Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have owned the DeWalt DW745 for over 3 years now. Before purchasing this saw I did extensive research to determine which portable table saw would be the best for me. To give you a little background I worked myself through college as a salesmen in Sears tool department and as a residential finish/trim carpenter. During the course of my carpentry work I never owned my own table saw and the subcontractor who employed me went through several different portable table saws. The saw I used most during that time was the slightly larger DeWalt DW744. The DW744 is a fantastic saw primarily because of its rack and pinion fence design. I also used a Bosch 4100, which was a great saw but doesn't have a rack and pinion fence and I do not like how bulky the saw is in storage or transportation with the attached wheel based stand. The only other saw that I used during that time was a much smaller and cheaper Skill brand table saw, which I don't even know the model of. That saw was truly a nightmare. The distinction was that it probably cost around $150 while the Bosch and DW744 where in a higher class of "contractor portables" costing around $500. After graduating from college I quit working as a carpenter, however I was frequently being asked to do side jobs trimming so I needed my own table saw. I also make a great deal of furniture. Because I was no longer working full time as a carpenter I had a more narrow focus in finding "the best saw for me." I had three primary criteria in a saw. First I was on a budget, I was looking for a table saw that was more in the $250 to $350. Second I was also looking for a saw that was relatively light (doing side jobs I didn't want to haul around a bulky/awkward or heavy saw.) Finally the most important thing to me was finding a saw with a good fence design preferably rack and pinion. Mind you I understand that this is not what everyone else is looking for and as such you should get the saw that will fit your own criteria. My needs ruled out the DW744 as well as the Bosch 4100. They are both great saws but cost about twice as much as I wanted spend and they are just a little larger than what I was looking for. In my search this was the only saw that met every single need I had. most other portable table saws fit into the really cheap $150 to $200 range and preform much like the Skill table saw that I mentioned above. The Craftsman Professional (contractor series) seemed to be the only other saw in the size and price range that I was looking for only it lacked the rack and pinion fence. However after working as a salesmen at sears and seeing just how often Craftsman power tools were returned I decided that saw was not the design that I was looking for. The DW745 was really the exact size/cost/design that I was looking for. The best selling point of this saw is the fence. If you haven't ever used a rack and pinion fence you need to. It is absolutely the very best design that I have used. To cut the cost a little lower, I found a DeWalt certified refurbished dealer and purchased it from them for about 30% less than the new price was. Also when I purchased mine the stand was included so it actually probably saved me closer to 40% considering that you will spend another $60 or so for the stand. And the stand is a great design, folds up so to store very well and holds the saw perfectly. For me this wasn't really a risk because it still had a 3 year warranty and I have had no problem with it in the 3 years that I have had it. After doing many trim jobs with this saw and building a large amount of furniture with it, I can without hesitation say this was one of the best tool purchases that I have ever made. If you have similar needs to the ones that I described you won't regret purchasing this saw. If you need to make cuts larger than 16 inches and you are using the saw everyday you may want to go with the DW744 or Bosch 4100. But if you aren't and you are looking for something that is little smaller, a lot less money and still as high of quality you can't go wrong with this saw.