Dewalt DWE7480 is very poor quality

Don’t promote the Dewalt table saws! I bought a new DWE7480, what a mistake. I hnoticed it was cheaply built but my platicy Dewlat chop saw held up so… First I had problems with the blade raising mechanism. The skinny little rods it runs on bind easily. One has to be a bit obsessive about keeping them lubricated. Then I realized that it wasn’t me forgetting to lock the fence in position. The fence locking mechanism was flipping loose during cutting, thus ruining lumber. This saw may, and I mean may, be slightly more accurate that the Bosch or Skil saws and it is cheaper but it is cheaper because it is cheap junk. I’ll be that even the Hitachi is better.

Sounds like you’ve not had a great experience. But with 300+ reviews on Amazon and just as many on Home Depot, it’s got some pretty stellar ratings (~4.6 stars) so I’m inclined to think you got a bum unit or your expectations were off for what you bought.

I agree with Jonny, it sounds like your unit may just be an off one. I have had the DWE7491RS model for about 3 years now and man I love that thing. I have noticed though that on these style of Dewalt table saws, the fence can occasionally skip a gear when moving it back and forth. However, this can be easily remedied. Maybe bring yours back and replace it?

This is the saw I have:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-10-in-Carbide-Tipped-Table-Saw/50040968

A very good friend had one of these before me and also has been very happy with his, which was a large part of why I got mine. Looking on-line it’s clear that a lot of people have had these problems. The rods for the fence locking mechanism often bend as well. Just look under your saw and you’ll see how cheaply made it is. Then look under other brands and compare.
Another problem is the raw, unfinished, sharp edges of the guide rails. Reaching for the fence locking lever can, as has resulted in a cut on the back of my hand. I’ll admit I’m a bit herky-jerky but I’m also a long term tool user. I’m retired but was a general contractor for 20+ years, rebuild numerous engines, been a heavy equipment operator, and more. I know quality tools, and this is not.
I’m glad so many have had good experiences with these but that doesn’t change the down-sides.

I didn’t mind mine but it is not a 3-5 hp cabinet saw. I now have the flex volt saw and I like it as well, goes to job site easily and is farly light. After going through it with a woodpecker square it cut nice. I would recommend a place like Acme tools so you can go through the product before you buy to make sure it’s up to your standards.

Of course you’ll like yours until something goes bad. Then you’ll catch another problem w/Dewalt, horrible customer service. The agents don’t know anything about the problems history of the tools and don’t care. It’s just, “Take it to the [few and far between] service center.”

And while I’m ragging on Dewalt; I wouldn’t want to forget the junk miter gauge and the sloppy track it runs in.

I am having the same issue with the fence lock on my 7480. When it was working it was great, but it is a pain when it’s not. I also kept thinking that I hadn’t locked it down. Well, it turns out I did. I have no idea how it got screwed up. But I have had less than satisfactory results with Dewalt’s service. Tomorrow I will tear down myself and attempt to come up with a fix.It definitely does not seem like a simple adjustment issue. Incidentally, I lost a pretty pricey piece of lacewood today because of this issue.

This is a frequent problem w/Dewalt table saws. I also was surprised in that the plasticy chop saws do hold up fine. Dewalt has beefed up the mechanism to prevent the locking push rods under the table from bending. I don’t know if it’s a fullly effective fix yet. It’s not the only fault with these saws but it is the most annoying one For awhile I used a bungee cord on the lever to hold it.

Folks, never look at the 4 and 5 star ratings look at the percentage of low ratings. All these
‘job-site’ saws seem to have problems. I was amazed at the Bosch issue of sloppy bearings. Dewalts percent of low ratings is significant but not as bad as some. Makita had a motor burn out problem!

