As part of our paid partnership with Home Depot (which ends this month), they sent along a Dewalt DW745S portable table saw, with stand.
I have used this Dewalt table saw before, and the more recent model (DWE7480) that came after it.
Advertisement
Today, let’s talk about the top 5 reasons you, or anyone looking for a compact portable table saw, should buy this model.
- Compact size
- Fairly capable
- Awesome fence
- Great bargain
- Reliable
To start off, it is compact. While not as small as the Dewalt FlexVolt table saw (reviewed here), it’s definitely one of the more compact portable table saws I have used. It’s quite portable too. Even though it’s not as boxy of a form factor as some other compact table saws, it carries very easily. Whether you’re setting it up outside, or hauling it in and out of a truck, it’s comfortable to move around.
But, its small size doesn’t mean it’s puny. In fact, a rolling change a few years ago had increased its rip capacity.
- Rip cuts up to 20″ right of blade
- 3-1/8″ max cutting depth at 90°
- 2-1/4″ max cutting depth at 45°
- 10″ blade size
- 15A
- 2-1/2″ dust port
- Weighs 45 lbs
No, it can’t work with a dado stack. No, it’s not going to easily handle stacks of full-size sheets of plywood. But that’s not what this saw is for. Dewalt says that its 20″ of rip capacity easily cuts a variety of larger shelving and trim materials.
The fence is awesome. Dewalt has perfected their rack and pinion fence, which adjusts smoothly, easily, and accurately. All of the user controls and adjustments are smooth and easy for that matter. It delivers a solid user experience.
Advertisement
I have donated a couple of Dewalt table saws over the years, and never heard anything negative about them. I still have a Dewalt rolling table saw I use often, and it too has been great. This particular DW745 went to a local electrician who is doing some home remodeling. So far, everyone is pleased, with no complaints.
Not to mince words, but I have always had the perception that cheap table saws are fraught with problems. Common complaints are that they have flimsy enclosures, poor accuracy, and cheap components. Maybe that has changed, but it’s looking at some of the user reviews for tables saws in the $100-200 price range tend to reaffirm my perception.
In my personal experience, and drawing upon years of not hearing anything notably bad about them, I trust Dewalt’s portable table saws to be reliable.
The DW745 is an older but current model in Dewalt’s portable table saw category. This particular SKU, DW745S, comes with a folding stand. Portable table saws need to be secure in use, and the included stand helps with that.
At the moment, Home Depot has this combo priced at $299, which is very good for what you get. There are specials on the saw around holiday times (here’s a reminder of Black Friday 2018 deals), but I don’t think I’ve seen better pricing on this special combo set.
If you don’t want the folding stand, Home Depot might have the saw at special pricing for Father’s Day. But if you might find use in the stand, it’s less expensive to buy it as part of this combo.
$299 is a great bargain for this compact, capable, easy to use, and reliable portable table saw.
I think that it’s the best portable table saw for the money, and that you’d be hard pressed to find anything better at under $300.
Frankly, I have a little regret that I gave it away. While not a fully-featured table saw, since it can’t work with dado blades, it’s easy to set up, easy to use, and in my experience, trouble-free.
Even the guarding is easy to use. I see a lot of contractors using portable table saws without the blade guard, anti-kickback pawls, and even the riving knife, saying that it takes too much time or effort. I’ve always been adamant about proper tool safety, but 5 minutes of reading OSHA accident reports will be enough to convert anyone.
While the use of power tools is never completely risk-free, Dewalt has made the guards and safety accessories quick and easy to use. That’s something I always like to see with power tools, and especially table saws.
If you’re shopping for a new compact table saw and wondering about whether you should buy this, I’m hesitant to offer advise, even though my answer would be an enthusiastic “YES,” given the paid partnership with Home depot.
However, a reader recently asked me a question about Dewalt’s warranty policies, and I took a closer look at a part of their warranty that I had glazed over so many times in the past. They have a 90 day money-back guarantee.
If you are not completely satisfied with the performance of your DEWALT Power Tool, Laser, or Nailer for any reason, you can return it within 90 days from the date of purchase with a receipt for a full refund – no questions asked.
