DeWalt has been manufacturing some of the best miter saws we’ve had the pleasure to use in the market.
Their products are extremely user-friendly and most woodworkers love working with them.
However, there are a few things you must be aware of about the DeWalt miter saw if you want to use it to its fullest potential. For example, you need to know how to unlock it.
Quick Summary
In this post, we will provide step-by-step details on how to unlock a DeWalt miter saw for use.
Make sure to read through the post entirely before you actually do it yourself.
So without further ado, let’s get started.
For most miter saws, the process for unlocking them is fairly the same but with DeWalt, there are some additional aspects that you must be aware of.
We’ll go over all of these aspects in this post.
How to Unlock a DeWalt Miter Saw? (Step-by-Step Guide)
You may be wondering why a miter saw is locked in the first place. Well, the reason for that is very simple. A miter saw has many moving parts which are also sharp and dangerous.
These locks ensure that these moving parts do not move when the miter saw is not in use. Obviously, when you are transporting or storing the miter saw, you don’t want those components to move about.
That’s why there are locks in place to ensure that you are safe and the miter saw does not hurt anyone around it.
Of course, when you have to actually use the miter saw, you will have to unlock all of those locks to make it work properly.
To unlock your DeWalt miter saw, follow the steps provided below:
Step 1: The very first thing you should unlock on a DeWalt miter saw is its head.
You’ll have little to no trouble finding the head as it’s in a fairly obvious spot for most DeWalt miter saws.
Check your miter saw from the top and you should see a small knob that keeps the head locked and held in place. Apply a moderate amount of pressure on this knob and twist it.
If you do it right, you will hear a click and the head of your DeWalt miter saw will now become unlocked.
For most DeWalt miter saws, you will only have a knob to unlock the head. However, in some of them, there might be pins in addition to the knob.
Step 2: Almost all miter saws will have a down lock on them that is typically located on the bottom-left.
Again, the process for unlocking it is the same. Find the knob for the down lock on the bottom-left of your DeWalt miter saw and apply some pressure on it. After applying pressure, twist it until you hear a click.
Remember that you don’t have to apply a ton of pressure to it. Just a gentle push with your fingers will be more than enough.
Step 3: Next is the pull or push lock on the DeWalt miter saw. For most models, the knob or pin for this lock is located on the bottom right.
Once you locate the knob or pin (depending on your model), you need to apply some pressure and twist it in order to unlock it.
Once that’s done, the pull or push lock will be unlocked.
Step 4: Now you need to address the knurled knob lock which is located on the front of most DeWalt miter saw models.
You will need to apply some pressure on it and twist it in the counterclockwise direction to unlock it.
Step 5: Next up, you will need to unlock the bevel for your miter saw. Obviously, if you have a standard single miter saw, you can skip this step.
However, if you have a compound miter saw, then you will need to unlock it in order to make use of the bevel angles.
If you don’t unlock the bevel lock, you will not be able to tilt your miter saw to make angled bevel cuts.
The lock to the bevel on a DeWalt compound miter saw is typically located near the base of the saw.
To unlock it, you will simply slide the stopping pin until the saw becomes unlocked and you can tilt it from side to side to make angled cuts.
Just push the pin and set your bevel angle. Once the bevel angle is set, let go of the pin in order to lock it again.
Step 6: Lastly, you can unlock the base of the miter saw in order to adjust its position so that it’s more suited to how you want to cut.
The base or table for your miter saw and its positioning is highly important depending on the cuts you want to make.
If the DeWalt miter saw you bought has a moveable base, then you will have to unlock it before you can adjust its position.
To do this, look for a knob near the base which is used to adjust its position. When the lock is set, the base of your DeWalt miter saw will not move.
However, if you want to move it, you will need to use the knob for it. Apply some pressure to the knob and twist it in order to unlock it. Once the base is unlocked, you can move it to whatever your desired position is.
Once you’re at the desired position, twist the knob back again to lock the base in place once more.
Quick tip: Never perform any cuts with your miter saw while the base is unlocked as that can be extremely unsafe.
Most miter saws including DeWalt miter saws have a safety feature that prevents the saw from turning on if the base is unlocked.
However, if you have an older miter saw, it might not have this safety feature. Hence, you will need to keep in mind never to perform any cutting while the base is unlocked.
This is because that can be extremely unsafe as the workpiece could move about and even go flying across the room if you’re not careful.
These are pretty much all the locks on a DeWalt miter saw that you need to be aware of.
As you can see, there are some locks that you have to unlock entirely. On the other hand, there are other locks where you have to unlock them, set the position and then lock them again.
It’s important that you learn to differentiate between these two different types of locks. You don’t want to get them mixed up and have the latter one unlocked while you are operating the miter saw.
Some Additional Tips
Unlocking the DeWalt miter saw can be intimidating if you’ve never done it before. However, there are some actions you can follow to make sure that the process is a breeze for you.
Some steps you can take to ensure you have an easy time while unlocking the saw include:
- Make sure that the DeWalt miter saw is unplugged when you are unlocking it.
- Don’t handle the blade with your hands while you are unlocking the miter saw.
- Make sure to take your time and do everything very slowly if you are inexperienced.
- If you feel stuck, don’t hesitate to ask for professional help.
- Don’t apply too much pressure on the knobs when you are using them to unlock the miter saw. Applying too much pressure could cause damage to its components.
Wrapping Things Up…
This brings us to the end of our post on how to unlock a DeWalt miter saw.
As you can see, the process is fairly simple and as long as you stick to the instructions provided, you won’t run into any issues.
Just make sure you’re careful when unlocking it and that you do it slowly if this is your first time.
If you have any further questions regarding the process, please reach out to us in the comments section below.