Miter Saws - DeWalt DWS779 and DWS780?

[kythri]

I'm in the market for a 12" sliding compound miter saw.

I haven't decided if I want to pony up for DeWalt, or if I'd be happy with the Ryobi (or, even, if there's something else I'd want to consider - it's early), but assuming I decide to jump to DeWalt, what's the big difference between the DWS779 and DWS780, besides a $215 price difference?

 

[Handyandy23]

I have the DWS779 and I'm very happy with it. As far as I could tell when buying last year, the only thing the DWS780 has that the 779 doesn't is a laser system to show where the cut will be. That's a handy feature, but not one I'm willing to spend hundreds more on, personally.

As for DeWalt vs a cheaper saw, I upgraded from a Mastercraft Maximum saw, and the DeWalt is lightyears better. I haven't used the Ryobi so I can't really diss it, but my old saw was not good at anything it was supposed to be. It was always off a degree or two from what cut you were trying to make. The position locks were sloppy and loose. Being inaccurate and not repeatable makes a mitre saw relatively useless.

The DeWalt is dead nuts accurate, and the position locks are positive and precise. A 45 degree cut is actually 45 degrees and not 45.7 degrees. Well worth the extra cost IMHO, and it's a joy to use.

 

[Aaron_W]

I have a little Ryobi 7-1/4" miter saw for small projects and use it with a non-ferrous metal blade for cutting brass and aluminium. It is a good little saw for the money ($99), but it really depends on what you are using it for. Building fences and such I'm sure the larger Ryobi's would be fine. I wouldn't count on it comparing well to Makita, Dewalt, or Milwaukee though if you are doing precise work.

 

[Bottlecapdigger]

I have the Makita 1013 I think is the model #. There isn't one thing I would change about it that can make it better. BCD.

 

[Mecha]

Have a Ridgid non sliding miter saw, love it. It has a laser sight, I never use it just line up the saw blade. So if that is the only difference forgo the laser.

DeWalt makes an excellent slider fyi.

 

[Davefr]

I bought the DWS780 last year when Amazon had a promotion which included the DWX726 stand.

I thought I'd need to calibrate/align the saw but it was dead nuts on when checked with a machinist square.

I also love the stand.

My advice is to try and wait for a promotion when they bundle in or discount the stand + saw.

 

[k-os]

I have the DWS779 and I'm very happy with it. As far as I could tell when buying last year, the only thing the DWS780 has that the 779 doesn't is a laser system to show where the cut will be. That's a handy feature, but not one I'm willing to spend hundreds more on, personally.

As for DeWalt vs a cheaper saw, I upgraded from a Mastercraft Maximum saw, and the DeWalt is lightyears better. I haven't used the Ryobi so I can't really diss it, but my old saw was not good at anything it was supposed to be. It was always off a degree or two from what cut you were trying to make. The position locks were sloppy and loose. Being inaccurate and not repeatable makes a mitre saw relatively useless.

The DeWalt is dead nuts accurate, and the position locks are positive and precise. A 45 degree cut is actually 45 degrees and not 45.7 degrees. Well worth the extra cost IMHO, and it's a joy to use.

The 780 uses an LED light to cast a shadow of the blade onto the wood, not a laser, so there is never any worry about it being aligned and true. You can buy the components for around $80 I believe to update the 779 with the LED light.

 

[earl84]

Have the 779. I love it, very accurate for everything. Smooth slide, no sideways twisting at all. Recommend waiting for Black Friday sales at HD. I got the stand for free. It’s pretty solid, although to be perfectly honest, I had the Ridgid MSUV stand, and I liked it better. Bigger tires, easier to stand up and take down, the saw was easily removed. Only th8ng was I had to do some modifying to make the Dewalt 779 fit the mounts. No modifying with the Dewalt stand, but it was a one time modification. Of course, someone else liked my whole setup better than I did, so they stole it all. Bastards. I bought a second 779 I liked it so much.

 

[GirchyGirchy]

The 780 uses an LED light to cast a shadow of the blade onto the wood, not a laser, so there is never any worry about it being aligned and true. You can buy the components for around $80 I believe to update the 779 with the LED light.