I would caution that it could be a hassle to have to return something like this, but I can’t imagine it not working out for someone shopping for portable table saws in the $150-300 price range. If it doesn’t check all your boxes, a larger and more capable portable table saws command much higher price tags.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
This is one of the most popular portable table saws on the market.
For those of you who have also used the Dewalt DW745 portable table saw, or the DW745S (with folding stand), what do you think about it?
Thank you to Home Depot and Dewalt for the review sample.
Darth
I have the saw and love it. I don’t have the stand, but I should be getting a miter saw stand soon, and will buy the connection so I can use the table saw on the miter saw stand. By far the best of the cheap table saws.
Luke T.
I thought the same thing until I bolted the adapters from the miter saw onto the table saw. IMO the saw is too high and unsafe. The bed height is almost to my chest and it’s uncomfortable to cut with.
Stuart
I agree with Luke.
There’s a special table saw stand, DW7440RS, and in addition to having a much wider stance, it’s shorter and closer to the ground.
I would be really hesitant to place a table saw on a miter saw stand. Even if it fits, that might not be the safest idea.
Jeff
…also, wing nuts, instead of nuts provided, make for a tooless and quicker disassemble for stand with model DW 745S.
MichaelHammer
Get the rolling stand. Worth every penny. Do not use the miter stand if you like keeping all your body parts.
Clifford Alloway
Bosch gravity rise stands are nice for table saws
Jack Phelan
What’s the trick to getting the hold down attachment out of the side
Jim
Lift up what is available on the outside of the base gently. It confounded me as well.
Craig
I got a Hitachi C10RJ at Christmas time for $299 and love it. 35″ right rip capacity is great and it has rack and pinion fence though I don’t think it’s as nice as Dewalt’s fence. It bogs down a bit when ripping harder hardwoods but slowing the feed fixed that. It handles pine with no issues. I believe it has same max cutting depth as the Dewalt at both 90 and 45 but I’d have to double check. Also came with folding stand at that price. Mine stays at my house so I can’t vouch for the durability on a jobsite
mattd
I have one only because I got it on clearance for $100 (no stand) and could not pass that up in-case I wanted a table saw in the future. So far it has worked great for the small stuff I have used it for. I do not use it a whole lot, but for me at least it has worked well as I can tuck it away on a shelf when I am not using it. I am sure someday I will want a more feature rich saw (dado’s and larger rip capacity), but for now this is all the saw I need.
Sam
I am a cabinet maker/ installer and I have the Dewalt DWE748
It’s awesome and I love it
Super accurate and fence stays square
I keep this table saw at home and have used it for a major remodel that I am currently doing
For work installing cabinets, I use the companies provided job site table saws
We use cheap ones and they are a big safety hazard , as the fences have a hard time staying square with the blade
Tom
I have had the 745 for 18 months and found it easy to use,safe and accurate for my needs.
Not sure if the ability to use dado blades is relevant here in UK as it’s banned in the EU
Having said that, I would recommend it to anyone for DIY use.
OhioHead
The 748 was a game changer when released in the late 90’s/early 00’s for someone wanting a dedicated stationary table saw who did not want to spend $4k or $5k (or more) for a comparable saw!
Andrew
Off topic but what are people’s favorite blades besides Diablo. Not talking about the Forrester or high end blades but ones you would expect to see on this saw or a circular saw?
Stuart
Freud. =)
(For those that don’t get the joke, Diablo is a Freud brand.)
MichaelHammer
Tenryu. Excellent blades, I like them better than the Freud line up. I’ve been meaning to try Oshlun, their multi saw blades are bar none at half the cost.
Mitchell A
I had this saw I also owned the rigid which was pretty much the same saw/stand both have excellent safety features and I could throw it in the truck and go I of course had to move up to a bigger saw but for the money this is definitely a good saw
Addison
AGREE!
Bryce
I have the 7480 and it’s a good saw for all of the reasons you mentioned above. I paid $350 at HD and it came with a stand that is quite a bit nicer (sturdier) than the one pictured here. The one thing I dislike about the saw is that the miter slots are very janky. They are full of rough raised burrs which prevent regular miter bars from sliding smoothly. The only reason the included miter gauge slides is because it is drastically undersized and sloppy. I am building a crosscut sled now and need to decide if I will make undersized bars for it, or else try to take a file and smooth the burrs out of the slots. Neither is a great option. But all in all, still a good saw. The other thing I wanted to mention is that although you can’t use dados, you can usually use box joint blades in these saws, which is like a baby dado stack consisting of only 2 blades and can cut either 1/4 or 3/8 slots depending on how you stack them. I haven’t tried yet on the 7480 but I am pretty sure it will work fine.
