DeWalt DWS779 12″ Sliding Compound Miter Saw

Update 3-15-2019–Great price on this saw on Amazon right now at $334. Perhaps best ever. Buy it!________________________________________________________________________________________DeWalt does not list this model (DWS779) on their web site, probably because this saw is the top-of-the-line DWS780 corded sliding compound miter saw without the DWS780’s superb XPS guide light. Right now on Amazon (as of January, 2017) and elsewhere (Home Depot online) the DWS779 is selling for $200 less than the DWS780–a substantial savings if you can do without the light. DeWalt used to sell an accessory XPS light for older saw models, but no longer. Though the accessory lights can still be found on Ebay, the electrical coupler for the accessory is no longer built into newer saws. Youtube has guides to ordering the relevant parts off the DWS780 parts list and hacking them onto the DWS779. It will set you back a bit less than $70 and a little work.My wife bought me a DWS709 12-inch sliding compound miter saw at Home Depot on Black Friday. It was advertised as a $549 value being sold as a “Special Deal” at $399 (with an additional $25 taken off at the register from manufacturer). When she gave it to me at Christmas I looked it up and found that it was a substantially different saw than the DWS780, and that it was then selling (post-Christmas) for $349 at Home Depot. Home Depot’s Black Friday advertising led my wife to believe the saw she was buying was the DWS780, DeWalt’s top-of-the-line saw. The Black Friday ad didn’t mention model number, nor was it on display in the store, suggesting an intention to mislead potential buyers.The saw she actually received (the DWS709) is a twelve-inch sliding compound saw. But though it superficially resembles the DWS779 and DWS780, it has diminished cutting capacities along with several other more minor deficiencies (handle placement, miter-angle adjustment release, etc.). Despite Home Depot selling the DWS709 as a Black Friday “special” for $399, the store routinely sells the saw for less than $399 on its web site.This saw, the DWS779, is routinely sold for $399 on the web. That’s what I bought it for from Amazon, and that’s its price at Home Depot online. It is the DWS780 without the XPS light, possessing the same motor, fence, blade, stops and capacities as the DWS780. Home Depot occasionally offers a special combination of a DeWalt 12-inch sliding miter saw with a stand for $599. However, the saw sold with the stand in my experience is not the DWS780, but the DWS779 and sometimes the DWS709. Purchasers who aren’t aware of the different models (and I think DeWalt intentionally obscures model differences to enable such marketing ploys) don’t realize that they could buy the same saw for $399. They think they’re getting the top-of-the-line DeWalt DWS780 sliding miter saw with a free stand (about a $200 value). Instead, they’re getting as a package a DWS779 or DWS709 saw and a stand that they might be able to purchase separately for cheaper….Finally, as to the tool itself (the DWS779), if you can live without the XPS light, it’s everything people write about the DWS780. Good saw. Heavy. I mean, HEAVY. I’m amazed at how much heavier it is than my 20-year-old DeWalt miter saw. But a great machine. You will want a rolling stand for it if you intend to use it on sites. Trust me on this.

Definitely a great saw at $350. Cuts really well and I can already tell a big difference from my last saw (Harbor Freight), which says a lot because I do not use my saw often.It would be nice if the clamp stored somewhere on the saw like the wrench does, and because of how the lock on the shaft of the clamp is designed it can’t even be locked down to the back of the saw, it must be in contact with the front of the saw. So when not in use or secured to the front of the saw it is just flopping around. I really do not find myself using the clamp that often anyway, but I would be more inclined if there was a cam system or something better than a threaded rod that made it easier to use.I have seen some other reviews that had concern about the plastic cam being exposed when stored, and I agree with the concern. The saw has excellent features, but does not seemed to have every aspect of use nailed down.XPS ReviewI bought the components for the DWS780 (light, handle, power supply) for $60 and like the system. The kerf lines do not show that well with the light when saw is running. So you end up aligning the workpiece to the body of the saw blade instead of the cutting head, the cuts are off by the width of the kerf to the saw body and I did confirm this. Also the shadow only sharpens enough to be usable a few inches from the workpiece, so don’t think that you will be aligning anything with the saw blade covered and the saw not running. I did create an aperture for the light to sharpen the shadow of the light, and this improves the quality of the shadow greatly.In my opinion the light’s greatest benefit is not for making straight cuts, but for mitered cuts where you can see where the blade will fall at the side of the workpiece.

Love the saw. It works great. Only problem is that the housing underneath the kerf plate has an elevated part that causes the saw to bottom out if you don’t use the depth stop. I compared mine to the 780 on display at home depot and theirs has a metal housing with no elevated piece. Also had DeWalt send me a replacement part and it’s identical to the one I already have. So I plan on just using the depth stop for now and maybe modifying the housing myself in the future.

I’m having lots of fun building stuff with this saw. First thing I built was some saw horses to hold it up. Works great. Ok, there’s no laser line, so you have to use the saw blade to see where it will cut… Not a big deal to me. Got it for a good price. Works well. Easy to operate and adjust the angles.

This thing is a beast! I love using it. Cuts like a hot knife through butter.I am not a pro but have used this quite a bit for projects and repairs.I have a stand that i had from a previous model and it is awesome on the stand.Only con is that is heavy as hell to carry and also awkward to carry.

Used for the first time yesterday and very impressed with the smoothness and power of the saw. Need to move the fence back to gain full range of cutting capacity, but I’ll probably leave it in that position once I’ve moved it.It cuts a 2×12 at 45 degrees in current setting. Controls very smooth.

Value for money spent is over the top. Would have been nice to have had this for years. Bought the Thouroubilt stand which makes this a knock out combination

Great saw, I just wish it came with a better blade. I have Dewalt blades dull very easily these days. I recommend purchasing the product just change out the blade with something better.