I added the light to my older 12" non-slider, and it's great. It illuminates from above, so you see both cut lines on the blade. They're available on eBay for $50 or so.

 

[Handyandy23]

The 780 uses an LED light to cast a shadow of the blade onto the wood, not a laser, so there is never any worry about it being aligned and true. You can buy the components for around $80 I believe to update the 779 with the LED light.

I added the light to my older 12" non-slider, and it's great. It illuminates from above, so you see both cut lines on the blade. They're available on eBay for $50 or so.

This is good to know. Would either of you happen to have a DeWalt PN for the light?

 

[gj67stang]

The 780 uses an LED light to cast a shadow of the blade onto the wood, not a laser, so there is never any worry about it being aligned and true. You can buy the components for around $80 I believe to update the 779 with the LED light.

This.

This is good to know. Would either of you happen to have a DeWalt PN for the light?

This is where I obtained my conversion kit, but other (cheaper?) options are out there.

 

[tonyciambrone]

I have a 780 at work and a Delta Cruzer at home. I like the delta better, hands down. The only thing the Dewalt has on the Delta is an led shadow line. But I seem to make just as good cuts on the delta anyways. It is smooth, feels more powerful, easier to use IMO.

 

[aggie113]

Reviving this thread to preach the DWS779 purchase. I was even more lucky in that I got an open box special for $275. Did the upgrade kit this weekend and now it works just as if I'd bought a DWS780. A very handy upgrade for a super low cost. Bought the kit from the same site as others did.

 

[Ton ton]

Definitely a great saw. I think my family has a 780. But I have to double check. They are a pleasure to use.

 

[Ton ton]

Keystone air power has the DWS780 for $599.95.

 

[aggie113]

Keystone air power has the DWS780 for $599.95.

Hate to say, but just about everyone has it for that price

 

[Kscardsfan]

Cheap saws loose tolerance pretty quickly as rule. Spend the extra money for the yellow tool. The laser thing I never found all that useful when I was working, and on a few of our saws it was actually off enough to cause problems. But when you’re installing trim a 1/16” or even a 1/32” can make all the difference in the world.

 

[ItsNemo]

Cheap saws loose tolerance pretty quickly as rule. Spend the extra money for the yellow tool. The laser thing I never found all that useful when I was working, and on a few of our saws it was actually off enough to cause problems. But when you’re installing trim a 1/16” or even a 1/32” can make all the difference in the world.

It's not a laser on the Dewalt, it's a shadow cast by the blade so it's always bang on. Best feature by far that you get on the 780 over the 779 but you can retro fit so it's really a matter of waiting for the free stand deal on either one.

 

[TuxThePenguin]

I have a 779. And I hve used Ryobi miter saws. There is a huge difference. I don't understand why anyone buys the Ryobis. I think their miter saws are junk, the mechanisms get stuck easily and they go out of square and they're just no fun to use in my opinion.

As for the laser sight stuff of the 780, I disagree with above people saying that is a "useful feature". I hve never seen a saw with a laser sight that was actually accurate. In my experience they are always like 1/16" off or something like that. Even if I had a laser sight on my saw, I would not use it, and would probably disable it.

Therefore, I think the 779 is actually better than the 780.

edit: ok, it's not a laser. maybe it doesn't ****. i dunno. I don't see the need anyway. You just lower the blade before you actually pull the trigger to check it. Even having the feature, even if it worked 100% perfectly, I still think it's completely pointless.

 

[SilverDeck]

I have a 779. And I hve used Ryobi miter saws. There is a huge difference. I don't understand why anyone buys the Ryobis. I think their miter saws are junk, the mechanisms get stuck easily and they go out of square and they're just no fun to use in my opinion.

As for the laser sight stuff of the 780, I disagree with above people saying that is a "useful feature". I hve never seen a saw with a laser sight that was actually accurate. In my experience they are always like 1/16" off or something like that. Even if I had a laser sight on my saw, I would not use it, and would probably disable it.

Therefore, I think the 779 is actually better than the 780.

The DWS780 doesn't have a laser. It is a blade cutline shadow that is created by a light shining past the blade and projecting a shadow line onot the work piece where the blade is going to cut. I have used a DWS780 and found the feature extremely useful. I'm actually in the market for one of these saws right now and will probably end up buying a DWS779 and adding the cutline conversion materials (approx $70-80) to that saw to make it operate the same as a DWS780.

