Crosscuts & angles · review
The cheapest way onto DeWalt's XPS shadow line, which is the feature that changes how a mitre saw is used.
The bottom line The value pick of this page. The shadow line alone justifies it over anything cheaper.
Hands-on testing pending. Nothing below is presented as our own measurement. Every figure is a manufacturer specification, read off the listing itself, and the judgements are ours — drawn from how the specification behaves in this class of machine and from what long-term owners consistently report. Where a figure is missing, we say so rather than fill it in.
216 mm blade, 1 400 W, XPS shadow line, fixed detents for mitre and bevel angles, and a 24-tooth carbide-tipped blade in the box.
A laser projects a red line near the cut. A shadow line puts an LED behind the blade and lets the blade cast its own shadow onto the workpiece. The difference is not cosmetic: a laser is a separate part aimed at where the blade is supposed to be, so it needs calibration and it drifts; a shadow is cast by the blade itself, so it shows the actual kerf, it moves when you change the blade, and there is nothing to align. On a saw you will own for a decade, that is the feature worth paying for.
This is the cheapest saw here that has it, and it is the reason to choose this machine over the Metabo at €100 less or the Scheppach at half the price.
24 teeth on a 216 mm blade is a framing tooth count. It rips through softwood studs quickly and it tears the surface of anything you intend to paint or varnish. This is not a criticism of DeWalt specifically — almost every mitre saw ships with a coarse blade — but it does mean the saw as delivered cuts worse than the saw is capable of.
A 60-tooth negative-rake blade transforms it. The rake angle is the part people miss: a positive-rake blade on a chop saw self-feeds and grabs, which is the mechanism behind most snatching accidents on this type of machine.
One reference and one EAN across Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Spain, from about €294 to €399. Not sold on amazon.com.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 2026-08-12. The live price is at the top of the page.
| Blade diameter | 216 mm |
|---|---|
| Motor | 1 400 W |
| Cut line | XPS shadow line |
| Detents | Fixed stops for mitre and bevel |
| Supplied blade | 24-tooth carbide-tipped |
| Part number | DWS774-QS |
| Amazon reference | B01EO45SDG (identical on 5 markets) |
| EAN | 5035048614099 |
The same shadow line, the same 216 mm blade, and 400 W between them. The bigger motor matters on dense hardwood and on repeated cuts in thick stock; on trim, flooring and studwork it does not. The DWS774 is roughly a hundred euros cheaper and is the better buy for most people.
It is a 24-tooth framing blade: fast, coarse, and exactly wrong for architrave. Budget for a 60-tooth negative-rake blade at the same time as the saw, and keep the 24-tooth for stud.
254 mm · 90 × 305 mm cut · dual bevel
The only saw here that states its capacity as a cross-section — 90 × 305 mm — which is the number you actually need.
Best for: A workshop cutting wide boards and tall sections, where capacity decides what is possible
≈ £1315 / 545 €
18 V BITURBO · 216 mm blade · dual bevel · bare tool
A cordless dual-bevel mitre saw at €430 in Germany and €599 in Spain — the widest price gap in this lot as a proportion of the price.
Best for: Second-fix carpentry away from a socket, in a shop already on AMPShare
≈ £455 / 430 €
Bosch Professional · Amazon Exclusive set
A professional-line Bosch slider sold as an Amazon set — and a listing that publishes nothing you could compare it on.
Best for: A buyer already committed to Bosch Professional who knows this model
≈ 400 €
