DeWalt DCS391B Review

Our DeWalt DCS391B Experience

The DeWalt DCS391B has a rubber overmolded grip that provides great comfort and control. We appreciate the magnesium base, which strikes a great balance between weight and durability, making it lightweight to carry and highly durable, which is crucial for long-term accuracy and performance.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Bevel

Potentially the backbone of your next backyard tree house project, the DeWalt DCS391B makes angled (beveled) cuts simple with a tick mark at every degree from 0 to 50 and a number indicator every 5 degrees. We like the full range of measurements for adjustments, but there are no positive stops at commonly used angles, and there is no measurement indicator for 22.5 degrees. The bevel measurements are engraved on the saw's lightweight magnesium base with no contrast, making them difficult to see in some lighting conditions. Adjustments are made by loosening a thumbscrew at the front of the saw, then moving the shoe to your desired angle. We like the stiff feel that lets you adjust it easily without feeling floppy.

Adjusting your cutting depth on the DeWalt DCS391B uses a convenient lever and has a similar stiff feel to the blade angle adjustment, making adjustments easy without feeling sloppy. Although there are several indicators for adjusting the cutting depth, they are awkwardly placed, and we found ourselves setting the blade cut depth by simply looking at the blade against the material rather than using the measurements. The sight line is a small rectangular relief on the saw's shoe that indicates the blade's location for both 0 and 45-degree cutting. The sight relief is a little larger than the blade cut lines, which threw us off at first, but it was easy to get accustomed to with some use.

Cross Cuts

The DeWalt DCS391B cross-cuts surprisingly well for a battery-powered saw, possibly in part due to its smaller 6 1/2-inch blade. We sliced through a 10-foot-long 12"x6" wooden beam quickly in an average of 5 seconds with a framing blade and 6.5 seconds with a finish blade, making it plenty fast enough to make quick work of weekend projects.

Even with the smaller 6 1/2-inch blade, we could push the saw too fast, potentially stopping the blade mid-cut. If you're patient, this saw can cross-cut material adequately, but we'd only recommend it for light to medium-duty tasks and quick cuts.

Ripping

Weekend warriors and DIYers will find the ripping capability of the DeWalt DCS391B adequate for smaller jobs and shorter cuts. But if you're a professional with a workflow that involves a lot of ripping, we'd suggest something with more power and capability.

We ripped a 10-foot section of a 2"x12" in a slow 43 seconds with the DeWalt DCS391B. While capable of long rips, it takes noticeably longer than most other saws in our test group. If ripping is something you only see yourself doing occasionally, we wouldn't count this saw out, but keep in mind it will require some patience when ripping.

Metal Cuts

Cutting through metal is a tough task, and the battery-powered DeWalt DCS391B does a fair job, but we'd only recommend it for metal cutting if it's an infrequent task and you're far from a power outlet. This saw would be a solid choice for breaking down an old shed in your backyard or that home renovation project you've been putting off.

We cut through 2 feet of 16-gauge sheet metal in 27 seconds and a 2-inch piece of galvanized steel pipe in just under 9 seconds using the DeWalt DCS391B, which puts it in the middle of the pack. The max cutting depth of 2 1/8 inches was just barely not enough to cut the pipe completely in half, which may have contributed to its fairly quick cutting of the pipe. So, if you need to cut through dense metal materials for rails or framing, the DeWalt DCS391B is a decent option, but it lacks depth in its cuts.

Blade Change

Changing blades on the DeWalt DCS391B is straightforward and easy using the included Allen wrench, which is conveniently stored near the back of the saw where the battery connects. The spindle lock is easily depressed while grasping the tool's grip, locking the blade in place, and we appreciated that the bolt is conveniently labeled to indicate the direction to turn to remove or replace the blade.