Mike.C
Established Member
First of all I am sorry about the large photos, but I cannot get them to a reasonable size, they are either too small or too large. 
I have owned the Dewalt DW718V for over a year now and although circumstances do not let me get into the workshop anyway near as much as I would like (hardly ever lately), I have used it enough to write a review.
You will notice that the model number above ends in a “V”, well this denotes that it has a factory fitted laser (DW7187) and comes with the (DE7023) heavy duty mitre saw stand. You can of course buy the saw on its own and add the laser and stand at a later date, and if you want to take this route, Dewalt have left a connecter which you simply plug the laser into.
As well as the above, the saw comes with a Dewalt Series 40, 60 tooth blade, a spanner and a dust extraction bag.
The specifications are as follows:
Blade Diameter 305mm
“ Bore 30mm
“ Speed 1900- 3400rpm
Power Input 1600 watts
Bevel Capacity 48/48
Mitre Capacity 60 left/50 right
Cutting Capacity at 90/90 (Wx H) 50x163mm
“ “ “ 90/90 (W x H) 345x 94mm
“ “ “ 45/90 (W x H) 230 x 94mm
“ “ “ 45/90 (W x H) 242 x 74mm
“ “ “ 90/45 (W x H) 50 x 114mm
“ “ “ 90/45 (W x H ) 345 x 52mm
Max Cutting Capacity 45/45 242 x 52mm
Max Depth of Cut 163mm (this is for something like 6 inch skirting or coving held upright against the fence)
Max Cross Cut 400 x 50mm (with auxiliary base)
I was attracted to this particular saw because of its double bevel ability, large crosscut capacity, trenching facility, and the excellent mitre preset override. You know how it goes, you want a setting that is so close to one of the presets that every time you set the angle and go to tighten it up it drops into the preset. :twisted: Well with the override facility that is a thing of the past and now you can set almost any angle without a problem. :lol:
The laser is connected to the power supply of the saw, which means that you do not need batteries, and it can be turned on and off with the blade in a stationary position,. This makes it much easier and safer to set up a cut.
LASER UNIT
LASER ON/OFF
The laser can be set either side of the blade and the light is very bright which makes it easy to see.
Surprisingly I did not have to make any adjustments to the laser, as it was spot on straight out of the box.
If you have used a laser with your mitre saw, then you will appreciate it when I say that as long as it’s a good one (preferable from the manufacturer of the saw) and it is set up properly, it can be a real bonus. If you haven’t then may I suggest that you try one because they are well worth the money.
Dewalt say in their advertisements that the stand is lightweight, and although I don’t entirely agree with this, it has a carrying handle in the centre, which means it is nicely balanced if you have to move it around a workshop or building site
When set up, the stand is totally rock solid and will extend from 1.9m to 4.9m. It has flip up stops which are ideal for repeat cuts.
FLIP UP STOPS (SPUN AROUND THE WRONG WAY ) IDEAL FOR REPEAT CUTS
The mounting brackets that attach the saw to the stand are of the spring loaded quick release type, which means you can remove it in seconds and you do not need any tools to do it.
If you have a small workshop and space is at a premium, you could get a few more mounting brackets and use them to attach other machines such as a bench drill or bobbin sander to the stand, and when you have finished you could remove them and store them under a bench.
Now to the saw itself.
Another reason I went for the 718 was its short rails which means that unlike some other saws (my Elektra Beckum included) you do not need a lot of space behind it, and so if you are going to make a built in mitre saw unit like LN and Dom you can place the saw closer to the wall.
RAILS
The Elektra Beckum KGS300 has an induction motor and I really wanted to replace it with another machine that uses this type of motor, but unfortunately except for one saw from Axminster, EB (now Metabo) seem to be the only company to do mitre saws with a induction motor, so I had to go for a the belt driven 718. In the end this was no bad thing, because when I got it home I found out that the motor is very quiet, and IMHO every bit as good as an induction motor. It is also very powerful and along with a decent blade cuts through any hardwood I have thrown at it, just like a hot knife through butter.
The series 40, 60 tooth blade that comes with the saw is not one of their better blades. It is not really bad, but they do better ones and I would suggest that if anyone went for this saw they buy another blade for the fine work.
In use there is absolutely no tear out with this saw and whether you are cutting a mitre, bevel, or a square cut, all of them are spot on.
I have found no side to side movement whatsoever while pulling and pushing the head along the slide rail, and absolutely no deflection at the blade.
The saw has an electronic speed control, which you can use if you want to cut other sorts of materials.
