DeWALT DWE7480 | A Sturdy & Affordable DeWALT Portable Table Saw

The DeWALT DWE7480 is well-balanced compact jobsite saw that is well-engineered, versatile and very affordable. This is one of the best portable saws for the money. In addition to providing you some insight into the strengths and weakness of the different types of tables saws you can buy, we also discuss the DeWalt DW745 and the  impressive battery-powered DeWalt 60V table saw (DCS7485T1)

Raymond DeWalt worked as a superintendent for Seabrook farms but was also a highly inventive soul. In 1922 he perfected his first precision woodworking tool with the aim of increasing versatility and productivity.

In 1924 the DeWalt product company was established in Leola, Pennsylvania and a legend in the woodworking machinery business was born. From here the company grew and is now one of the leading brands for power tools around the world.

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DeWalt DWE7480 | 10″ Portable Saw

NOTE: You can also buy the same model with an included stand: DEWALT DWE7480XA

Features:

• Rack and pinion telescoping fence rails make fence adjustments fast, smooth and accurate
• 24″ of rip capacity, easily cuts a variety of larger shelving and trim materials
• Site-Pro Modular Guarding System allows for tool free adjustments of the guarding components appropriate for each application
• 15 amp 4800 rpm motor quickly rips through hardwoods with ease
• Onboard storage provides easy access to the Site-Pro Guarding components and push stick when not in use
• Metal roll cage base offers greater durability than plastic bases
• Blade can be adjusted 0 – 45 degrees for bevel applications
• Weighing only 48 lbs, the DWE7480 can easily be moved on and off the job
• Adjustable rear feet designed to level the saw on uneven work surfaces
• Dust port allows for 2-1/2″ vacuum hook up and minimizes clean up
• 24T carbide blade enhances cut quality and prolongs blade life
• Table coating reduces friction for smoother cutting

✓ View or download the MANUAL for the DeWalt DWE7480.

Overview | DeWalt DWE7480

If you’re a carpenter needing a compact job site saw this article is perfect for you. Even if you’re a hobby carpenter or like me, you just love tools, you’ll probably want to keep reading because we’ll be looking at a whole lot of other useful facts about table saws in general.

To kick off, let’s take a look at the DeWalt DWE7480 and compare it to a couple of the other options that DeWalt has to offer.

This is a compact 10” job site table saw with great features and capabilities. For optimal safety and working speed, it comes with the Site-Pro modular guarding system. This allows you to change the guarding system as your working situation changes, without needing to use any tools.

Accuracy is everything if you want to obtain perfect results. To make your job easier, the rack and pinion fence rails allow you to make fast accurate adjustments with the greatest of ease.

Video | DeWalt DWE7480 Review

Everything about the design of the DeWalt DWE7480 is intended to make your life easier, this stems from almost a century of building quality tools for the craftsman at work. This philosophy is clearly seen in the perfectly designed storage compartments that allow you to store and easily retrieve the push rod and other components while you’re working.

The 24T carbide blade gives exceptional cutting quality and durability for great cuts time after time. The blade can be adjusted from 0-45 degrees for bevel applications – at 45 degrees, you’ll have a cut depth of 2¼”. The rear feet are also adjustable, so you can work level and stable regardless of the surface that you’re working on.

The DeWalt DWE7480 gives you about the widest rip capacities for a compact table saw at 24”, so you can cut larger shelves and trim materials. It also has an impressive 15A, 4 800rpm motor – making light work of ripping through even hardwoods at a really good speed for a saw of this size.

Despite the great durability, like having a metal roll cage, the DeWalt DWE7480 isn’t all that heavy at 48lbs. It’s important to have a machine that is pretty easy to move around, as you’ll probably be doing a fair bit of that. At the same time, you shouldn’t compromise weight for quality – machines that use a lot of plastic to save on weight and money simply won’t handle as much knocking about as a sturdier one.

There are some other features that I’m sure you’ll also enjoy about this model. It has a table surface that reduces friction, so can work much smoother. To make cleaning up easier for you, it also has a 2” port for a vacuum pipe.

The DeWalt DWE7480 is a machine designed to work hard and the company understands the needs of the professional carpenter – they’ve in the business for some time. It’s a piece of machinery that exemplifies quality and workmanship and definitely rates among the best. It offers some of the best technical specifications in its class and makes your job a pleasure.