 

[bob15]

I know it isn't on your list, but I bought a used DW 708 several years ago for I believe 200 bucks. Zero complaints with it. Used is always bad

 

[NUTTSGT]

I got the 779 last year for Christmas and bought it off the BF sale. It came with the fold down table/cart.

Been using it for the garage addition.

 

[ItsNemo]

I have a 779. And I hve used Ryobi miter saws. There is a huge difference. I don't understand why anyone buys the Ryobis. I think their miter saws are junk, the mechanisms get stuck easily and they go out of square and they're just no fun to use in my opinion.

As for the laser sight stuff of the 780, I disagree with above people saying that is a "useful feature". I hve never seen a saw with a laser sight that was actually accurate. In my experience they are always like 1/16" off or something like that. Even if I had a laser sight on my saw, I would not use it, and would probably disable it.

Therefore, I think the 779 is actually better than the 780.

edit: ok, it's not a laser. maybe it doesn't ****. i dunno. I don't see the need anyway. You just lower the blade before you actually pull the trigger to check it. Even having the feature, even if it worked 100% perfectly, I still think it's completely pointless.

If you haven't used it, you just don't know...lowering the saw on square cuts is fine but on miter cuts is where it really starts to shine (ha, get it, shine) as it casts a shadow right down the line so you can get the angle bang on. There's zero gimmick in it, it makes me more accurate and I do have a 10" not sliding Makita too without such features as a comparison point.

 

[dsimatt]

The DWS780 doesn't have a laser. It is a blade cutline shadow that is created by a light shining past the blade and projecting a shadow line onot the work piece where the blade is going to cut. I have used a DWS780 and found the feature extremely useful. I'm actually in the market for one of these saws right now and will probably end up buying a DWS779 and adding the cutline conversion materials (approx $70-80) to that saw to make it operate the same as a DWS780.

I'd wait till black friday and pick up the saw same price but get the stand for free.

 

[Rogers954]

After seeing an old post on here a few years back I went with the 779. The specs between both those models where literally the exact same but at the time the nearly $200 price difference came down to dewalts lighting system which the 779 didn't have. Well needless to say the parts to add the light to my 779 was around $65-75 in parts and it was a really easy job (maybe 30 min) I will agree with everyone else on here that say its a useful feature as it is not a gimmicky laser that always needs calibration, but an actual LED light that cast a prefect shadow on the blade that gets very sharp and defined as you get close to the work piece. I am very glad that I went with the 779 and did the upgrade, IMO it was worth every penny of the money to upgrade the light. Oh and at the time that I did buy my 779 loves had it marked down quite a bit and they still honored my military discount so I want to say after taxes I walk out the door with it right around $318. For the price I got it at I have zero complaints its an incredibly smooth and accurate HD tool.

 

[SilverDeck]

I'd wait till black friday and pick up the saw same price but get the stand for free.

Yep, that's what I'm waiting for. Hoping to get the DWS779 with a free rolling stand and then to the light upgrade on the saw later.

 

[melihsaw]

The best saw I have ever used, extremely useful :<a href="https://www.chainsawtypes.com/dewalt-chainsaw-20v-dewalt-20v-max-chainsaw-2020-best/" rel="nofollow"> dewalt chainsaw 20v </a>

 

[kapster]

I am also in the market for a 12" sliding miter saw, really like the dewalt. My local Lowes has both models, I noticed the 779 is made in Taiwan and the dws780 Mexico. That seems odd doesn't it? Perhaps there is more difference then just the light?

Sent from my SM-T720 using Tapatalk

 

[Sombrero guy]

The 780 uses an LED light to cast a shadow of the blade onto the wood, not a laser, so there is never any worry about it being aligned and true. You can buy the components for around $80 I believe to update the 779 with the LED light.

I heard that installing that $80 light could void the warranty. What do you think?

 

[Sombrero guy]

Sorry, nooby dump

 

[Coach James]

I was looking for a thread like this as I was deciding between the 779 and 780.

Good responses, thanks.
Coach