Tool Kit for Decking Northampton MA

Versatility and Accuracy in One Package

by Mark Clement

DW718 Double-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw
DeWalt
800/433-9258
www.dewalt.com
Street price: $650

Deck building is commonly circular-saw territory, but a 12-inch slide compound miter saw is unbeatable for blasting out blocking, cutting 2x2s, plowing through 4-by stock, and doing a zillion other things. And for porches — think beaded ceiling material and crown — a miter saw is a must. I use a DeWalt DW718. DeWalt nailed this tool: Its power, accuracy, and multiple features combine to help deliver quality work quickly.

The DW718 has power — it muscled through 2x10, 2x12, and 4x6 TimberSil Wood, a treated lumber that's about the hardest material I've encountered when building decks. And cutting cedar and yellow pine is a cinch. The top-mounted belt-drive motor does hop some on start-up (all the belt-drive saws I've used hop), but the hop is so subtle I don't notice it anymore.

The blade brake on this saw is a great feature. The rapid slowdown in the blade rotation means I can draw the tool out of the work more safely and quickly. It cuts down on the ear-aching noise that a whirring blade and motor apparatus create while freewheeling after a cut. And because the blade slows itself, I don't have to take the extra step of pressing the waste piece into the blade plate to stop the blade — a common practice — which means I can be working, not fiddling with the set.

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