DeWalt DWE7485 8.1/4" Compact Jobsite Table Saw Review and Thoughts

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I have had this saw for 3 years not. I bought it in 2020. This little saw is a beast when paired with a good blade. I have two Freud crosscut blades and two Freud ripping blades. The duplicates are for when one blade is getting sharpened, the other is with the saw for use. Eventually, I do want to get a professional cabinet saw from SawStop, but being alert and knowing how to be safe with a table saw is the first principle. The technology should be a secondary back-up, not a primary necessity. With that being said and being safe while operating a table saw at the top of this priority list, let's dive in with this review.

I have operated saws with thin- kerf blades and regular-kerf blades, I prefer the thin-kerf blade better becasue it wastes less material and produces just as fine of a cut as a regular-kerf blade does. Of course, this saw - DWE7485 - can only operate a thin-kerf blade, but it does so with ease.

This saw features awesome power (5800 RPM w/ 120V no load, this is roughly 2 horsepower), has an aluminum fence that has easy adjustment, and has a blade brake for faster blade stopping after turning off the saw. The fence is aluminum and I have had to replace the fence twice (1st time: it I somehow managed to put a dent in it; 2nd time: I managed to slice the fence face while the blade was spinning - I made sure to adjust the fence so that it always stays 1/16" away from the blade, I made a sacrifical fence with MDF if I need to go closer for any reason). The blades are super easy to change, although the nut can be a little difficult screwing back on to the arbor. This saw is direct drive, meaning the motor is directly connected to the blade and doesn't require pulleys or belts for the motor to make the blade spin. This saw is also lightweight, so it is easy to move around and man-handle for maintainance.

I have, in the past, tripped the breaker to the garage (due to it only being a 20 amp breaker) but I was able to mitigate that by purchasing a circuit breaker power strip which shuts off power before reaching the breaker panel. My breaker panel is located in the basement of our house, so I prefer not having to take off my boots everytime the breaker trips. I have had my breaker trip twice, but by no means has it tripped often. When the tools I use in my garage use an exessive amount of power, which I only use one tool at a time (the heat lamps use a bit more energy), the curcuit breaker in the power strip might trip occasionally. I write this just so for information giving sake.

I recommend making a base for this saw as a base amplifies the possiblities. My saw stand was built to put the table of the saw at exactly 34" (same table height as a professional cabinet saw from SawStop). The stand has a footprint of 48" long, 32" deep/wide, and 34" tall. I am 5'6" tall, so it is a great height for me. Make sure to put the base on retractable castor wheels so that it can be mobile.

The DeWalt DWE7485 is a lot of saw for the value. I bought mine at my local Home Depot for roughly $320, and it is my most used tool in my garage workshop. Everything seen on this website has been built using the DeWalt DWE7485 table saw.

Here are a few other thoughts I have on the DWE7485:

1) The DeWalt blade that comes with the saw is ok, but if you want to have a more precise cutting machine, upgrade to Diablo by Freud or Freud blades. The CMT 8.25" blade is too thin of a kerf for the riving knife to accept properly. I really like my Freud brand blade compared to my Diablo by Freud blade. The Freud blades are only 8" rather than 8.25", so you will lose that verticle cut capasity just a tad, but it is worth it.

2) The miter gauage that comes with the saw is ok if you don't need to do any precision work. I have put masking tape on both sides of the miter gauge to get rid of the slop. Aluminum HVAC tape works great too.

- I prefer to use a crosscut sled. A crosscut sled is easy to make and is much safer as there is more support for the workpiece on a crosscut sled. I do eventually want to get the INCRA Miter Gauge 1000SE, but that is later.

3) When the saw is properly mounted on a base, there is hardly, if at all, any vibration on the aluminum table of the saw.

