My saw is used primarily in a shop environment and mainly as a replacement for a radial arm saw (cross-cuts 8/4 hard maple like a hot knife through soft butter), honestly I cannot imagine working without it. I had heard from other trades that the saw "goes out of adjustment frequently" and I must admit I have had this problem on job sites. The primary issue is the saws weight and awkwardness in moving it around. The four screws used to secure the adjustable platen to the saw base do loosen up with use and just picking this Mother up can effect the saws precision. The good news is it's not a major ordeal to re-set the alignment and a little bit of lock-tite prevents the set screws from wiggling loose. Although the saw can be placed on a work-mate (barely), I would recommend the DeWalt stand (the adjustable material supports alone make it worth the money). And if DeWalt would just put adjustable legs or feet on this stand it would be a perfect solution both in the shop and on-site. Yes the saw throws dust everywhere (which is more of a problem in a client's house than in the shop or outside), but a vacuum hook-up greatly helps and in reality every mitre saw does the same.

Don't be intimidated by the price or the size of the saw and use care when moving it around, you will not regret making this purchase. Highly recommended.

Stop Complaining (Rating: 5.00)
Review : Just a note to everyone out there that is thinking of buying a slide miter saw. This is the one. Yes it is heavy. Yes the slide could be smoother like the Makita. Yes it could include more wothless accesories that no real carpenter would use. But it is still the best OVERALL miter saw available.. Hitachi sucks because of the low fence. Unless you are cutting 1X stock flat on the table all day long the fence is worthless. And unless you are one of the three peole in the world that actually likes a vertical handle, then that too is worthless. Makita makes a nice saw, but the assymetrical fence is a pain, becauase you can cut a handrail on the left side of the fence, but on the right side the farthest protruding part of the handrail(6010 profile anyway) is above the fence, which means that the peice you are cutting is supported on one side but not on the other. I will state that I have not used either of the new Bosch double bevel slides, but they seem like they are good, with one notable exception. Every saw on the market(including some Dewalt offerings) have that stupid twist knob miter lock. I have gotten so comfortable with the cam lock that I will never own or even use a miter saw without one. At one point, I was toying with the idea of buying a Makita 12" slide and putting a Dewalt fence on it, but the idea of not having the cam lock stopped that idea in its tracks( at least until I can find a way to incorporate that too!) That said, I am finally going to purchase a new saw, as my old 708 has served me faithfully for the past 5 years but she is a little long in the tooth, shaft bearings are wobbling, table thrust washers are sloppy, etc. Wonder what saw is going to replace it? Darn tootin', another 708. Enough said.

P.S. Last reveiw of this item was in '01 or so, if your'e keepin' track. My trade is stairbuilng and handrailing, with a little trin on the side, so if you are picky about cut quality(which is good, byt the way) you will be better off listening to me than a framer(no offense to those boys, for framing is an art not unlike mine) or a home owner cutting up some P.T. decking.
P.S.S. Those of you who make some crosscuts in an occasional board or whack together some casing for your own house should certainly let the rest of us know in your reviews, so that we can weigh your input with its actual worth. To be truthful, these people would be better served with a B & D or Craftsman miter saw( no slide, no bevel) and use the left over money for flowers for your yard.

Fence needs occasional adjustment (Rating: 4.00)
Review : Bought this tool 5 years ago and it has worked great since then.
However, now the fence seems to be out of square.
Does anyone know where I can get documentation on how to adjust or calibrate it?
The manual is long gone.

Apparently, this is a recurring problem with this tool.
But I don't want to take it in to the shop everytime it needs adjustment.

Great Saw -- Buy it Someplace else (Rating: 5.00)
Review : This is a great saw, and they've improved the dust collection -- my only complaint with an older model. Buying it from Amazon/toolcrib, however, is a nuisance. Trying to get presales support was useless, with conflicting information or tech people just reading me things from the web site. More importantly, the delivery time they gave me was a window of more than two weeks, and it took nearly 3 weeks to get the thing. AND, it arrived BROKEN. Fortunately, Dewalt is sending me a new one, but clearly someone had dropped this saw along the way since the lockdown pin was bent and the handle housing was broken. I bought from amazon only because they had a (...) when I bought the saw, but the price they quoted changed from day to day on the web site.

Love that Yellow! (Rating: 5.00)
Review : Because I am not a professional carpenter the price for this tool was always out of my reach and never on sale. Thanks to a Home Depot $100 rebate card deal I finally made the move. It was my first "Dewalt yellow" and this saw has definitely lived up to all my expectations. I just completed a ornate picket fence from scratch and this saw made it almost effortless. Whoever at Dewalt engineered this saw (and stand which is also fabulous)really hit the mark. Since I bought this saw I have also purchased other Dewalt tools and have been very happy.

Question/Answer
1. Is it easy to use.... very
2. is it solid enough to cut big wood like 4x4...definitely
3. Is it accurate.....very
4. Should I get the stand for it....yes
5. Is it worth the money..... yes..every penny
6. Is there anything that could be changed in it's design...I challenge Dewalt to add a laser line retrofit.