Bob write in about problems he is having with a brand new Dewalt DWS780 sliding miter saw, and is wondering if anyone here has experienced the same.
Just read your review after bringing home a DWS780. I like the saw, but the slide bearings are very rough – to the point that starting a cut from full extension is difficult. I’ve seen similar comments in other reviews. Lube and bushing adjustment makes no difference on this one. It’s slides smoothly until you pull the blade down, and then the added pressure just overwhelms the bearings, or so it seems. I see that you didn’t have a problem with the saw you reviewed. Did you do anything special to smooth it out, or was it just the luck of the draw? Have you heard of this issue from anyone since the review?
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I tested the DWS780 ($599 via Amazon) and reviewed it here and over at Make, and used it a little bit after that. I did not experience any issues with the DWS780’s guide rail bearings, although over time I did notice the bearings weren’t as perfectly smooth compared to other brands’ sliding miter saws.
To be fair, I didn’t make many full-width cuts. The DWS780 is capable of cutting boards up to 16-inch wide, but I didn’t come close to using its maximum cutting capacity. The test sample has since been donated to a non-profit organization, so I lack the ability to try to replicate the issue.
This isn’t the first time a reader complained about the DWS780’s sliding rail, and I have read complaints elsewhere as well.
We’re still waiting to hear back from Dewalt as to whether Bob has possibly run into an isolated defect, or if the DWS780 could be adjusted so that the guide rails and bearings interact more smoothly.
In the meantime, if you have used the DWS780 or another Dewalt sliding miter saw, please chime in with your experience. Is your Dewalt saw’s sliding rail smooth or rough?
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fred
I’ve never bought a Dewalt Miter Saw – but over the years have bought dozens of Hitachi’s, Makita’s and Bosch’s. When sliding compound miter saws were introduced – we went through a few rough patches with an odd saw here and there being stiff initially – but seemed to work in. My most recent purchases were Bosch GCM12SD’s – so the stiff rails are out of the equation. What I have noticed – from online reviews – is that you can pick almost any of the top selling saws – and find so much divergence in reviews that you might almost think folks were talking about totally different tools. Maybe I’m off base – but assuming the reviews are sincere/genuine – then QA/QC may not be the best at “the saw factory.” Nonetheless reviews (e.g. at Amazon) are worth reading (including between the lines if you can) to see what you can glean. Based on a few negative reviews – we looked carefully at each of the Bosch saws we bought – and did find one that we returned for bad table/fence alignment – which may have happened in shipping.
michael brown
nobodys mentioned the lack of power on the 110 volt version ,its dire ,and the rail system isnt fit for draper never mind dewalt ,
Matt
After reading your comments, I went and checked mine, repeatedly. I do notice some resistance, but to me it’s an acceptable amount. My vote is that one of the rails is likely bent slightly, causing your problem. I would exchange for another one under warranty. It may have been tossed around, and damaged during shipping.
This is a common problem with slide rails, they make a saw like this heavy, and more delicate at the same time. I love this saw, but if it didn’t come with the free stand when I bought it, I probably would have just stuck with my smaller bulletproof 10in dw713.
miss franciene
I have the same model and the same problem, but if I fix mine up it could be a piece of crap,
michael brown
get someone do it for you .have u done it yet lol
Pat
Yeah I’m all finished with the pos dewalt I’m using it for a cut off only . I bit the bullet and purchased a 7 1/2 36v Makita slide compound. Should of done it long ago, I had forgotten what a smooth quality tool was like as well as a precise and flawless cut
Pat
If the rails are twisted the slide will drag. Loosen the bevel lock and make sure the rails are straight
Alberto
I bought mine on 12/4/2020 and used it for 2 hours and now the glide bars barely glide. I have to push and pull with brute force just to move it. I’m taking it back and buying a Makita or a Bosh. I payed $649 and not happy I’ve got to return it. I buy everything Dewalt , but this is not a good purchase.😐
Curtis
Makita ls1219l best purchase I’ve ever made
Hang Fire
My old DW708, a 2 generations back Dewalt 12-Inch Double-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter saw, slides very well.
