and bought the 718 because it was the newest offering at the time with all the bells and whistles. Friends said the a laser is worthless or not needed but with a perfectly aligned laser it is awesome.

[Bill Wilson]

I've used a bunch of different Dewalts and never had an issue with a twist locking knob.
I shopped every brand of saw and bought the 718 because it was the newest offering at the time with all the bells and whistles. Friends said the a laser is worthless or not needed but with a perfectly aligned laser it is awesome.

Dewalt used to offer an integral LED light for some of their CMS.  I have a DW715 12" Single bevel CMS and bought one for it a couple years ago.  I think it's better than a laser, because it shines a light directly over the blade, which casts a shadow exactly where the blade will contact the wood.  Not sure if they still offer it or if it's an option on their newer models.  I don't know why they just didn't make them a standard feature, they really do work well.

[jteneyck]

I've never seen a miter saw, slider or otherwise, that did not have a depth adjustment.

And I'm with kingwood, I'd never put a dado blade on a mitersaw, even if you could buy one that fit on one.

709 knob looks ok to me.

I said nothing about a dado stack.  What I said was that I value the depth stop because it allows you to cut dados, yes, one blade width at a time, and rabbets.  

OP, unless it's a big job you likely won't have a tablesaw with you at a jobsite, but you are will likely to have an easily transportable sliding miter saw.  I've used one several times to cut rabbets on the end of door frames.  Of course I could have done it with a handsaw and shoulder plane, but it's much easier and faster with the miter saw.  

John