Just a follow up. I took the DWE 7480 apart this morning and found the front part of the shaft assembly was bent. The metal is insanely soft. On top of that there are four clips holding the shaft assembly down by eight screws. Six of the screws had lock tite on them,but the two towards the front had no thread lock and had loosened, which probably played a major part as the cause of the failure. The front part of the shaft fits into a push nut that fits into the inside of the table. Those type of push nuts should not be reused once the shaft has been removed. OK, I got on the phone to DeWalt and initially hit a bit of a brick wall.”You must take it to an authorized service center,” etc. Yeah, right. Get your saw back in a month. I fought my way to technical rep that knew what she was talking about and realized that I did,too. Long story short, Black and Decker/DeWalt is sending me a new shaft and a couple of needed replacement nuts,washers and screws, all at their expense,including shipping. The key here was persistence and maintaining a ‘you catch more flies with honey’ attitude.Fingers crossed that this fixes the issue, and it will be a permanent fix.

At least I knew the miter gauge was junk when I bought the saw, unlike the mechanism for the fence system.

So I guess someone has to say it - do you bother to read the manuals that come with things or is that just for retards. The fence lock as a tension adjustment, yours is most likely out of adjustment per the description. The blade rise and lift does have a need to be greased but then it should have been from the factory. It also, get this has some adjustment and checks in the manual.

Did you square the blade to fence, blade to table and the like when you got it?

and did you get it new in box? Yes the mitre gage is chintzy so is every mitre gage packaged with every table saw that doesn’t say JET or POWERMATIC on the cabinet.

DId you test one in store before you bought it.

SOrry you have bad luck with Dewalt customer service but based on how you post I’m wondering it part of it might be your general attitude.

Calling people retards is uncalled for? And I disagree with the basis of you criticism, that it’s a matter of adjustment. So does DeWalt which even changed the part our for a more strongly built one. And I personally did try adjustment.
Ah the internet…what a charming place.

I just noticed your aggressive handle, what a surprise. I got my DeWalt table saw new and since I was replacing a NorSaw I was well attuned to the need for checking adjustments.
Impugning peoples ‘attitudes’ is unpleasant, Napalm. In 20+ years as a licensed contractor I have had preferences for many brands for different types of tools during different periods. I’ve really enjoyed my DeWalt chop saw even bought a 10" and sold my 12". And I also replaced, thank you DeWalt, my table saw with a new one, not being convinced that any others in the class were any better.
Instead of speculating on the ‘general attitude’ I would hope for a more positive and respectful tone on this forum.

I find it sad how so many of us get our identities wrapped up in car manufacturers, sports teams, tool brands, and other extraneous aspects of life.I once gave a bad review to one particular Channel Lock pliers and got the same sad kind of response with the added fillip that I must be un-American.

glad I got your attention but you still read my post wrong.

Regardless your tone in your first posts was very negative so I followed suit. Right, wrong or indifferent.

And as you say about identity issues in today’s internet there’s also a large number of people that have to get into discussion forums to complain incestanly about a product. Had there been another device of similar use case that had the rack and pinion fence back when I bought mine I would have strongly considered it. Infact I almost bought the Bosch device instead. Today I’d look really hard the the new hitachi product - but I’d probably still buy the Dewalt in the end.

At no point did you say you got your table saw replaced by dewalt up in your other posts. Perhaps you should have led with that.

Either way I hope you enjoy your tools.

Just to follow up. My parts were received last week, though a couple of days later than expected. The bad news is I lost the use of the saw for about two weeks, but the good news is that the saw is now working fine and Dewalt supplied them at no charge, including shipping. I have no idea why the part failed prematurely, nor do I know if the metal used on the new one is any better. The saw is a good job site saw when it’s working, no more, no less.

Has the replacement worked out better?

Glad to hear that your saw is now working well.

Little use but so far it’s ok. Since it seems to be the best of a so so lot I’m not complaining. I’m guessing that tool companies are putting so much effort in to cordless, and salivating over the profits from replacement batteries, that they aren’t putting much effort into fixing flaws. At least DeWalt came out with a beefier actuating rod for the fence lock.