The old 708’s can be easily identified, the rails are on top of each other instead of side by side. Most of the changes to the 718 and 780 were made for greater portability. I understand that market, but mine lives on a bench. Now I’m happy I have the old model.
Pete
I am pretty sure I posted here about this another time the DWS780 saw was mentioned but I also have the same issue with the saw not gliding smoothly. It has been that way since I purchased it and has not improved with time. When I first got the saw I thought that it was possible mine was defective but I tested the saw at 5 or 6 different Lowes/Home Depots and they ALL felt the same. I believe only 1 of the rails has bearings while the other rail uses a brass bushing.
In the end I kept the saw and still use it frequently, The few times I need the 16″ rip capacity I just bite my tongue and deal with it.
Joe
I have this saw and have read a lot of similar reviews. Wat i noticed in testing this myself is that a lot of the problems could be the user. Because the slide rails r so long you cannot just jam the saw down and push it back i think the problem is that people r abusing the saw a little bit. If u gently put the saw down and slide it back there is 0 problem. Wat i noticed is if the saw is 100% down where it hits rhe stopper it can be tough to slide back if u just let it up 1/10 of an ince so therws no downward pressure on the rails it slides perfectly. Hope this helps
Alberto
Why would I pay $600 plus dollars and abuse my saw?
michael brown
hi mate i had same problem .theres a pressure grub screw that pushes two brass clamps around the none bearing side .get a 4 mm allen key tighten the grub screw tightish then a teeny pinch off tighten untill the resistence has nearly gone .put some paslode lube on the rail and slide like ya life depends on it for a few hours ,on and off obviously .grab a few beers lol.anyways itll. bed the rail into the soft brass .also they work better if you use the depth stop so the blade ,motor weight dont drop to fare below the level of the canterlever .say 25 mm below the work piece .hope it helps .im of get a beer im off tomorrow.lol.
Dean DeBlasio
Been doing this 40+ there is something wrong & dewalt doesn’t want to own the problem. My old 708 was fine til stolen. I only use 780 for rough cutting. Junk for finish work.
Garrick
The linear bearing system is not nearly as smooth as most other sliders I’ve used. It is the one thing I do not like about the 780. It is rough and requires a bit of effort to move. It doesn’t seem to vary by position of the blade though. The rails are a bit thin… likely an effort to save weight more than cost. I would return your saw. It sounds like something is bent.
By the way, I tried a variety of lubricants on the rails, and nothing made much difference.
SteveR
This story was originally told by James Dickey, author of “Deliverance”. A man walks into a haberdashery in Georgia to buy a new suit. He sees one he likes, but when he puts it on, he notices the pants are too big in the waist. He asks the tailor if he can adjust them so they aren’t so baggy, and the tailor replied, “I could, but there’s no need to. All you have to do is grab and hold the extra material in your left hand”. The man tried on the coat, but found the right sleeve was a little too long. He again asked, “Could you take that in for me?” The tailor replied, “Well, I don’t really don’t need to; shorten it; you could just poke your right arm out a little and it will look fine”. The customer then noticed the pant legs were several inches too long, and asked the tailor if he could shorten them for him. The tailor replied, “I could shorten them for you, but that’s the pant length everyone’s wearing these days”.
The customer, all of his questions having been answered, purchased the suit and wore it out on the street. A husband and wife, who are across the street, see the man walking in his new suit. He’s gripping his waist with his left hand, his right arm is extended outward and he’s shuffling so he doesn’t trip over his pants. The wife remarks, “Billy, isn’t that Tommy Roberts across the street? Why, we went to high school with him. That poor man; he’s all shrunken and has terrible arthuritis”. The husband replied admiringly, “Yeah, but ain’t he wearin’ a great-lookin’ suit?”