Matt J
What did you do for the throat plate for the box joint blades? Make your own?
Kyle
I have the 7480 and have used a box joint blade set with it. The standard throat plate actually fits the 3/8″ stack perfectly. Also, the two blades are thin enough for the blade bolt to fully thread on. So, no safety concerns about partial threading.
John
The throat plate that came with the saw will work with a box joint blade set. You could make zero clearance inserts for both single and box joint blades but just be aware that most of the sawdust will stay topside even with a strong vacuum attached.
Luke
This was my first table saw and very good for me for many years. The fence got knocked off last fall and all the cuts after that were slightly pinched at the back end. Having to really force things through felt really unsafe. Instead of just going the sensible way of getting a new fence I moved to the Milwaukee M18 table saw at Christmas for a few reasons: I like buying new tools, I don’t like power cords, I love Milwaukee, and I guessed (very rightly) that the M18 would be a lot quieter. The Dewalt was more powerful but man that sucker was loud. Both are great saws but I’m much happier with the quieter battery powered one that does everything I need.
Matt J
I just got the seemingly soon to be extinct Delta Shopmaster S36-300. Similar fence system to the DeWalt that locks square at 3 different rail positions but doesn’t have the rack and pinion microadjusment. Has a 28″ right rip capacity. Standard miter slots, sturdy alumimum table, and an outfeed support bar that’s great for sheet goods. From my angle, it only comes up short next to the DeWalt in lacking dust collection (which, if really needed, is admittedly a big deal). Was looking at the DeWalt for a long time but couldn’t justify the price given some other things we needed. That’s not to say it’s overpriced by any means, but just not in my budget at this time.
Very pleased with the Delta saw so far, especially for $180 all in with an included stand, including shipping from Menard’s in Ohio to Eastern PA. The thing cuts great and the fence is awesome. Doesn’t seem to get much publicity (there’s not a single youtube review on it), so I thought I’d give it a shout out.
Steve
I’ve been wondering about that saw since Menards is clearing them and I want a basic table saw and can’t justify spending $300 on one for me. (I really like the Dewalt but can’t justify it.) I can however justify spending $80 + $80 in Menards rebates I have for the S36-300. Do you know if the S36-300 can handle Dados? (I don’t think so, but thought I’d ask.) Also, the description on the Menards website says it has a dust port, is this wrong?
Also, while the S36-300 is going away at Menards the S36-295 just popped up at my local-ish Lowes after the tool department reset, it appears to be the same thing without as much rip cut capacity, doesn’t have as much extension.
Matt J
In my opinion, the fence on the S36-300 is a million times better than the S36-295. The 295 is a standard T-Style but is pretty sloppy, or at least it was in my Lowe’s when I played with it. You’re correct that the 295 lacks the extension table, but in giving that up, they also changed how the fence works.
So far, I really like the S36-300, and I like it even more for the price. I’ve only cut cedar so far, but it did well with all kinds of cuts, and didn’t bog down at all, even on 8 foot rips. Time will tell how it does with hardwoods — I can’t chime in on that yet.
The manual doesn’t give any advice on dados one way or another (which in today’s litigious society, I found extremely odd). I followed up with an email to Delta support, asking about a dado throat plate, and they said the saw does not support dados.
As a few have mentioned above with the DW745, given the arbor size, I think it might be able to handle a box joint blade, but I personally haven’t done that, and I don’t think Delta would approve of it.
Matt J
Yeah — as far as I can tell, it does not have a dust port. Given the closed design of the base, it’d probably work well with a dust collection bag, but no integrated dust port. There’s also no onboard storage for the blade guard and anti-kickback pawls, if that’s a consideration for you — I think that was listed as a feature on the Delta site that I couldn’t find on the actual saw. There is a lot of unused space on the back of the saw, so you could probably rig something up there if needed to transport the saw regularly.
