In talking about miter saws the other day..

[MTboatguy]

We had a pretty good conversation going on the other day about shop tools, what I was wondering, I purchased another add on laser for another say I own and was wondering, if anyone had ever mounted a add on laser on the right hand side of the blade instead of the left hand side as recommended?

 

[gm280]

If I remember correctly trying to install an add on LASER guide on my 12" DeWatt chop saw, it wouldn't bolt down correctly and I made the decision to go on the outside of the blade for that reason. IF you can get the blade to fit solidly on the LASER guide, have at it. Just make sure the blade is solidly fastened and not cocked on... I'm so use to the LASER beam shining on the left side of the cut, that it is now second nature to line up the wood and cut... JMHO!

 

[MTboatguy]

Well on my first saw, I had it retrofitted by the factory, when they first came out with the laser option, this one I figured I would save a bit of money, just figured it would be nice if I could put the laser on the right side, then the laser would project on the outside of the cut instead of the inside, but makes calculations a bit easier.

 

[Tnstratofam]

That's funny I was looking for a laser to add to my current miter saw the other day. I didn't have any luck. Where did you all get yours? What brand are they?

 

[MTboatguy]

They are actually pretty simple things, spin activated switch inside of them, I looked at the Irwin at Home Depot that they wanted $30 bucks for and found the same basic thing at Harbor Freight for $13 bucks and it came with an extra set of batteries.

 

[Tnstratofam]

I'll have to run to harbor freight on Saturday to get me one. Have you ever used one on a circular saw? Or seen one?

 

[MTboatguy]

I have used factory equipped skill saws with lasers, pretty cool as well as my original laser equipped miter saw, well worth the trouble, makes things a bit easier to make sure you are getting the cut where you want it, the package on this one says it can be used on many different types of saw, but will not work on radial arm saws or worm drive saws.

 

[gm280]

I'll have to run to harbor freight on Saturday to get me one. Have you ever used one on a circular saw? Or seen one?

I don't think it would fit on a hand held circular saw because of the thinness involved, and maybe even the shaft diameter. If you can fit it and still be able to tighten the bolt, go for it...

 

[MTboatguy]

It would not fit on my cheap Black and Decker hand saw, but it would fit on one my skill saws, but it is a worm drive, so won't work correctly.

The one I purchased is imported by laserusinc.com for Harbor Freight tools, I couldn't find it on the HF website, but they were hanging on the wall in the same section as the Dremel tool bits. It is HF part number 96401

 

[Tnstratofam]

Yeah I'm thinking my skill circ saw may not have enough room left on the shaft after the blade is installed to allow for anything else. I don't think I wanna be the guinea pig and find out. The Admiral " How did you manage to send your saw blade through the wall?" My response "ummmm!!!"

 

[bruceb58]

I need to look into these. I always thought they were a gimmick but I guess they really are useful? I have a DeWalt miter saw that I would like to use it on.

 

[MTboatguy]

Bruce, depending on the model of your DeWalt, you might actually be able to get a factory retrofit kit for it. I have seen quite a few factory kits for the DeWalt saws on ebay, which would be a good one to get, because your laser will sit right inline with your blade and not on one side or the other.

 

[gm280]

I have one on my Craftsman Radial Saw that came factory and I installed an Irvin (I think) on my DeWalt 12" Compound chop saw. Both work very well and have for years now too... Once you get use to using them, you kind of forget about them and just use them to quickly line up the wood and cut. Sure makes usage very convenient. And bruceb58, yes, they do actually work very well and are not gimmicky... As the saw spins up, the centrifugal force turns on the LASER inside the little disk that goes on like a thick washer next to the blade. So there is no on or off switch to turn on and off. It is all automatic. Just make sure, if you do install one, that there is enough room on the shaft to properly tighten the blade. Then happy cutting! I actually read a comment one time where somebody wanted to put one on his table saw. :facepalm: Think about that one for a second...

 

[bruceb58]

Bruce, depending on the model of your DeWalt, you might actually be able to get a factory retrofit kit for it. I have seen quite a few factory kits for the DeWalt saws on ebay, which would be a good one to get, because your laser will sit right inline with your blade and not on one side or the other.

Thanks, I will look into it.

 

[MTboatguy]

Well I just got it mounted and they way they designed it, you don't have to worry about cutting inside or outside the laser, somehow it projects exactly where the blade will cut, so for $13 bucks, I am a very happy camper, just make sure and let your saw get up to full speed before you try to cut anything.

EDIT:

Well I just did some more testing and it does not cut on the line if you line the laser up on the line, if you measure 4 inches, and try to cut on the line, your piece will actually be shorter based on the thickness of your blade, just something to be aware of.

 

[MTboatguy]

I am going to update, I just spent a bit of time cutting some very close tolerance material for door trim and it does take some time to figure out how to deal with the offset when you are cutting angles, so be aware and make sure and practice on material that is not important, use scrape to learn how to work with this, with a standard kerf blade that has an 1/8 tooth, you will be splitting that in half and end up with a 1/16th of an inch too short. now if you put a thin kerf blade on your saw, you will still end up short by about a 32nd of an inch, which in many instances will not make a difference, but if you are doing picture frames, it will if you need them exact for the piece they are suppose to fit on. Also, one thing to be aware with, make sure and review the various brands, cheap brand thin kerf's will flex while your cutting if you are not very careful, so take it very slow and don't force anything.

 

[gm280]

MTboatguy, as with most everything there is a learning curve. I'm so use to those issues that I don't even realize I'm making the adjustments for such cuts. As far as thin kerf blades and flex, yes, thin kerf blade are prone to flex but not so much when very sharp. As any blade does flex in every cut, thin kerf blades are more prone to flex simply from being thinner. But keep them sharp or changed solved those issues nicely... I installed a blade strengthening plate made to help stabilize such flex. The only draw back is that it is so large in diameter that is keeps you from making full capacity cuts. But in normal daily use, I have yet to run up against that thick washer-like plate to keep me from a full cut...

 

[MTboatguy]

Currently I am working with soft woods, pines, hemlock and such, if I were working with hardwoods, the flex on the blade could be a real issue, it is, as you said, simply a learning curve to figure out how to adjust for the small offset on the laser.

 

[NYBo]

They are actually pretty simple things, spin activated switch inside of them, I looked at the Irwin at Home Depot that they wanted $30 bucks for and found the same basic thing at Harbor Freight for $13 bucks and it came with an extra set of batteries.

It appears that Harbor Freight no longer carries the item.

 

[MTboatguy]

It appears that Harbor Freight no longer carries the item.

Yes, they still carry them, they just don't have them on their website right now, I was just on the phone with them today on another product I was looking and asked them about the lasers. I just purchased mine less than a week ago at the Vancouver, WA store and talked to the Missoula store today.