The moral of the story is: If you bought a compound miter saw, regardless of the manufacturer, and it doesn’t work right, take it back to the store and exchange it for another one. If that still doesn’t help, buy a different saw. Don’t put up with makeshift go-arounds; the saw should work properly right out of the box. You didn’t pay good money for a product that you then have to make a lot of compromises for. Complain nicely, but complain until they make it right.
Hang Fire
Agreed. Let’s just hope the retailers and manufacturers can sort out the genuine complaints from the overnight project cheapskates. Twelve inch compound slides are not cheap, and are often only really needed for crown molding, so I can imagine there’s a bogus return rate clouding the quality issue.
Fortunately consumers have reviews at sites like Amazon, so even if the return rate is ambiguous, perhaps the turnover rate will be telling.
RKA
What Pete says is true, both rails do not have bearings on them (problem #1). I’ve tried adjusting the tightness of that bushing on the second rail with no success. Loosen it too much and the saw head deflects too much. Tighten it too much and you have too much resistance when sliding. Also, the size of the rails are noticeably smaller than other 12er’s and even some 10er’s (problem #2). I believe there may be something to Joe’s suggestion above. It could be the rails are deflecting a bit at full extension and just easing up on the downward pressure applied may make a difference. I’m going to try that tonight. I don’t often crosscut at full extension with the saw, so while the rails aren’t quite as other saws, it’s not necessarily problematic…for me.
It’s a good saw, but Bob touches on the major weak point IMHO. I’m not sure if they did that to save on weight (I suspect so because it’s pretty light for a 12″ saw), but this is a major function of the saw and not one to screw up.
fred
There is probably a lesson to be learned here that relates to Dewalt’s history.
We had an old (may have been even pre-AMF days) Dewalt RAS that sits in the corner sporting a 20 inch blade and a big 3-phase (might have been 7 to 8HP) that could crosscut at least 24 inches. It probably weighs about 1/2 a ton with its table. Dewalt built their reputation on saws like these – and Radial Arm Saws got to be all the rage in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Sears and others capitalized on them – making them smaller and cheaper with more homeowner friendly features. I think our Dewalt probably had 6 or 8 bearings – and still can cut reasonably well for a RAS. I doubt that any of the Sear’s saws were anywhere nearly as well supported. Sear’s and other cheaper-lighter saws did not fare are well – many becoming sloppy and inaccurate over time – and some even dangerous to use. The RAS “went the way of all flesh” so to speak – and now we all buy sliding compound miter saws – which are hopefully getting better – not worse – with each new design.
Hang Fire
Once sliding compound miter saws acquired dual bevel- the ability to tilt either way- about a decade ago, all that remains is minor optimizations and cost cutting.
Chris
My 780 doesn’t slide the best at full extension either, but it’s usually pretty good and doesn’t bother me… If not full extension it glides pretty easy… father in law has an old 708 and he tried it and he found mine slid just fine and really likes it
Luis
I have the same issue, there is an adjustment on the saw however if you loosen it too much it makes the saw inaccurate, Don’t know what it is but that is something that Dewalt should do something about it, it could damage their reputation.
Aaron
In response to Fred, I am not that old and I still love RAS’s. If you are good with an RAS, you can do things with it that no other saw can do. I don’t know what newer RAS’s are like, but my Grandpa has a late 60’s or early 70’s Craftsman that looks and works like new and it’s probably made 20,000 cuts. Craftsman built their reputation on this kind of quality. My grandpa swears by it and by Craftsman because of tools like this… and I tend to agree with him. He is rarely wrong.
Didn’t want to hijack the thread, just thought I’d give Craftsman a little love.
Also if anyone is looking for a killer deal on a sliding compound, the Hitachi C12RSH is a beast and is probably the best bang for the buck on the market. Get a rolling stand for it if you plan to move it much, it comes in at around 65 lbs. Honestly, I wouldn’t trade a single ounce of that though if it meant giving up durability.
kiefer
Hey guys. There IS a workaround for the saw. As much of a bandaid as it is. My friend has this saw and when i had to compound miter a few wide planks that required the use of the full slide i got so annoyed with the binding i would extend the saw out, plunge into the wood and then engage the head lock. This will take almost all the strain off the slides and allow you to push with little effort and focus more on the cut. Little crappy to have to engage the head lock but it works. Hope this helps you guys till dewalt fixes this issue
Canadian Stig
I too have a rough glide in my saw, is there a lubricant that can be applied to aid in a more fluid movement; currently it is a little notchy . I have the locking screw pretty much in it loosest position, it still feels like there is some resistance.
Black'n'White
I just finished installing 1200 sq. ft. of 5″ wide Pergo plank flooring and used the sliding head quite a bit on a brand new DWS780. As others have remarked, it can be a little sticky to get going when the slide is extended. I did notice that if I grip the handle as far to the left as possible, keeping the downward force close to the center line between the slide rods, starting the cut is easier and the head slides more smoothly. I think that when downward pressure is exerted toward the right side of the handle it twists the rods and binds up the slide mechanism. This is a pretty good argument for vertical handles placed as close to the center line of the slides as possible, but not something the owner of one of these saws can change.
Keith
Two 780s within a week – the first was plagued with a rough/sticky slide. The replacement saw, out of the box, appeared to have the same slide issues as the first and the blade did not track square to the kerf. It would start in the middle of the kerf and track to the left side until it was wedged up against the left kerf plate when the saw head was pulled out. Weird… and frustrating! I’d been eyeing the 780 for some time and the saw has plenty of good reviews. My thoughts were that if the second one was going back, I would not be coming home with another DeWALT. So… I decided to tinker – enter the fine-tooth comb. The fence was perfectly perpendicular to the table assy. The support housing was square with the fence and table. The blade, relative to the support housing, was true. Hmm… I’m pondering all this while going back and forth with the saw head and that’s when I started to notice something odd. The saw head appeared to be rolling (bevel) as it was pulled out. Not much but enough to cause the blade to deflect left more than 1/8 inch as the head was moved out. Long story shortened. The tubes that make up the rail system were twisted between the end cap and the trunnion that supports the saw head i.e., when the end cap and trunnion were tightened to the tubes, they were not positioned on the same plane. It took me a few or four hrs trying to figure out what was wrong with the saw. It took me less than 45 min to true up the rails. She works real good now and is considered a keeper. However, even with everything squared up, that bushing in the right side rail provides enough resistance to make it a bit of a bear sometimes to initiate a slow, sliding cut. PS: this saw was being sold as new but appears to have been recycled through DeWALT – the end of the dust extractor was covered in sawdust. Likewise re the saw I returned. Tsk, tsk… DeWALT.
Buddys Rib
Thank you for your post. Was very discouraged that I would need to ship saw to Factory Store for repair. I followed your advice and saw works properly now; slides evenly between the kerf plates. Made my first cuts just after this adjustment.
mick brown
could you be so kind has to inform me how you re set the rails. Yours in anticipation mick brown the carpenter with the westy
Mark Sanchez
I have the same issue with my brand new dws 779. Could you give me some advise on how to properly tru up the rails? Are
there torque values for the screws on the end cap and trunnion that should be followed? Or should I just send the saw back and get a replacement and hope it was built properly,seeing how I have only had it one day.Thanks Mark
michael brown
its the de walt dealers to .i had mine from ECA toolfast from Coventry UK.they told me on enquiring that they had to order one .then the staff went for a little chat ,low and behold they’d got one .right infront off them .ive had problems with mine .basically cheap money saving engineering .they arent daft .they have taken advantage of there rep .im buying a makita side rail saw next .miles better saw .dewalt cant make good miter saws any more due to greed .simple .
joe s.