Matt J
3rd and final reply to your post — if you are able to get your hands on a floor model at Menard’s, the proper way to use the fence is to lock it down to the bolts on the back and front rails of the table at one of three positions. Then you slide the fence by unlocking the table extension and moving that from right to left. It’s an excellent design for a jobsite saw. Just didn’t want you to get scared off, if like me, you think you know things, don’t read the manual, and try to just clamp it to any old spot on the rails and are horrified when it just doesn’t lock at all.
Steve
Thanks for the review Matt, Menards was the only retailer that carried this saw in stores and doesn’t have a review section so I’m grateful for someone that actually owns one to review it in such an in depth fashion. I thought it was a good deal for a very inexpensive entry level table saw and just wanted to be sure. Menards brought it in with a large single buy around Christmas and that was it, it is discontinued with them now. The stores around me have a few left, I think I will pick one up the next time they do 11% rebate. The Menards sales person told me when I asked if it was on display that they had do not display orders on that saw, probably because it was a one time buy. Also, I don’t plan on transporting it so I’m not concerned about that. Thanks for the info.
James
Did you purchase it? Do you agree with Matt about the saw?
James
Still like it and recommend it? I noticed you left a similar review at Lowes. No one else anywhere has reviewed the S36-300.
Garrick
Yup, best saw for the money and weight/portability. Fences are very important on table saws for convenience, quality of final cut and safety. Dewalt hit the nail when they came out with this one.
The saw can’t be dropped or banged around much, but it is stable once in place. (It helps to have all 4 feet evenly planted)
Any recommendations I could suggest, such as table extensions or a quieter motor would add to the cost and weight. Carbon fibre would be great, but not as necessary as the cost of it.
Troy
I recently bought one of these as my first table saw, and I agree with everything here – I’m very pleased with it, especially for the price.
My only gripe, and it’s not necessarily the saw’s fault since it seems to be inherent to it’s compact dimensions, is that I have some trouble keeping wood tight against the fence when cutting long materials. When first feeding it in, the material acts like a long lever and I have to be *really* deliberate about hand placement so as not to pivot the wood against the infeed edge of the fence, causing the outfeed side of the wood to drift off of the fence towards the blade. In other words, it’s hard to feed the wood perfectly parallel to the fence.
I’ve watched a lot of videos, read articles, spent time on setup & alignment, and I think my technique is pretty solid. Do I maybe just need an infeed table and/or a longer fence?
Noah
It is inherently difficult to keep your stock straight on this saw since the distance between the blade and the front of the deck is short like you said. You could try adjusting your fence so it’s in line with the blade. Some sort of indeed table or rollers could be helpful. That way you can focus more on keeping things straight instead of supporting the material with your hand.
Troy
Thanks! It’s helpful to hear it’s not just me. Since this is my first table saw, I have nothing to compare it to – so I couldn’t tell if I was doing something wrong, or if it’s just a shortcoming of this class of saw.
I watched Stumpy Nubs’ recent table saw series on YouTube, for example, and noticed that he seemed to have a much easier time with this, but I couldn’t tell whether to chalk it up to his extensive experience or his much larger table saw. I’m sure that experience is a major part of it, but it sounds like some infeed support could also help a lot for a beginner like myself.
Noah
Definetely practice helps. A feather board can also be helpful; I use them at work all the time on a large cabinet saw, routers, etc. Essentialy it helps keep material tight against the fence in front of the blade. I havent used one on this saw but I bet it would work.
Troy
Thanks, Noah! I’ve had some luck with a featherboard, although it’s a bit tricky. Since the tabletop isn’t magnetic, featherboards can only be attached either (a) via friction fit in a miter gauge slot, which doesn’t have much depth and therefore not much room for a friction mount to grab onto, or (b) via clamp onto the edge of the table, where there isn’t much open, unobstructed lip space to grab onto.
The other issue also stems from the short infeed area that I mentioned; since featherboards can only safely go on the infeed side of the blade, there just isn’t much surface area to fit even relatively small featherboards. I’ve been using a Kreg one that’s mainly intended for their router table, but it’s a tight/awkward fit.
So it’s possible, just challenging. Hopefully I can build a deeper miter slot into a custom infeed table to provide more room for a friction fit featherboard mount to grab onto.
jtr165
Infeed/outfeed support for this saw is almost a must for anything more than an arm’s length, at least if trying to remain relatively consistent. It’s very accurate when material is properly supported, but very difficult to do with larger boards because of what was pointed out…very very little infeed capacity table support wise.