Tech Specs (DeWalt DWE7480):

• Amps : 15.0 Amps
• Arbor Size : 5/8 in
• Blade Diameter : 10″
• Depth of Cut at 45° : 2-1/4 in
• Depth of Cut at 90° : 3-1/8 in
• Dust Port Diameter : 2-1/2 in
• Max Rip To Left Of Blade 12 in
• Max Rip To Right Of Blade : 24 in
• No Load Speed : 4800 rpm
• Tool Weight :  48 lbs

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DeWalt DWE7480 vs. DeWalt DW745

This is a question many people have asked because they look identical and seem to do exactly the same job. If you take a detailed look at the specifications, you’ll notice two basic differences. The DeWalt DWE7480 runs at 4 800RPM, whereas the DeWalt DW745 runs at 3,850RPM – so the newer design DWE7480 is 950 RPM faster.

The second difference between the two is that the DeWalt DWE7480 has a greater rip capacity – 24” as opposed to 20” on the older model.

So the DeWalt DW745 will be cheaper, it’s older technology and doesn’t provide you with as much blade speed or rip capacity. For most people, the extra few bucks spent on the newer model will probably be well worth it. If you don’t see much need for the extra RPM or rip capacity, the older model will make more sense because you’ll save a bit of money buying this one.

Tech Specs (DEWALT DW745):

• 15.0 Amps
• Arbor Size : 5/8 in
• Blade Diameter : 10″
• Depth of Cut at 45° :  2-1/4 in
• Depth of Cut at 90°  : 3-1/8 in
• Dust Port Diameter : 2-1/2 in
• Max Rip To Left Of Blade : 12 in
• Max Rip To Right Of Blade : 20 in
• No Load Speed : 3,850 rpm
• Tool Weight : 45 lbs

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DeWalt DCS7485T1 FLEXVOLT | Table Saw

8 ¼”  60V battery-powered table saw

Features:

• Rack and pinion telescoping fence rails make fence adjustments smooth and accurate
• 24″ of rip capacity for ripping 4×8 plywood or OSB sheets
• Run off of 20V/60V Flexvolt battery system for maximum portability
• Site-Pro Modular Guarding System allows for tool free adjustment of the guarding
• Power-Loss Reset prevents accidental re-starts following a power disruption when the switch is left in the “on” position
• Metal roll cage base offer greater durability than plastic bases
• On board strorage for Guard, Fence, wrenches and miter guage
• Table coating reduces friction for smoother cutting

Overview | DeWalt FLEXVOLT Table Saw

If you’re working on a site where you don’t have access to electrical power, you probably need a generator. Generators are big, heavy, make a noise and require quite a lot of gas to run. If you’re using a number of power tools on the site, even a 10kva generator can endure some strain as various machines switch on and off. You may have found yourself having to switch one machine off in order to use another and this can become quite frustrating. Not to mention that these problems will eat into valuable working time. We’ve all come to realize the value of battery powered tools even in situations where there is a power socket available.

In 1992 DeWalt introduced their first range of cordless tools. Since then there has been a lot of research and development into battery powered products as the demand for battery tools has grown. For DeWalt, this culminated in their revolutionary new 20V/60V Flexvolt system. This has enabled them to design a powerful battery powered compact job site table saw – the DeWalt DCS485T1 Flexvolt. The flexvolt design enables it to run on either 20V or 60V, which you will give you maximum optimization of the battery life – when the battery voltage drops the machine will continue to work at 20V.

Video Review | DeWalt DCS485T1 Flexvolt

It utilizes the most up-to-date technology to bring you a cordless table saw that compares favorably with the best 120V cable saws.

If we compare the Flexvolt to the DeWalt DWE7480, we see that they are similar in many ways and even look very much the same

The DeWalt DCS7485T1 also has a 24” rip capacity and even better speed at 5 800RPM. You won’t get the same cutting depth as this model has an 8¼” blade compared to 10” on the DeWalt DWE7480.

It weighs exactly the same at 48lbs and has all the other feature of the DeWalt DWE7480 like vacuum port, low friction table, storage compartments and metal roll cage.

