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The heart of my workshop
So many features about this saw impress me but I will try to be brief.
- Power: This saw has all the power you need in a small shop and more to spare. Nothing seems to slow it down, not even for a brief moment.
- Smooth: This goes for the saw itself (no vibration) and for the cuts it makes. I use the blade that came with it for most of my cuts and I never have to sand or plane any of the cut faces. I made a zero clearance insert for it and now it even cuts the cheapest, thin plyood without chipping or noticable marks. I bought a Freud blade for the cross cuts but have not had to use it yet.
- The fence: Smooth-sliding as other reviews mention, very accurate, extremely easy to operate and calibrate.
- The table: Solid and smooth table. The wings should probably be upgraded since they are not as smooth as the main table (made out of sheet steel rather than the cast iron as the rest of the table.
- The controls: just what you need and right where you need them. Large power switch that is easy to bump off with your knee in an emergency. Smooth solid controls for the blade height and angle.
- Solid machine: This is a very solid and heavy machine that will serve you for a long time if you take care of it. Make sure you get the deal with the mobile base (see heavy above) which is so smooth and easy to operate.
There are some features that I would like to see improved. These are few and none of them diminish the value of this saw but I wanted to include them for completeness.
- The splitter and guard assembly is one piece that has to be removed by using wrenches. This is inconvenient and time consuming when you need to remove them for dado cuts (or other non through cuts.) There are splitters that you can buy which do not require tools for removal and installation and DeWalt should learn fron them. Also, the splitter should be seperate from the blade guard so the latter can remain in place for non-through cuts.
- The wings that come with the saw are made of sheet steel and not cast. There are optional ones that you can buy from DeWalt but they should be part of the saw to begin with.

Will definitely take some tuning
So after using this saw for three years, I've finally gotten around to writing a review.

The pros:
It has good bones. The cast iron surface is as flat as could be expected. The motor is strong enough to deal with anything I throw at it. Its pretty heavy, and definitely stable. The dust collection works fairly well. Once adjusted properly, things stay locked down. The fence rail system is definitely stiff enough for my needs. These attributes alone make it worth buying, provided you're willing to deal with setting it up properly.

The cons:
The fence: Its a complete pain to align. I can't count how many torn up pieces of paper I had to use as shims. The aluminum extrusion used on the face is noodly enough that if the clamps are overtightened, it will deflect locally around each bolt. During use, it can deflect slightly under pressure. Not enough to cause binding, but it will leave burn marks or a rough finish on your cut (just to note, I use a Forrest Woodworker II blade)

The Miter slots:
They just arent machined well. I had a lot of trouble getting an aftermarket miter gauge to slide without binding. after checking it with a block of wood and some shims, I noticed that the slot width varies greatly. some careful work with a file corrected the issues, but I shouldn't have had to do that.

The Miter gage:
Looked like junk. Feels like junk. Got a Woodhaven around the same time as a gift, so I've never used the one that came with the saw.

The Extension wings:
Stamped steel junk slapped on to cut costs. I knew they were junk going in, and as soon as I could afford to, I replaced them with the cast iron ones. Much, much better.

So there you have it. I love the saw, and now that its set up properly, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I really like my saw
This is my first "big" table saw besides portable/contractor types. I investigated several comparable brands from Jet, Delta. Based on price, add-on options, standard features, and other reviews on this site, I purchased the saw. It arrived in reasonable time, and the delivery dude helped me get it into my shop. Not trival it weighs a lot and my shop is at the bottom of a hill. The saw went together surprising well with methodical instructions. Set up and alignment were also smooth. Operation has minimal vibration which I further reduced by adding the cast iron right wing and the sliding table on the left (I don't recommend the sliding table). This is the corner stone of my shop and would recommend it to anyone looking for a top quality saw at a reasonable price. Although pricing seems to have increased since I purchased it. I love using this saw!!!

Almost perfect for my needs.
I find these reviews useful in my purchases, so I decided that it was high time that I contribute.

I bought the DW746 a couple of years ago, having concluded that I was never going to be able to get an 800lb cabinet makers table saw into my basement workshop. Having been completely frustrated by the inaccuracies of my previous table saw, (an old, albeit inexpensive, department store purchase, that didn't even have a T-slot mitre guage slot), I opted to purchase the heavy-duty sliding table and the 48" precision fence rail system as well.

Setup was not easy, and compounded by a factor of 2 due to the accessories I purchased at the same time. Be sure you have both metric and English wrenchs on hand.

I hardly ever used the mitre guage because of the sliding table, which was excellent for cut-off (after hours of alignment). I did end up replacing the mitre guage however, as there was no way to mount an auxiliary fence to it. (If you have a drill press, you can probably remedy that problem). I cannot speak for the accuracy of the stock mitre guage, but apparently it's not the best.

But I was having problems with binding and burning on rip-cuts, and out-of-square cabinets when ripping (not all that long) pieces of plywood against the fence. I'd actually abandon the idea of ripping plywood on the table saw, in favor of the more accurate circular saw.

So I finally purchased a precision guage set. Neither the blade nor the fence were square to the mitre guage slot. I was able to adjust the blade alignment, (and re-adjust the sliding table), but I was never able to solve the problem with the fence.

When I moved the fence and locked it down, I found play, front to rear, of +/- .01 inches, 8"-10"" from the blade. (Minus might be okay, but not plus). The further I got away from the blade, out into the 48" precision fence extension table, the play in the fence appears to get much worse.

So I recently added an Incura TSIII-32 table saw fence system to my inventory, and now I think I'm finally happy with my DW746. Due to the way the the TSIII rails mount to the saw, I lost the use of the sliding table. (Not becuase the rails overlap the sliding table, but because in mounting the rail system, I had to remove the bolts that held the sliding table true to the blade, front and rear. If I had purchased the outfeed table, it would have also been history).

After hours of playing around with the alignment, I've finally concluded that people complaining about bowed fences, may actually be suffering from a bowed mitre guage slot. Against the TSIII, my mitre slot bows inward toward the fence .002 inches just as I approach the blade, then heads back out to zero at the end of the table. I'm hoping that in use, the wobble of the blade will mitigate that safety concern.

Other observations. I threw away the blade guard and splitter, added a ZCI and 3rd party splitter (that I can remove/replace with two fingers). I've also converted it to 230V (which doesn't give it more power, just reduces the AMPs it draws), and added thin-curf blades. I have no complaints about the dust collection port. I'm lucky enough to have a band saw, so I've never tried to re-saw on the DW746. (Up until recently, I think I'd have been afraid of that idea).

In summary, if you have the $$$ and a way to get it into your shop, I think you *might* be better off with a big cabinet makers table saw. If I could do it all over again, I'd still buy the DW746, but not the sliding table nor the precision fence system. Instead, I'd figure the cost of a 3rd party fence system into the budget, and plan on building my own right-hand extension and out-feed tables as a first probject.

And learn from my mistake. Don't even try to set up a shop without an extremely accurate square, *and* a precision guage system. (I use A-LINE IT, but I'm not necessarily endorsing it. The point is, you have to have something like it, or you'll never be happy with accuracy, not to mention the safety issues).

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