Hello Team:
Trying to retrofit a small 200 sft woodshop. Trying to decide on a specific miter saw made by DeWalt. Need advice (your experince with) one or more of the following DeWalt models:
DWS780 and three others that are about 40% less – (DWS779), (DWS716XPS), and (DWS716).
Also in need of a solid shop vac and an air filter systems. Your Thoughts appreciated??
Ray Leard
You can scratch the DW716XPS. The XPS is for a light that illuminates the cut line. It is hard to see. I never use it.
Mike Williams
You will be happy with anyone of those. I have a basic DEWALT 12-in 15-Amp Dual Bevel Compound Corded Miter Saw. Inherited it 16 years ago and it is running strong. Couple of items to consider. Do you have the depth to handle the Double Bevel Sliding Compound saw. Space is always at a premium in my tiny shop. I always wanted the Bosch Dual Bevel Glide Miter Saw - 12" (woodcraft item #152580)Model GCM12SD . it uses hinges instead of a tube slider. $600 about the same as the dewalt slider. pros of a slider, make bigger cuts safely. Con. Price and size.
If you want dust collection for the chop saw you almost have to build a dust collector enclosure behind it to capture all the chips.
Consider stepping up to a Dust collector, much more air flow. 4" hose at a billion CFM vs shop vac 1.5 hose. I bought a Harbor Freight CENTRAL MACHINERY 35 Gallon, 2 HP High-Flow High-Capacity Dust Collector and CENTRAL MACHINERY Dust Collector Accessory Kit.
If you get the shop vac consider getting a dust deputy to separate out the large pieces before they get to the shop vac. Build a cart and have the shopvac and dust deputy as one rolling unit. Look at this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STaW2LWLxQg
I have had 3 different brands of shop vacs over the years. They all worked great, LOUD LOUD whiny noise. Buy one with all the accessories bundled. I am partial to the end with a brush to help on clean up.
Ray,
I went and looked at the specs for the saws. Just one guys opinion: Go with the DWS779. you get the slider feature and save quite a bit over the DWS780. The main difference is the aiming light/laser according to the internet. You can retrofit the light if you so choose according to the article.