Yep!!…. I bought one and loved it cuz I could make very slight adjustments down to tenths of a degree, without it slipping into a detent. It worked fine, as it was intended. So I bought a second one, and had the same problem you described on day one. …took it back that day, and got it replaced, with no issues. I’ve had Hitachi’s Rigid, Delta’s, and this new Dewalt, (the one with the light), has been hands down, the best mitre saw I’ve ever used. Finally, I got a tool that makes me look as good as I know I am.
MattP
I have the same DeWalt and the same problem to the extant that it just won’t slide from an extended position when the saw is down. Due to budget, I won’t be replacing this saw for some time to come, but when the time comes, the replacement won’t be a Dewalt.
Aubrey
I love my dewalt 12 inch sliders. As a trim and cabinet professional I have three in use at all times. Usually cut and stay true easy to slide and easy to maintain. My first one ( now 9 years old) had to be adjusted with the bushing screw on top of housing to bring into square. I build out closets on a regular basis with it using 1×12 lumber and never noticed a rough slide. But I also maximize the slider and use three or four passes to cut through it. I just purchased a makita 10 inch slider and it is very rough to slide. Feels like there is gravel in the bearings. Guess I’ll have to work the kinks out of it before I am able to use it.
John
I have a DWS 780 and I have the same problem that Bob describes in the initial post. When the slide is extended and the saw head is brought down the return-spring pressure alone binds the linear bearings. A large amount of force is required to initiate motion of the slide after which it grinds and chatters throughout its travel. This affects the quality of the cut and also the safety of the saw. This is a slide saw…period! The heart of the saw, and a feature that I’ve paid a premium for is the slide! I don’t care about the technical reasons for this deficiency. Nothing less than a smooth accurate cut is acceptable!! If I want to use a chop saw I will just use my old DW 705 which works well after many years of hard use. I have contacted DeWalt and, of course, they have denied other complaints about the saw. I will document my dissatisfaction in a letter to their Customer Service Department. Hopefully, a reply consisting of more than denial is forthcoming. In the meantime I will continue using my ancient but exquisite Makita LS 1011 slider and rugged old DeWalt DW 205 double bevel chop saw.
michael brown
theyve really let themselves down with this model ,i wonder if the flexvolt is the same ,wouldnt surprise me .us brits say .when dewalt took over elu they screwed it up for profit .best thing move brands and never go back .just use them like theyve used us .badly aswell ,700 pound and they cant even accept there mistakes.well we know what that does for custom .
John Pochis
Followup to previous post: I contacted DeWalt’s customer service department (Stanley Black & Decker, New Britain CT) via letter and received a prompt reply directing me to take, or send the saw to the local Dewalt service center. Upon doing so they replaced one (or both, not sure) of the linear bearings which improved the sliding action of the saw. At some point there was an upgrade which could explain why some have the slide problem and others don’t. Since a repair is available I would strongly suggest that you have it made rather than struggle with a miserable tool that won’t get any better.
john
i have the same problem with the dewalt 20v cordless mitre saw ,it is not smooth at full extension , i did not notice at first so i think it has been getting worse after several use to the point that i will have to talk to dewalt about the problem, that is to bad because the saw is so convenient and accurate
Alan Castle
I have a DeWalt dw700 the guide rails are one on top of the other. always been a bit stiff to pull out but now when return to the fence at end of cut, near impossible to pull out for another cut. runs fine along rest the rest of the length of the rails. have strip it down on the blade side, can see the rails but not confident enough to go any further to remove motor. any ideas. thanks, Alan, Wickford, Essex, UK.
I have a RAS DeWalt 1250 had many years still work well.
Harry
I have that problem with the jerky slide to the point that I can’t make a smooth controlled cut on a wide piece, even with a 80 tooth blade. The slide will stick and if you push a little harder to get past the rough spot it will jump ahead inches sometimes leaving a splintered cut.
Jim
There is an Allen screw behind the lock knob. You can adjust it to loosen the slide resistance or tighten it up if too sloppy. It is on the rear slide bracket on the right.