You have the benefit of cordless operation and it has a power-loss reset function. This prevents an accidental re-start if the switch is left in the on position after a power disruption.

The DeWalt DCS7485T1 makes use of the latest technology and has just come onto the market. If you want optimal performance from a battery powered table saw, this definitely the way to go.

To learn more, read our indepth article that covers all aspects of the DeWALT FLEXTVOLT system, including reviews of the tools.

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Types of Table Saws

If you’re thinking of buying a table saw for the first time, you might not know too much about them. You would have noticed that there are quite a number of categories that manufacturers use to describe their products and it can be difficult to distinguish between them. To be truthful, these categories can be a little vague. Before you decide which table saw is the right design for you, let’s see how the different types compare to each other.

Portable Table Saws

Strictly speaking, there are three basic types of portable table saws, but many manufacturers will use a combination of these definitions to describe their product. We can look at these saws as being interchangeable between the different categories. Many portable table saws can be multi-use and therefore fall under more than one category. What they all have in common, is that they are reasonably light, easy to move and use a direct drive motor.

Bench-top saws are favored by home DIY users because they are very affordable, light and compact. They are fairly limited in terms rip capabilities and blade size. If you’re cutting large boards or working with hardwoods, this will not be a suitable choice. Their purpose is to provide a portable saw that can allow you to work reasonably accurately when doing small jobs. They tend to be lighter and less durable than other portable saws that are designed for heavier work by professional carpenters.

Compact Table Saw

Compact table saws are pretty similar to bench-top saws but with a few additional features. Typically, these saws have a better table and resemble full-size table saws in many ways but are smaller and have smaller rip capabilities. A compact table saw can often include a stand.

Contractor Saws

Jobsite table saws are often referred to as contractor saws because they are designed for use by professional contractors. The term contractor saw is not really correct because traditionally this refers to a stationary saw. They are built to be more robust and can handle the hard-working conditions of commercial use. Like the previous two types of table saws, they are compact and use a direct drive motor but are larger and work more accurately. Jobsite table saws have better fences and alignments and have greater rip capabilities of up to 24”. They also come with stands and many will have extension tables, storage compartments, and dust removal ports.

Stationary Table Saws

As you may have guessed these table saws are not designed to be portable. They are meant to be used permanently in a workshop. They are larger, heavier and more powerful than portable table saws, making use of a belt drive motor as opposed to the direct drive motors used on portable saws.

Generally, you’ll find that a stationary table saw has a cast iron table measuring around 27” X 20” with extension tables of about 10” X 12”. They can also include advanced features like extended fence rails, outfeed tables and router tables.

Contractor Saws

Contractor table saws were the number one choice of professionals before portable table saws became more advanced. They’re smaller than full cabinet saws but are much heavier than portable table saws, a contractor saw can weigh as much as 300lbs. They make use of an outboard motor with a long drive belt and this causes quite a bit of vibration. Because they are smaller than full-size cabinet saws but still provide much of the same features, they have become the saw of choice for home workshops and hobby woodwork enthusiasts.

Hybrid Table Saw

Hybrid saws are something in between a contractor saw and a cabinet saw. This makes them a little difficult to categorize because there are no clear indications as to what makes them what they are. They are smaller and resemble the contractor saw in most respects, with the main difference being that they use an inboard belt drive motor. The inboard motor uses a shorter belt and therefore has less vibration. They are also very popular among DIY enthusiasts, though can be more expensive and slightly heavier than a contractor saw.

Cabinet Saws

Cabinet saws will be found in larger workshops and factories. They are the biggest and most powerful of all the saws. They are designed to last for decades and are extremely heavy. They are also designed to be more accurate. Because of their size, more powerful motors and large extension tables, there is virtually no limit to what type of wood, or what size board you can cut with a cabinet saw. Their price, weight, and size make them unfeasible for hobby woodworkers and are really intended to be used by commercial scale cabinet makers.

For most people reading this, a contractor saw will probably be the stationery saw that you would choose. However, as portable saws have become more powerful and are more accurate than they were in times gone by, they have become the most popular choice for professional carpenters and home woodwork enthusiasts. For this reason, there are many portable table saws on the market, giving you a large diversity to choose from.