Dewalt DCS355 vs DCS356 differences? (besides speed switch)

[aholeinthewor1d]

I know the DCS356 is the newer model and has a 3 speed switch. Are there any other differences at ALL? Is there a power or vibration difference etc? The weird part is the DCS356 appears to be cheaper than the DCS355 which doesn't make sense if it's exactly the same with a 3 speed switch. Thanks!!

 

(I know about the Atomic model DCS354. I am not interested in that one)

[Jronman]

41 minutes ago, aholeinthewor1d said:

I know the DCS356 is the newer model and has a 3 speed switch. Are there any other differences at ALL? Is there a power or vibration difference etc? The weird part is the DCS356 appears to be cheaper than the DCS355 which doesn't make sense if it's exactly the same with a 3 speed switch. Thanks!!

 

(I know about the Atomic model DCS354. I am not interested in that one)

I heard there are improvements to vibration. I don't know about more power. It is an improvement to the 355 but not the one I had hoped for. There was a patent I seen awhile back that was almost like a combination of starlock and the open ended universal fit blades used on the DeWALT. Compatible with both systems and everything. That is what I wanted to happen. Also a head that is dampened for vibration like the Fein and Festool would have been nice for less noise and vibration. 

[aholeinthewor1d]

7 minutes ago, Jronman said:

I heard there are improvements to vibration. I don't know about more power. It is an improvement to the 355 but not the one I had hoped for. There was a patent I seen awhile back that was almost like a combination of starlock and the open ended universal fit blades used on the DeWALT. Compatible with both systems and everything. That is what I wanted to happen. Also a head that is dampened for vibration like the Fein and Festool would have been nice for less noise and vibration. 

 

Thanks for the reply! Yea it's hard to find info online about differences for some reason. Maybe there are none? I want the 356 with 3 speed switch just wanted to make sure it wasn't "less powerful" than the 355 or anything like that

[Jronman]

3 speed switch that works with the variable speed trigger and less vibration are the only changes I know of. Power should be as good as the 355. It won't beat some of the cordless starlock options like the 18v Supercut or the 18v Vecturo, but those are next level.

[aaron_p]

aholeinthewor1d,

I just bought the DSC356 because I was using a 355 at work and really liked it. There are the added speed selections, but also as soon as I picked up my new 356, it felt different in my hand...a little bigger in grip diameter. That's how it "felt"... and heavier.
One of the reasons I bought the tool was how good it felt in my hand, and how maneuverable it was (355). The 356 feels a little more bulky overall.
I'm going to keep it anyway, but those are my impressions by feel.

[framer]

one of the newer versions(maybe atomic) doesnt have the threaded hole on the side if you want to attach a belt hook.

[Paul_Delahaye]

6 hours ago, framer said:

one of the newer versions(maybe atomic) doesnt have the threaded hole on the side if you want to attach a belt hook.

 

I bought a belt hook for my old 355, and whilst it had the hold on each side, it was missing the nut on the back for the belt hook to screw into.  Not a big deal but you would think if the moulding had the hole, you would think they would put a nut in as an option for people to add the belt clip.  Small price.

[Wingnut]

I've always found Dewalt's various model #'s confusing, with no real help from their web page. I understand the difference between the older design and newer brushless models. But beyond that it's hard to know the difference between the model's available at the box store vs. slightly different model #'s I see floating around on the interweb.

 

I owned an old 18v 6 1/2" circular saw, which I loved. I sold it when I upgraded to the 20v brushless platform. I bought a DCS570 7 1/4" which I find to be too clunky for the work I do. I don't enjoy the opposite side blade placement.

 

My question is, if I want a 6 1/2" saw that performs similarly to my old saw, which model # should I choose? Any thoughts?

[Biggie]

The dcs391 would be the brushed 6½" blade left saw that would be very comparable to your old 18.  While I have no experience with it, I've heard people on here say it gets a little power boost from larger Ah batteries.  Dewalt also just released the dcs565 which is a brushless 6½" blade left saw.  There aren't a lot of reviews online about this new saw and I see its not the top tier XR branding like your dcs570 but it is brushless so I would assume its an upgrade from the dcs391 but I don't really know. 

[Rod Ango]

Was wondering about the dcs355 vs dcs356. After using it for a while, was the latter still a good choice?
 

Responding to battery powered circular saws, I bought the dcs373(b) steel cutting l-blade circular saw. Despite warnings, I have used it for cutting wood- it's rated at 3700rpm, I think wood cutting saws are usually ~ 4500-5200.
 

It's very well balanced, and with the small blade and high torque it does well in plywood, and very well in light metals! I have cut some various kinds of scrap steel tubing, and some for projects -- it's a great saw. It's probably not the right choice for production woodwork, but for various tasks and light metal work ✔︎✔︎✔︎

[Altan]

It seems DeWALT has dedicated DCS350-DCS359 model numbers to Oscillating Multi Tools. First they started with DCS355 exactly from the middle of this range, after a few years almost at the same time one number below (DCS354 Atomic) and one number above (DCS356 three speed option) was released and now DSC533 12V version is released. So now it is clear DCS352 and DCS351 are going to be 12V or 8V(?!!!) versions and how about DCS357, DCS358 DCS359?! Probably DCS357 would be 20V version with 6-7 speed settings, DCS358 20V Flexvolt advantage and DCS359 60V Flexvolt! Also next step would be another battery platform :)))