Dewalt DW715 12″ Compound Miter Saw For $179.00
My new saw is on deck duty to start, but eventually it will produce some new molding patterns for you.
Super Happy True Love Saw Story
My first professional-grade miter saw was a Dewalt 705 dual bevel miter saw. It was twelve inches of spinning perfection, and I loved it. It cut like butter.
I bought it way back in the year 2000 or so, and it served me well day in and day out until, seven years later, I reluctantly sent it in for an emergency overhaul when the on/off trigger finally gave up the ghost.
Without a second thought I went straight from the Dewalt service center over to Home Depot and bought the newest version of the same saw, because you know, you can never have too many saws.
I Feel We’re Drifting Apart
But when I put my new saw together and checked to make sure all was square, I sadly discovered that all was not square.
The fence was not perpendicular to the table. And there was no way to make it so. A previous incarnation of me was a precision machine builder, so I knew how to do this sort of thing, but my new Dewalt saw made no provisions for adjustments.
A poorly aligned fence may be OK for really rough framing projects, but certainly not for fine finish carpentry.
So I returned it and exchanged it for another one.
Same problem.
And again with the third.
That’s when I gave up on the Dewalt and bought a Makita, a very spectacular saw, though expensive.
Our Molding Makeover
After the 2008 housing crash, I shut down my finish carpentry service and wound up doing field biology in the Sonoran Desert. No need for a van full of high-end tools in my new job — I ended up selling the whole lot. Which was a mistake. Never sell you tools.
Because in a strange turn of fate I wound up in Tucson, started The Joy of Moldings and the Our Molding Makeover project and ended up needing another miter saw.
Not wanting to lay out the same bundle of cash as I did for the Makita, I bought a used Rigid 12″ double bevel compound miter saw. I hated that saw. It was a clunker. I dreaded using it each and every time.
My New Dewalt DW715: It’s Love Again!
Dewalt fixed whatever problem they had with those older saws, because my new one is an absolute pleasure to use.
I bought this one because renting one would cost me $125.00 a week, and I’d need it for longer than that to build the wheelchair ramp on the back of mom and dad’s house. This one was on sale for a mere $179.00!
And when I’m finished building dad’s ramp I’m sure I’ll find an excuse to come up with some fun molding projects for you. Until then!
