Woodworkers - Dewalt 8.25" vs 10" jobsite table saw

Question for the woodworkers out there. I am replacing a very old cheap 10" Skill table saw that I bought 20+ years ago. The fence is partially broken and was never accurate to begin with. It has served me well with ripping boards for many home repair projects but could never produce any perfectly straight rips.

I ordered a 8-1/4 Dewalt (7485) with rolling stand for $359 inc tax. That combo pricing is hard to beat.

The bigger 10" brother,

$649 DWE7491RS DEWALT 10" Table Saw with Rolling Stand, 32-1/2" Rip Capacity (DWE7491RS)

DWE7491RS, with rolling stand is $599 before tax currently. Ideally I would like a bigger saw but in reality I just really want to have accurate cuts when I do need it. I don't do this for a living so I believe the smaller one should work. The smaller saw can still rip a full sheet of plywood if needed. The most complicated stuff I think I would be doing would be making some cabinets. I do realize that the smaller one does not accept dado blades.

Thoughts? Thanks.

 

Really up to what works for you. Black Friday sale is usually good time to buy. I have the 10" dewalt.

 

I own the 8-1/4 as I am limited on storage space and only do mid range carpentry projects, I really like it for what it is, a high quality smaller portable tablesaw. If you are doing carpentry I would recommend the 10 inch since you can use a dado blade with it, the 8-1/4 does not work with a dado blade, I knew this when I bought mine. Eventually I would like to have a garage and a proper carperters 10 inch table saw but I expect I will keep the 8-1/4 even then.
What I really like about this design is the fence is super smooth, can be easily and accurately adjusted.

 

I almost bought the 10” DeWalt but the Bosch rep was in the store and made me a killer discount deal. I was dubious but that saw is awesome. Diablo blade. Dead nuts. Through near 2” walnut didn’t even slow down.

 

Diablo does make the best blades hands down. I should have mentioned in my post I replaced the factory dewalt blade with a diablo 60 tooth blade before first use

 

Yes, I have been looking and that is how I got the 8-1/4 saw with rolling stand for a one day special price at Home Depot.

 

I know this wasn’t directed towards me but I just wanted to agree. I just put an 80 tooth Diablo on my 12” miter and I was blown away at how it cut through the wood. It literally felt like a warm knife through butter.

 

I have the 7485 and I’ve used it for some cabinets, a couple tables and countless smaller projects. It is perfect for my needs and only one time I can remember missing a dado capability. I ended up using a router instead.
I put mine on a simple cart made from 2x4’s and plywood instead. It seems more capable to me than the folding thing they often come with.

 

8-1/4" is perfectly fine for straight cuts in most typical materials.

the main time that larger blades are going to be needed is in angled cuts. i don't do a whole lot of woodworking at all, but keep a 12" miter saw around specifically so that i can cut whatever i need at any angle i need, where a 10" even wont' do some more extreme angles near 45 degrees on certain thicknesses.

 

Take a look a the Skill worm drive.. I’ve owned one for a few years and it’s impressive!
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=skil+worm...i=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZKi_o9bRU8

 

One day I look forward to having a 12 inch double bevel sliding miter saw. Life will be good then.

 

Definitely a nice saw but a bit pricier than I would like. I am looking for a deal on one hence the Dewalt 8.25 one with rolling stand out the door for $360. I could even be into the saw for $200 - $250 assuming I sell the rolling stand separate for $100 - $150. At that price point it is hard to beat unless the smaller size becomes an issue.

 

Hey I just remembered when I was researching mine 2ish years ago I saw some complaints about the stand not being custom made for that saw and people having issues bolting the saw down, I think maybe the stand was designed nicely for the 10 inch and dewalt had figured out how to make it work for the 8-1/4 but it was not nearly as nice as with the 10 inch.
Granted this was 2-3 years ago so it may have a new better stand now.

 

$240, before any discounts. it cuts at all angles, just takes a little longer to set up because of slop in the stops. which is fine for me and my limited use. either the slop doesn't matter in my end product, or given the nature of my old house, the mounting surface is crooked somehow anyways, so the slop helps adjust for the final installation.

 

I was in the same position as you, trying to decide between the 8 1/4 vs the 10. I ended up with the 8 1/4 and have regretted it many times. If you know, absolutely know, that you're only going to do sheets then go for it. I started doing woodwork and found you can't do dados, and miter cuts severely limit the thickness of the wood you can cut. I watch craigslist and FB Marketplace for DeWalt 10 table saws, and when one infrequently shows up its sold within a day or two, for a price that's only $75 +/- below the retail price. There are, however, always 8 1/4 saws listed for half or less the retail price. I had the same experience with my compound miter saw - went small. I've already fixed that with a DeWalt 12 double bevel.

 

I ended up picking up a supposed new 10" one from Facebook Marketplace. It was new, but was missing several accessories. I did know what accessories came with it but forgot to check for them once I got there. E.g., miter gauge, blade change tools and the extra or standalone riving knife when not using the blade guard. Even with the missing items I still think I got it for a fair price.

 

I think a lot of those tools on Facebook MP are from pallet/returns. Amazon is one of the retailers that sell returns on pallets that people buy and re-sell on Craigslist or FMP. I wonder if the one you bought was from one of these. Someone returned the saw, minus a few accessories, and it was sold as part of a lot.






Just one page from FMP today, with the "New" filter checked -

 

I guess I’ll never know. I checked the table for flatness and was able to get everything square which was my biggest concern. Once I replace the missing items, I will still be about $150 cheaper than new. Not what I originally expected, but it is what it is.

Even looking at your search you can see that you rarely see the 10" listed. Most of those are the 7485 from what I can see.

 

If you can find the older model, I think it's what you're looking for. The 7491 is the larger model, but if you can find a 7480 it was the smaller saw but still had 10" blade. DK for sure, but I think the 7485 is the same as 7480 except for they changed it to smaller blade. Neither is designed for using dado blade, but this has worked well for me---- 1/4" or 3/8" without needing to adjust fence and wider if you need to do additional passes.

 

I already got one. The one I picked up is a Dewalt 7491RS.