ELECTRONIC SPEED CONTROL
Now for a rant.
We all know the dangers in workshop, and when I say we I include the manufacturers. You can lose your fingers in a instant on a table or mitre saw and so the manufacturers supply blade guards to help protect our pinkys. We also know the dangers of dust,, so why, why, oh bloody why do 99% of manufacturers make it look like the dust extraction on their machines is an afterthought? This saw is not cheap and in everyway except one it is one of the best mitre saws on the market, but the dust extraction is complete rubbish. It looks like Dewalt had spent all of the design budget by the time that they got to the extraction, so they thought “pipper it no one will notice“. :twisted:
DUST EXTRACTION INLET HOSE
DUST EXTRACTION INLET HOSE
DUST EXTRACTION OUTLET
Rant over.
Saying that IMHO the saw is still worth buying. It has 10 preset mitre indents for the most common of mitre cuts, and as I said above if you want a setting that is close to these presets all you have to do is use the mitre preset override. Mitre angles can be set on a stainless steel plate from 0 to 60 degrees on the left and 0 to 50 degrees on the right.
STAINLESS STEEL PRESETS
Or slide the fence out of the way and you can choose a bevel from anywhere between 0 to 48 on either side, with positive stops at “0” “22.5” “33.9” and “45” degrees. If you need to cut a piece of timber 400mm (or 16 inches in old money) all you have to do is use a auxiliary base.
LEFT HAND BEVEL
RIGHT HAND BEVEL
The bronze rail guides make for a very smooth and accurate action on the rails, and the trenching facility is great.
A large sliding fence is another perfect part of this Dewalt.
LEFT HAND FENCE EXTENDED
RIGHT HAND FENCE EXTENDED
It has a cam action to lock you mitre settings in place and I find this a lot better then the twist type.
CAM ACTION
Except for the dust extraction this is an excellent saw and is well worth the money. I would also highly recommend the laser and stand.
If anyone is interested in this saw but you cannot stretch to a new one, Dewalt do sell factory reconditioned ones through their agents, which are guaranteed for a year. Some of these have never been used and only have a few scratches on the body, but do shop about because some companies sell them at the price of new ones. The reconditioned ones have an R after the model number.
Not a real in depth review but I hope it helps someone. If anyone would like to know anything else just let me know.
A happy New Year to allccasion5:
Mike
I have owned the Dewalt DW718V for over a year now and although circumstances do not let me get into the workshop anyway near as much as I would like (hardly ever lately), I have used it enough to write a review.
You will notice that the model number above ends in a “V”, well this denotes that it has a factory fitted laser (DW7187) and comes with the (DE7023) heavy duty mitre saw stand. You can of course buy the saw on its own and add the laser and stand at a later date, and if you want to take this route, Dewalt have left a connecter which you simply plug the laser into.
As well as the above, the saw comes with a Dewalt Series 40, 60 tooth blade, a spanner and a dust extraction bag.
The specifications are as follows:
Blade Diameter 305mm
“ Bore 30mm
“ Speed 1900- 3400rpm
Power Input 1600 watts
Bevel Capacity 48/48
Mitre Capacity 60 left/50 right
Cutting Capacity at 90/90 (Wx H) 50x163mm
“ “ “ 90/90 (W x H) 345x 94mm
“ “ “ 45/90 (W x H) 230 x 94mm
“ “ “ 45/90 (W x H) 242 x 74mm
“ “ “ 90/45 (W x H) 50 x 114mm
“ “ “ 90/45 (W x H ) 345 x 52mm
Max Cutting Capacity 45/45 242 x 52mm
Max Depth of Cut 163mm (this is for something like 6 inch skirting or coving held upright against the fence)
Max Cross Cut 400 x 50mm (with auxiliary base)
I was attracted to this particular saw because of its double bevel ability, large crosscut capacity, trenching facility, and the excellent mitre preset override. You know how it goes, you want a setting that is so close to one of the presets that every time you set the angle and go to tighten it up it drops into the preset. :twisted: Well with the override facility that is a thing of the past and now you can set almost any angle without a problem. :lol:
The laser is connected to the power supply of the saw, which means that you do not need batteries, and it can be turned on and off with the blade in a stationary position,. This makes it much easier and safer to set up a cut.
LASER UNIT
LASER ON/OFF
The laser can be set either side of the blade and the light is very bright which makes it easy to see.
Surprisingly I did not have to make any adjustments to the laser, as it was spot on straight out of the box.