4) I use the riving knife rather than the blade guard because the blade guage impairs my vision of what the piece is doing in accordance with the blade. I want to be able to see what I am doing, when the piece makes contact with the blade and what the blade is doing. Yes, using a riving knife might not be as safe as using a blade guard, however, I feel that not using a riving knife is an absolute no-no when it comes to kickback. I have used a table saw before without a riving knife or splitter and I do not a recommend that practice. I recommend a practice of having at least a splitter or riving knife. A dado set is a completely different story, but the DWE7485 doesn't have the capasity for a dado stack. If you are a table saw user, please be safe with whatever safety feautres you use or don't use. Always be aware of your limitations and skills, never go into an 'autopilot' mode.

5) Make at least two zero-clearnace inserts (throat plates), they are a life saver when cutting thin pieces or small pieces. Make sure to make clearance for the height adjustment for when the blade raises it needs clearance for the arbor. Also make sure to provide clearacne for the riving knife and it's under-the-table components. These two clearance 'pockets' are necessary, as well as clearing a little space for the tab in the front where the 'locking' feature is on the metal insert plate. I use 1/2" plywood for my zero clearance throat plates, but I might experiment with MDF or UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) plastic in the future.

6) Putting a layer of paste wax on the table top and in the miter slots is a great idea because it helps jigs slide better and makes wood slide better while cutting.

7) If you put too much pressure against the hollow aluminum fence, the fence will bow inward slightly. To mitigate that, cut a piece of wood or something stable to slide into the fence to make it more sturdy. Remember to make clearance for the fence to be attached back onto the brackets that hold the fence on the rails, and clearnance for the screws that hold the push stick holders on.

Here are a few cons about the DWE7485:

1) The riving knife is an absolute nightmare to adjust. Make sure to take the time necessary to do it right the first time as to avoid adjusting it multiple times over and over again.

2) The blade is a nightmare to adjust to the miter slots. Make sure to take your time to get it how you want the first time as it is much easier to do it once over a course of several, several months rather than weeks or one-two months (depending on how often it goes out of square... consult your owners manual).

3) The miter slots are not the same width along the entire length of the table (between 99/128ths and 101/128ths inches, which is +/- 1/64" along the length of the entire miter slot). I do understand this is a jobsite table saw, but I just wanted to mention the tolerances.

4) The aluminum table is not flat across the lenght and width. There are dips in the table here and there (this hasn't been too big of an issue, but it could be more flat).

Do I recommend this table saw?

- YES!

Should you purchase this saw out of all the other Compact jobsite saws on the market?

- For the power and the value for money, yes. if you want a larger table, get the DWE7491 10" DeWalt table saw (but it's blade only spins at 4800 RPM compared to the 8.25" blade DWE7485 at 5800 RPM).

Should you get this saw over a SawStop contractors saw or cabinet saw?

- No. Always go for a larger table saw if you are able to. Remember that more expensive doesn't ALWAYS mean better though.

Are there any other brands that you recommend for jobsite?

- I recommend table saws that are corded.

Primary - DeWalt, SawStop (I really like my DeWalt)

Secondary - Skil, Bosch, maybe Craftsman

What are some good brands for contractor or cabinet table saws?

- SawStop

- Powermatic

- Jet

- Laguna

- Grizzly/Shop Fox (same company)

- There may be others that I just haven't done research on yet... Oliver Machinery, King Canada, Delta, etc.

Pros	Cons
Power (roughly 2HP motor 5800 RPM)	Riving knife is difficult to adjust, must be patient
Thin-kerf blade wastes less material	Blade can be difficult to adjust to be parallel to miter slots, must be patient
Electric brake helps the blade stop quicker when powering the saw off	Miter slots are not the same width along the entire length of the table (+/- 1/64" 99/128" <-> 101/128")
Easy to move around and 'manhandle'	Table is not dead flat
Easy to change blades	The blade height adjustment screw, from time to time, gets slick to where the blade sometimes travels down into the table by 1/32" when making a cut... check dados and rabbets for any height changes and adjust blade height accordingly
Easy Fence adjustment	The fence can bow inward if too much pressure is applied against the fence
Great saw for great money value
When properly mounted to a sturdy base, the saw has little to no vibration on the table