I built a simple ‘paulk’ portable work station with a matching stand for a 745 to sit up against. I then often use a cheap adjustable infeed roller tripod thing (I think I found it at harbor freight in one of those parking lot sales) just to support the length of board ‘behind me’ as I fed the material through. The whole system works well when you’re often moving the tools around with you and don’t have a great permanent shop space.
My wife and I built a 10 foot high privacy fence out of PT lumber for our deck a few years ago and math’d it out to use 10 ft deck planks (5/4″ from HD) and make two 1/4″ rips of each 10ft board to make custom lattice (purposely keeping the rounted edges to ‘face out’) . The 745 worked perfectly and had plenty of power, but without the infeed/outfeed supports…would’ve been a nightmare.
Troy
This is super helpful! Thanks for taking the time respond. I’m actually researching infeed/outfeed table designs to build right now. I’ve seen Paulk’s stuff and it’s great – might well end up going that route.
Thanks again!
Stuart
With longer workpieces, infeed and outfeed support can really help. Some people build tables around their compact table saws for semi-permanent use. I tend to like folding stands.
Troy
Thanks! I’ve seen a few of those on YouTube, some even for the DW745 specifically, and I have that on my to-build list. Sounds like I might want to bump it up in priority since straighter cuts on my table saw will surely help my projects all around.
I haven’t seen much in terms of fence extensions for the DW745, though – is that a thing? Or do infeed and/or outfeed tables obviate the need for a longer fence to some degree?
Silver
On a job site, I used the Rousseau table saw stand with this saw, and loved it. The stand comes with a nice big fence. The one I used had an outfeed extension table, too.
Troy
Nice! I hadn’t heard of Rousseau. Thanks for the recommendation.
MichaelHammer
Rigid makes the best portable indeed and outfeed stands.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Flip-Top-Portable-Work-Support-AC9934/100618242
Robert
Agree, have two, use them for everything
Kyle
for long pieces or pieces that don’t have a perfect side, I’ve clamped a 6ft level to the fence to help keep everything square.
Nathan
I have the slightly larger 7491 and the distance to the blade form the front lip is the same I think. Anyway I have the same issue and what I did was use rollers on the front, back and one side. 4×8 ft of ply. rollers right on the edge of the table , some about a foot back of the table and 2 down the side to hold the side of the board. This way it’s a bit more stable back and side roller is perhaps the only important ones.
I keep saying I want to drill the table top for some pegs/rods – so I can make a table top that attaches to the saw table to keep them square and level. One of these days maybe.
John
I have this saw and really like it. Two complaints, though:
1. Rinky-dink miter gauge. I’ve been meaning to upgrade this.
2. Out of the box, anti-kickback pawls on my saw weren’t (aren’t) perfectly parallel with the blade. Just a couple degrees out of alignment, but as a result, the one that points slightly inward/toward the blade has a tendency (from time to time) to drop into the throat plate opening and bind up during cuts . There doesn’t appear to be any adjustment for this, and I’ve learned to live with it. The riving knife is also slightly out of alignment, but is close enough that it usually ‘catches’ the kerf as it approaches.
Noah
I have the 7480 and I like it so far. The lack of lack of weight and the fence are great. Only complaint was when I turned it on the first time the blade nicked the metal on the side of the throat plate causing one of the teeth to come flying off of the blade. I should have checked the adjustments first.
ca
Dear DeWalt:
Please make a 120 V corded/cordless table saw.
Yours truly,
Everyone
Bob H.
I am a trim carpenter with 30 years experience. A year ago purchased the DeWalt 745 and love the saw. When I set up for large jobs I use my larger Bosch. The DeWalt is grab and go. Great fence and low weight. Have used it on scaffolding for cedar shingle jobs and it is a life saver. I use a Ridgid out feed stand with great success.
A bit loud but good power. Forget about the Diablo blades and go with a better Freud thin kerf Gue line Rip.
A W
I bought one as my first big power tool purchase about 5 years ago. It’s been fantastic, and the biggest thing about it for me had been the ease of keeping the fence parallel to the blade. It was square out of the box and it has remained so since.