Pat
Thanks so much for pointing out the Allen screw I would’ve never found that!
I had the opposite problem , From day one out of the box the carriage had a touch of play or slop as we call it , in the carriage /rail which caused an ever so slight wobble in the fine cuts. Enough to render it as unacceptable. I was very disappointed as the rest of the tool is a finish carpenters dream, so perfectly thought out and designed.
I was baffled.
After micro adjusting the Allen screw it’s now tracking perfectly without any wobble resulting in crisp and smooth cuts. You made my day!
Jenn
You saved the day, the Allen screw was the issue! Keeping my DeWalt!
John Pochis
Please consider going through the hassle of returning your defective saw for a refund or exchange. DeWalt can do better. It is not our job to fix their problems for free.
John
Louie
Hi there, I bought a new DeWalt717XPS here in the UK about seven days ago and I noticed the first time I handled the saw just how rough the bearings are, you can actually feel the rumble as you extend and push the saw head back and forward. The actually saw is a great saw, build standard is high, capacity of cut good and adjustability of the saw great but where this saw fails is in two areas, firstly the pr bearings Dewalt have chosen to fit and I believe also the side by side post or glide bar format, I owned previously a Dewalt 708 and it ad the traditional double bar one above the other and that saw was amazing, ten years all, smooth as silk, never a binding issue once and still working, a wonderful design and well mate saw, it was directly because of this saw that made me stay with Dewalt but sadly the new 717 has failed me and had to be returned, when a mitre saw is smooth it encourages the owner to feel comfortable and confident with his machine thus better standards of work and craftsmanship is achieved but off course the opposite is also true, DeWalt are a great company, many of my tools are DeWalt and I will always look to them in the future for for the purchases but the 717 mitre saw I received was rough in terms of glide and binding did occure when at full reach and plunge cutting.
Ian Kubilus
I’ve had a similar problem. I’ve noticed that the saws head it’s difficult to press down as well. It is as though it were over sprung and I think that this is the real source of the issue. You press the head down and it over torques the rails. I had a little 7 & a quarter inch slider that are used for flooring and such that had a similar problem. I removed the head spring and cut it down a bit. That solved the problem. It’s too bad to DeWalt cannot figure this out. This isn’t some from the ground-up reengineering problem. You simply replace one spring with a less aggressive one ..done. this problem arises from a lack of interest on the manufacturers part.
Ted Slata
Here is your problem on the dws 780. The first models were type 1, which only have bearings on the left side rail. The corrected model Type 20 have bearings on both sides for the rails to slide through. This solves the problem made by dewalt to correct the hard to slide issues when cutting a wide board and pulling the blade all the way back to start cutting.
Ian Kubilus
Well actually it’s a dw717. Whatever the case may be I removed rail cover today and indeed there are bearings only on one side. The saw was sold via Amazon as brand new but I noticed there was a handwritten “r” on it. I wonder if I got a refurbished alpha type repackaged as new ?
Kuba
Ive had a dewalt chopsaw and ive had a big problem with it and i would like tocknow what could of happened,the left rail has 2 long indent lines all the wy across and they are about 1mm deep ,i dont think anything could of got inside (metal etc) they are on top and one on the bottom ,parallel to each other ,what could of happened?
Robert J Jackson
Yes,my sliding dws79 sticks I put some oop on it from the home depot but it doesn’t last long I think I could use new bushings
norman lillie
i have a dw 700 and have been using it for a couple years but have never got it to slide its no big deal but it might come in handy one day any sugestions on what might be wrong with ih
Jon Picard
I have the 780 and after cutting treads for 3 stair cases the slide bearings are worn. It will not cut a straight line. I can move the saw on the rails when I twist it side for side. I even tried putting a thicker blade on it. I’m very disappointed and now I have to buy new slide bearings. Who knows how long they will last before I decide to give it away. I buy all DeWalt but i should have bought a Makita.