If you have used a laser with your mitre saw, then you will appreciate it when I say that as long as it’s a good one (preferable from the manufacturer of the saw) and it is set up properly, it can be a real bonus. If you haven’t then may I suggest that you try one because they are well worth the money.
Dewalt say in their advertisements that the stand is lightweight, and although I don’t entirely agree with this, it has a carrying handle in the centre, which means it is nicely balanced if you have to move it around a workshop or building site
When set up, the stand is totally rock solid and will extend from 1.9m to 4.9m. It has flip up stops which are ideal for repeat cuts.
FLIP UP STOPS (SPUN AROUND THE WRONG WAY
) IDEAL FOR REPEAT CUTS
The mounting brackets that attach the saw to the stand are of the spring loaded quick release type, which means you can remove it in seconds and you do not need any tools to do it.
If you have a small workshop and space is at a premium, you could get a few more mounting brackets and use them to attach other machines such as a bench drill or bobbin sander to the stand, and when you have finished you could remove them and store them under a bench.
Now to the saw itself.
Another reason I went for the 718 was its short rails which means that unlike some other saws (my Elektra Beckum included) you do not need a lot of space behind it, and so if you are going to make a built in mitre saw unit like LN and Dom you can place the saw closer to the wall.
RAILS
The Elektra Beckum KGS300 has an induction motor and I really wanted to replace it with another machine that uses this type of motor, but unfortunately except for one saw from Axminster, EB (now Metabo) seem to be the only company to do mitre saws with a induction motor, so I had to go for a the belt driven 718. In the end this was no bad thing, because when I got it home I found out that the motor is very quiet, and IMHO every bit as good as an induction motor. It is also very powerful and along with a decent blade cuts through any hardwood I have thrown at it, just like a hot knife through butter.
The series 40, 60 tooth blade that comes with the saw is not one of their better blades. It is not really bad, but they do better ones and I would suggest that if anyone went for this saw they buy another blade for the fine work.
In use there is absolutely no tear out with this saw and whether you are cutting a mitre, bevel, or a square cut, all of them are spot on.
I have found no side to side movement whatsoever while pulling and pushing the head along the slide rail, and absolutely no deflection at the blade.
The saw has an electronic speed control, which you can use if you want to cut other sorts of materials.
ELECTRONIC SPEED CONTROL
Now for a rant.
We all know the dangers in workshop, and when I say we I include the manufacturers. You can lose your fingers in a instant on a table or mitre saw and so the manufacturers supply blade guards to help protect our pinkys. We also know the dangers of dust,, so why, why, oh bloody why do 99% of manufacturers make it look like the dust extraction on their machines is an afterthought? This saw is not cheap and in everyway except one it is one of the best mitre saws on the market, but the dust extraction is complete rubbish. It looks like Dewalt had spent all of the design budget by the time that they got to the extraction, so they thought “pipper it no one will notice“. :twisted:
DUST EXTRACTION INLET HOSE
DUST EXTRACTION INLET HOSE
DUST EXTRACTION OUTLET
Rant over.
Saying that IMHO the saw is still worth buying. It has 10 preset mitre indents for the most common of mitre cuts, and as I said above if you want a setting that is close to these presets all you have to do is use the mitre preset override. Mitre angles can be set on a stainless steel plate from 0 to 60 degrees on the left and 0 to 50 degrees on the right.
STAINLESS STEEL PRESETS
Or slide the fence out of the way and you can choose a bevel from anywhere between 0 to 48 on either side, with positive stops at “0” “22.5” “33.9” and “45” degrees. If you need to cut a piece of timber 400mm (or 16 inches in old money) all you have to do is use a auxiliary base.
LEFT HAND BEVEL
RIGHT HAND BEVEL
The bronze rail guides make for a very smooth and accurate action on the rails, and the trenching facility is great.
A large sliding fence is another perfect part of this Dewalt.
LEFT HAND FENCE EXTENDED
RIGHT HAND FENCE EXTENDED
It has a cam action to lock you mitre settings in place and I find this a lot better then the twist type.
CAM ACTION
Except for the dust extraction this is an excellent saw and is well worth the money. I would also highly recommend the laser and stand.
If anyone is interested in this saw but you cannot stretch to a new one, Dewalt do sell factory reconditioned ones through their agents, which are guaranteed for a year. Some of these have never been used and only have a few scratches on the body, but do shop about because some companies sell them at the price of new ones. The reconditioned ones have an R after the model number.
Not a real in depth review but I hope it helps someone. If anyone would like to know anything else just let me know.
A happy New Year to all
ccasion5: Mike