At some point I want to build a Paulk Workbench II for it, but for now a couple saw horses and 3/4″ plywood work great as a cheap stand.
There are some tools that are a joy to use, and this is one of my favorites.
MichaelHammer
It’s all about dat fence! I have the big Bosch gravity rise saw. Truly wonderfully powerful saw with a fence that can’t hold a candle to DeWalt. I have the little 745 and wouldn’t buy it again because it’s too little. I also have the big one that is fantastic. Again, it’s all about the fence, so fast so easy to dial in. Top notch.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/dewalt-10-in-carbide-tipped-blade-15-amp-portable-table-saw/50040968
Littlemantreek
Back in February I bought a DW745 to replace my Ridgid R4513 (living in a small second-story apartment had me dreading ever using my old orange behemoth.. the thought of having to lug it up and down a flight of stairs left it stored away and collecting dust.) Needless to say I was both wowed and simultaneously underwhelmed with my new purchase. The quality and refinement of this little yellow job site saw is truly something I can appreciate. The fence deserves every rave review, and the light weight of the saw had me taking it down to use every night after work. On the flip side, the motor on the DW745 is definitely anemic compared to my old Ridgid. I gave it two weeks of use and decided to use my 90 Day Guarantee and returned it in favor of the Dewalt DW7480. The greater rip capacity and bigger motor are well worth the few hundred extra. It definitely has the guts that the DW745 lacked, while still keeping the small footprint and quality.
Now I absolutely love my table saw and am truly impressed by the quality of cuts I am able to get after swapping in a good blade and taking my time to correctly align the saw and fence. If a basic saw is what you need, I can’t see anyone being disappointed with either model Dewalt offers.
Derek
I agree I bought the 744 which was the step up from the 745 and it had a much nicer motor. The whole operation of the 744 was just a much smoother operating saw, but at the time the745 was the best of the small portable saws.
Drock
I’ve had one for 6 years now. Use it about one a week. I couldn’t justify the price, so being a true tool junkie, I bought it anyways. It’s a joy to use. I do a lot of punchlist work so the portability is a major plus. The only downside is when my coworkers use it they can’t figure out how to to unlock the fence, but they crank the knob anyways. When that happens, it’ll throw the fence out of alignment real quick. I either need a better lock for the fence, or brighter coworkers!
Stuart
“I couldn’t justify the price, so being a true tool junkie, I bought it anyways.”
Ha! So true.
RCWARD
I’ve had this saw for quite awhile now and couldn’t be happier with a portable saw. Love this thing.
Jon
I have a DWE7480. It is a better saw and a better value. I absolutely love mine. I would not buy a DW745. My cousin has one and I played around with a floor model at the store. I just don’t see the point of the 745. If you are super price conscious, either buy used or wait for a sale. It will be worth it. FWIW the 7480 and rolling stand was $350 earlier this year. Sell the stand if you want.
Todd
The 745 is 10 pounds lighter than the 7480, can rip at the same width if you move the fence to the set of pins, the motor speed is irrelevant to most, the rolling stand is nice but is a space killer which defeats it compact size, and I got mine for $225 on sale.
Mike
I have basic DIYer needs. I upgraded from a Craftsman Evolv table saw (which had served its purpose) to the DW745S and agree with the author’s comments. Around Christmas, Lowes had the saw and stand on sale for $299 with a 15% store credit rebate so netted out to about $255 plus tax.
Great saw – love the fence system. Did replace the cheap miter gauge with PowerTec gauge but no other complaints.
Michael
A nice saw and I’m very satisfied with it. But the pricing is much higher here in Europe.
Here in Sweden the price starts at 585 dollars (roughly). I bought mine from the UK some years ago and payed 520 dollar including shipping.
jeff
Great saw, used it for years, recently bought a large grizzly cabinet saw as I needed more capacity/power.
Gave this saw to my dad, and he loves it.
Steve
Ive had this saw for a little over a year and have no complaints. I made my own stand so it was easier cutting long boards without it moving but use the folding one if I take it anywhere. Do A LOT of wood working and a combination with a doable or dewalt rip blade I effortlessly cut through everything. Tore down a barn and an old two story shed and had it all cut up into boards in no time. (Got at least 20 overflowing truck and trailer loads) not going to get anything even close to this saw for 300$. def recommend!!!