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Product Reviews
Love the fence, hate the blade guard, February 7, 2001
Reviewer: Joseph Chiu
If you're buying a table saw for the first time, consider
carefully whether you intend to use the saw for
woodworking or for construction.
As a construction saw, this is a terrific saw.
This is a powerful and accurate machines that'll make you
very productive. I particularly love the rack-and-pinion
fence on the 744. It's a cinch to use -- just slide the
fence, fine tune the position with the dial, and then snap
the locking lever. The fence is perfectly parallel every
time.
The telescoping fence has a clever supporting arm that
allows you to rip up to 24.5" to the right of the blade.
You can also move the fence to get 15.5" of ripping
capacity to the left of the blade. (I think everyone
pretty much agrees that it's a great fence.)
Although I'm pretty happy with my purchase, I have to
agree with other reviewers about the shortcomings of this
saw.
1. The table top is a bit small. In particular, there's
not enough room between the fron!t of the table to the
blade. This makes it hard to work with larger pieces.
2. The mitre gauge is so-so. As others have mentioned, the
angle-stop tab sometimes gets pinched as you're sliding
the mitre back. Also, I wish they made a mounting
hole/slot on the mitre so that I can easily attach a jig.
3. The blade guard is a hassle to remove and to reinstall.
It takes too much time and effort to remove the guard
whenever I want to dado or use my cross-cutting jig
(sled). This is the one place where I wish DeWalt could
have borrowed from Sears Craftsman saws.
4. The universal motor is noisy and has a big start-up
kick. There's also a bit of vibration even after the motor
has spun up. (Granted, this is pretty much true with all
portable saws, except that the Bosch has the soft-start
motor controller.)
5. The included saw blade is fairly generic -- you'll want
to replace it with a blade for your particular needs.
I think shortcomings #1, 3, and 4 a!re design tradeoffs
that are inherent in portable saws (aimed primarily for
construction use). #2 is somewhat disappointing in
contrast to the quality of the telescoping fence.
If you're a serious woodworker, you'll probably be much
happier with a woodworker's saw (like the DeWalt DW746)
which vibrates less, runs quieter, and has more table
space. (On the other hand, a woodworker's saw is bigger
and costs more.)
Still, I think the DW744 saw is a great saw, and it's good
enough to be a 'crossover' saw for basic woodworking. Even
though there's a bit of vibration (compared to a
woodworker saw), it's not excessive, and the oft-praised
fence makes accurate work of small cuts.
I enhanced my saw with DeWalt's side and outfeed supports
(DW7441) and put it on a Trojan portable saw stand
(SC-744) which allows me to easily move the saw.
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The good out weighs the not so good, June 30, 2000
Reviewer: Donald Foy
Good - This saw has as accurate a fence as they make. The
rack and pinion mechanism starts and stays dead on. I have
made furniture with very fine joinery tolerances.
Everything always comes out square a straight. The motor
works surprisingly well for 13 amp. Set up was as simple
as unpacking the box.
Not so good - The mitre gauge is pretty flimsy and the 90
degree stop tends to catch on the table top when you start
it beyond the edge. I replaced the mitre gauge to get rid
of the headache. DeWalt, as they always seem to do,
included a cheap blade with the saw. Easy enough to fix
but why not throw in a nicer blade?
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works like a charm......a true DeWalt, February 28, 2006
Reviewer: John K. Black "jkb624"
Once you get it assembled, it works great. The fence is
precise, the blade cuts feather smooth, and the blade
height adjustment is easy. Great saw overall!
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DEWALT DW744S 10", February 21, 2006
Reviewer: Howard Levine
The saw was not in working condition when it arrived at my
house. The motor was not positioned properly. I called
Dewalt and they really could not help me. I took the saw
to a service center by my house. They worked on it, but it
was still not right. I then put a spacer on the blade
shaft. It now works. I do like the saw just wish it came
in proper working order.
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