DeWALT DW364 7-1/4-Inch with Electric Brake and Rear Pivot Depth of Cut Adjustment Circular Saw Review

The DeWALT DW364 7 and A Quarter Inch with Electric Brake and Rear Pivot Depth of Cut Adjustment circular saw is a righteous circular saw. We don’t know how to sum it up other than to say it just works. It will cut through just about anything within reason. The only reason, and we mean the only reason, that we don’t love this circular saw more is because it’s so dang heavy. While it’s only a couple of pounds heavier than other sidewinder circular saws, you will notice those pounds after a day of cutting.

The extra cool feature of this saw is that the depth of cut pivot is done from the back of the saw. This makes the saw very easy to handle. Read on to learn more.

Table of Contents
1. Motor Power
2. Blade and Bevel Capacity
3. Base Plate and Guard
4. Adjusters
5. Cut Line
6. Handle
7. Electric Brake
8. Carrying Case
9. Shortcomings
10. What Others Are Saying
11. Bottom Line
12. Price

Motor Power

The DeWALT DW364 has a 15 Amp motor.  Its no load speed is 5,800 RPM . It has power enough for professionals and more than enough power for the casual DIY-er. This saw will slice through even wet lumber, with the saw doing all the work. From our research, it seems that the recent incarnations of this model DeWALT circular saw is more powerful than older versions, 15 Amps vs. 13 Amps, so keep that in mind if you are picking up an older used version. DeWALT seems to have been using this model number on circular saws for a couple of decades with good sales success, improving its specs over time.

Blade and Bevel Capacity

This saw has a 7 1/4″ blade diameter.  The included blade is actually pretty decent, being a DeWALT blade. It’s not a fine cutting blade, so cuts with it will be rough, but since the included blade is a DeWALT, it is durable and you probably want to save it.  The blade is changed with real blade wrench, which brings us much joy compared to saws that make you use allen wrenches to change the blade. The saw has a shaft/spindle lock for easier blade changing.

The saw bevels to 50°, and cuts to a depth of 2 7/16″ at 90° and 1 7/8″ at 45°. Pretty typical for a saw of this quality. Beveling past 45° is a nice feature to have.

Base Plate and Guard

The base plate/shoe is aluminum and solid.  It won’t be damaged through normal operation.  It may mark your wood, so if you are using the saw for fine woodworking then be careful. The blade guard works smoothly.

Adjusters

The bevel control is a knob that you tighten. We wish that it was a lever that locked down instead of a knob that you tightened but it’s not a real detractor but rather personal preference. Numeric indicators are stamped into the saw, so there’s no worry about them rubbing or falling off.

As we said in the opening, the really cool part of this saw is the depth of cut adjustment. The depth of cut adjuster is a large knob that’s at the front of the saw. Unlike most circular saws, the pivot for the depth of cut is at the rear. When you first use the rear pivot feature you feel like you are in Styx’s Come Sail Away where a gathering of angels sings a heavenly tune above your head (although didn’t the angels turn out to be aliens? – but we digress). You may find yourself asking out loud why all saws don’t pivot like this. What this means in practice is that your hand is always behind the blade, pushing it forward. You aren’t pushing down on the blade. Having your hand behind the blade and pushing forward makes it easier to keep the base level on the surface of what you are cutting. We sometimes find that with a regular pivot saw we are pushing down on the saw which causes the rear to lift slightly instead of staying flush with the cutting surface, especially when we are working on a surface smaller than the saw’s base. With the rear pivot this is less likely to happen.

Cut Line Visibility

This saw has nice sight lines for both right- and left-handers.  The rear pivot action helps tremendously with the sight lines on shallow cuts.

Handle

The handle on the DeWALT DW364 is okay. It’s not rubber-cushioned like other saws’ handles. The plastic handle is textured to help with grip.

Electric Brake

This saw has an electric brake which will will stop the blade a few seconds after the trigger is depressed.

Carrying Case

The carrying case is solid and plastic, with DeWALT stamped across the side. Note that the price on the saw with the carrying case seems to be the same as the saw without the carrying case, at least at some of the big online retailers. Make sure if you order it online that you get the DW364K to in order to get the version with the case, as opposed to just the DW364.

Shortcomings

This saw is heavy. It’s 12.3 pounds, which is about 2 pounds heavier than other manufacturers’ 15 Amp circular saws. You will notice the weight difference if you are lugging it around making a hundred cuts a day with this saw. This weight does make the saw feel more durable. If you are using this saw at a cutting table, at your bench or on the floor (basically any place that you don’t have to move more than a few feet) then you are going to love it. If you are carrying it around your job site, the love might diminish some.

What Others Are Saying

You will find glowing reviews of this saw at the online and big box retailers. Many of these are from professional contractors. Several mention the saw holding up to day in, day out use for over a decade.

Bottom Line

The DeWALT DW364 7 and A Quarter Inch with Electric Brake and Rear Pivot Depth of Cut Adjustment circular saw is impressively awesome.  While it’s heavy, it’s also extremely powerful, easy to handle and comfortable to use. If you have the endurance to wield it, you shouldn’t be disappointed. 5 out of 5.

Price

Amazon puts a lot of effort into keeping their pricing competitive. As of the date of this review, the price was very attractive and they offered free or discounted shipping. Click to check today’s price and see if that’s still the case: