Laser sights on saws?

[Bill Simpson]

Laser sights on saws, Are they worth it? Can you get an accurate cut (really?) ? I was cutting some molding for a friend and having a time getting the blade alignment to set just right and my friend said, now would be a good time for a Laser...."

I have always thought the Laser line would be thicker than a thin pencil line or marking knife line and so I felt it would be OK for construction chopping but for detail work, I figured it was useless.

So I am seaking advise from fellows who do the deed and are not trying to sell. Those of you who have them, do they detail well? Would you get another? Do you use them?

I trust you fellows more than the Magazines and Catalogs or the store clerks, You, who do use them know what I mean and if I need one.

My purchase will rely on what you say.

Thanks and have a good day!

[Frank Fusco]

My CMS has a laser indicator light. I like it very much. Shows exactly where the cut will be. And has the added benefit of showing where I DON'T want my fingers to be. Only downside is that I usually forget to turn it off and have to replace batteries every time I go to use the saw.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

BIll.....I've heard some like them and some don't. Some are accurate and some aren't. I think I may add one in the future to my SCMS but use it primarily to see if the angle of the blade is aligned with the angle marked on the wood.

[Aaron Beaver]

I have one on my my saw and find it useful. Adjusting it took a little bit because it adjusted two ways, so it was just lining everything up took a little pateince, because if you moved one screw you had to move the other to line everything up. Once its done I shouldn't have to touch it.

[Jerry Olexa]

My new 12" CMS has twin lasers and so far so good. They were adjusted fine out of the box. I find myself on really important cuts, checking the old fashioned lower the blade way. They're OK but no reason to get a tool just because it has lasers. Just my experience...

[tod evans]

i`m in the absolutely no lasers on a mitersaw camp.....i find them to be a distraction and i trust my eye.....tod

[Bill Simpson]

i`m in the absolutely no lasers on a mitersaw camp.....i find them to be a distraction and i trust my eye.....tod

I used to feel this way too.... But, Making compound miter cuts, it seems to be harder for this old coot to find the line and the blade in the same vacinity. I was thinking it might be a better guesstimate? The one I was looking at turned itself on when the blade spun. But then the blade/piece should be in position before you turn on the blade? Any Opinions on that?

[Steve Clardy]

Don't have any. Never really seen the need.
Now maybe on rough cutting, say framing carpenters where the measurement doesn't have to be so touchy.

Just another electronic device to quit down the road.

[tod evans]

bill, i`ve been running chopsaws for so many years that it`s just instinctive, miters/bevels or straight 90`s, i sight the blade....i don`t know if you`ve noticed in my shop pics but i remove all guarding from my mitersaws so as to be able to sight the blade accurately.......if you`re a "guard-in-place" kinda guy then maybe a lazer would serve you well? i have noticed in the last few years that the optics have improved on the units used on chopsaws....they`re now thinner than the fuzzy 1/8" they started out as
in the end it`s what you feel comfortable with........they`re your fingers and it`s your wood......take care of both........tod

[Jesse Cloud]

I don't have a laser on any of my equipment, mainly out of prejudice. Let me explain.

I was in the computer field for many, many years. I was very scary how many people would believe anything that came out of a computer, take it for granted, never double check it, etc.

I found the same thing to be true of digital displays - and I am guilty of this too. I used to have a digital caliper and would fuss and fuss trying to get that piece of wood correct to three places after the decimal. Then one day I noticed that when I first turned it on, it read 0.015 - so everything I had done for who knows how long was off by that much. And you know, it didn't really matter. But just because something looks precise doesn't mean its accurate.

My second prejudice is that anything that can be adjusted, must be adjusted. It will slip sooner or later, and certainly at the worst time.

So, I prefer to see where the sawblade is going to hit the wood without the interference of cursors, digital displays, lasers, etc.

OK, off the soap box, thanks for listening.