DeWalt's Sliding Compound Miter Saw versus Festool's

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ReneS

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May 22, 2024
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Location
Central New York State
I have a DeWalt DWS780 sliding compound miter saw. When I bought it, I think it was their top offering.

I have generally been happy with it, especially since I dialed it in a little further recently and started clamping the pieces that I am mitering. But it sometimes feels like it is a tiny bit off. Not much at all, just a tiny bit that sometimes causes the tiniest of hairline cracks or deviations in part of a joint, like where a rail joins a stile or in the 45 angles on a base for a freestanding cabinet. I have a very good blade on the saw and treat it with care and respect. I also have the EZ Wings extensions that I have dialed in very nicely, giving me around 6 feet of level support to the left of the blade and 2 feet to the right of the blade. All of this sits on very stable base cabinets.

I know it could be user error, changes in temperature in my poorly insulated shop (that I only heat when I am working out there or have glue ups setting up), or something similar. But maybe not.

So I was hoping that a few of you have experience with both the DeWalt DWS780 and the Kapex 120 and might be able to tell me whether the Kapex 120 is more accurate and reliable than the DeWalt.

Full disclosure, part of me is hoping the answer is yes so I can set my sights on getting a Kapex, and part of me is hoping the answer is no. I pretty much have everything I need and have few excuses for buying more tools, and if a can of soup ends up costing $50 USD in the not-too-distant future, well I'd be better off saving the money.
 
From what I've seen, the KS120 is the superior saw. However, my friend just bought a 2012 KS 120 from a local furniture maker we know because he wanted to buy the 12" DeWalt. I asked him why (I mean, everyone knows that's crazy) and he wanted the greater depth of cut with the DeWalt that isn't possible with the Kapex.

If you're not pressed for one, the used Marketplace sometimes has deals. Most run around $1100-1200 or more, but once in a long while, a cheap one comes up. The one my friend bought was $500 and in solid condition. The only two KS120s I've seen in over a year that were cheaper was a very well used one for $300 and there's currently one for sale in Mays Landing, NJ for $400 - but that one is in parts, so if you're handy to rebuild a Kapex, it might be worth a go.

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Having had both, the Kapex is miles ahead in refinement. Funny actually, the thing that got me into Festool was watching a Wood Whisperer episode where he was using the Kapex and snapped down the hold down clamp instantly to make a cut, and I had *just* been struggling to use that stupid Dewalt screw down clamp that takes forever to the point I just wouldn't use it, but for some cuts needed it. I bought a Kapex the next week, and pretty much everything else in the catalog throughout the following years. The smallest things...

Anyway - Kapex vs DW. The biggest refinement improvement was actually switching from that monster 12" blade to a (roughly) 10" blade on the Kapex. I was concerned about its ability to cut 4x4s, but several house builds later, can confirm it's not a problem at all. The small blade really helps it feel like a scalpel on tiny intricate cuts.

Dust collection on the DW is just silly compared to the Kapex.

Lasers are dead accurate since they can be adjusted.

The wings are just genius. Very portable and perfect accuracy with those flag stops.

And of course, space savings, being rail-forward, you can push this basically right up against a wall.

Seriously, the Kapex is the last tool I'd sell if I had to sell everything. It's fundamentally changed the way my work shop flows. For example, I used to center everything around the table saw, but when I got the Kapex, it basically killed off my crosscut sled. I stopped crosscutting on the table saw, and then stopped ripping most things on there once I got the tracksaw, to the point where I ended up selling my beefed up SawStop cabinet saw for their Jobsite saw and haven't regretted it a bit.

I could go on, but yeah man, for me it was a prolific change since it triggered so many other perspective shifts. And of course was the catalyst that launched me into the Festool world.
 
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ReneS said:
So I was hoping that a few of you have experience with both the DeWalt DWS780 and the Kapex 120 and might be able to tell me whether the Kapex 120 is more accurate and reliable than the DeWalt.
Click to expand...

The DWS780 was my first SCMS when I started to build my woodworking shop. At the time, my shop was in the garage, it was summer so the doors could stay open, and I was cutting large timber for a pergola project. The DWS780 and the DWX724 stand were perfect for this job and my friend and I were able to cut all of the timber for the first phase of the project in a few hours. We spent the remaining time before the noise curfew cleaning up the sawdust that the vacuum didn't collect.

The saw was accurate out of the box, so I didn't need to make any adjustments. I used the standard blade for a while before replacing it with the Forrest Chopmaster 80T blade. For outside work, I cannot find any fault with the DWS780 and the bright LED shadow line made cutting to dimensions very easy.

When I moved my shop to the basement, the down side of the DWS780 became apparent. The poor dust collection, no matter what I did, was unacceptable. My shop is fully enclosed in the below-grade basement and does not have any external windows. Any dust escaping from the shop will eventually wind up in the living area of the house, so I could only work for short periods before stopping to let the air scrubber work. I used the Dylos DC1700 air quality meter to monitor the fine dust so I knew when to take a break and clean up the chips, usually a >0.5 micron count of 750 above the ambient reading at the start of the day. The cut quality of the saw, with the Chopmaster blade, was still great, but the amount of time wasted waiting for the air quality to improve was a show stopper.

I replaced the DWS780 with the KS120 solely because of the superior dust collection. I was no longer cutting large timber, so the reduced blade diameter was not an issue. I can cut all day without the Dylos DC1700 reaching my threshold above the daily ambient reading. I also replaced the standard blade with the Forrest Chopmaster 90T blade. For dust collection, I use a dedicated CT36E under the saw. I still have a small amount of chips to clean up at the end of the day, but this is less than the amount of chips produced in the first ten seconds of the DWS780 use. I don't worry about chips I can see, but do worry about the fine dust I can't see.

The only fault I have with the KS120 is the LASER guides. I hate them. I wish I could rip them out and grind them under my heel until they were a fine powder and replace them with the LED shadow line. The twin beams have a width dimension, while the LED shadow line does not, so there is some ambiguity where the cut will be. When I unboxed my KS120, the LASERs were visibly out of alignment and it took me over 30 minutes to beg, threaten, and finally coax them into something close to parallel that were mostly perpendicular to the fence. I use them as a reference, but do not rely on them for accurate cuts. I will lightly touch the blade to identify where the cut will be. The KS60 has a LED shadow line module, but nothing for the KS120. However, the dust collection more than makes up for the abysmal fault of no LED shadow line.

My bottom line: If my shop remained in the garage, the DWS780 would be the queen of my fleet. When dust collection is a concern, the KS120 rules.
 
From MikeGE 's post above------^^^^""""The only fault I have with the KS120 is the LASER guides. I hate them. I wish I could rip them out and grind them under my heel until they were a fine powder and replace them with the LED shadow line. "" So, NOT A FAN OF THEM.... :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
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leakyroof said:
""""The only fault I have with the KS120 is the LASER guides. I hate them. I wish I could rip them out and grind them under my heel until they were a fine powder and replace them with the LED shadow line. "" So, NOT A FAN OF THEM.... :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
Whaaaaat why? I freakin love them. They're by far the most accurate lasers I've used on a saw.
 
I find the dual-line laser ok, not perfect. Some say the shadow lines are better, but I jabe had no experience with them.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

By the way, i don't know if it can be adjusted, but the shadow line on my DeWalt mitersaw is just a tiny bit off, so I always have to compensate for that.

It's not much, maybe 1/64 of an inch.
 
ReneS said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

By the way, i don't know if it can be adjusted, but the shadow line on my DeWalt mitersaw is just a tiny bit off, so I always have to compensate for that.

It's not much, maybe 1/64 of an inch.
Click to expand...

Please expand on this, as I don't understand how a shadow line can be off. As the blade is lowered, the shadow of the blade and cutting edge of the blade will converge on the same line.
 
I advised a Dewalt to my brother, back then. But the dust collection is horrible. As of now I would advise a Makita LS1219L. Festool doesn't have a 305 (12"). If you don't require the additional capacity, the Kapex is a very nice saw that gets quite a bit out of it's 254mm blade. More than most other brands with the same blade size.
 
My Kapex has a laser? Never turn it on. Usually the lighting is too bright to see them and then I would feel compelled to clean the lens cover and shroud.

Peter
 
I have the DeWalt DW779 - same as 780 w/o the laser. I use a an Amana/AGE blade with1/8" kerf . Happy with the results. Most of the joint issues I get are from user error.

If I had more critical miter saw joints in a more frequent basis, I'd consider the Kapex, but for 95% of my work the DW779 is just fine. The other 5% takes more attention to detail.

Dust collection - I picked up one of the aftermarket solutions from Benchtop Woodworks. Similar to the Shop Nation setup. It makes it close to the Kapex for dust collection. I have a few upgrades in mind- I need to 3D print now that I have a little more free time.

And the Cauliflower zero clearance insert is top-notch. Would recommend it for any miter saw.
 
onocoffee said:
For those of you who prefer the shadow line, would that also indicate you would go with the KS60, if you had to do it all over again?
Click to expand...
Definitely not.

A) The Kapex 120's bevel dial control is the best in class (the bevel function is essential to cut long miters), B) The KS 60 doesn't have the quick-release hold-down clamp, which, again, is the best in class. The quick-release hold-down is so good that I got a second one for the other side of the fence.

Some say the dust collection in the Kapex 120 is better; I have never used the Kapex 60 and can't confirm if that's the case.

Lastly, for precision work, neither the shadow lines nor the dual laser lines would satisfy me.
 
ReneS said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

By the way, i don't know if it can be adjusted, but the shadow line on my DeWalt mitersaw is just a tiny bit off, so I always have to compensate for that.

It's not much, maybe 1/64 of an inch.
Click to expand...
That is almost physically impossible - it is a shadow of the blade - on mine if the lens gets dust on it one side may be brighter than the other giving the illusion of it being off, but it isn't - it is literally the shadow of the blade.
 
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