Customer Reviews

DEWALT DW7187 Adjustable Miter-Saw Laser System

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I bought this based on what other owners said about it. It is fairly easy to install. The set up is a little tricky, I ended up going to the DeWalt web site to watch the set up video. I had to dig into the site quite a bit to find the video, but it was worth it. My main complaint is that the tension spring that holds the left to right setting for the laser is too weak for the application. Every couple of cuts I had to re-alighn the L-R of the laser with the adjustment screw. I contacted Dewalt and got nothing close to what I'll call help. They suggested taking it to a Dewalt service facility. I did not do that because I figured they would tell me my laser was fine. I ended up replacing the weak tensioning spring with a stronger one and now it seems to work okay.

The reason for the 3 stars is because I had to re-engineer an obvious fault with the laser and got no help from Dewalt when I asked for it. I feel that for the price I paid for this product I should have better support from the manufacturer than just a generic and automated response.

I own several DeWalt products because I found them to be above average in design and quality. The Laser System for the DeWalt Miter Saw is an exception however. The DeWalt laser guide casts a fairly crisp red line, but the mechanism used to adjust the laser line is not adequate and in the best of conditions it casts a line that moves as the saw is brought down to cut. If you want a precision cut, you still have to align BY EYE the saw blade with your layout line on the wood. The laser line is not a trusted indicator of the cutting spot as it cannot be adjusted to indicate the same spot from saw blade upper position (at rest) to a lowered position to cut. During this saw blade travel, the laser line creeps from left to right, or right to left. For less demanding work, such as framing a house, the laser guide may be okay. For precise cutting, such as for picture frames, or furniture making, the DeWalt Laser System is a cute add-on that won't be used after the cuteness wares off. DeWalt must not hold their accessory designers to the same high standards as their tool designers. Too bad.

This product was a big dissapointment. The laser installed fairly easily after reading the instructions, but then was a pain to adjust. After I finally adjusted the laser I found that the line it projected was very thick and that is not adjustable. After a couple of cuts it was back out of alignment. This Item is just not up to par with the rest of the saw which I am very pleased with.

Wow. DeWalt has really let me down this time. I paid $600 for the 718 saw, which came with a cracked base the first time, brought it back, then the 2nd one has poor plating, ugh. i thought that the laser would at least not let me down. I was so wrong. It wasnt so bad to attach to the saw, but after aligning the parallel & perpendicular axis, i discovered that you can't get the kerf line to fall visibly on the cut line, its off by 1/16" or more. I tried it on both side of the blade, the left was worse than the right, but both sides dont allow you to be accurate with the side of the blade. This is because the laser is mounted above the blade, so the blade blocks the laser from falling on the cut line, you can get a very dim amount of the line to fal about 1/32" from the cut, still not acceptable for $70. Also the laser shakes and moves when you make adjustments, and I have no doubt that it will require constant re-alining during work use. A real disappointment.

I got one of these for my 718 and have used it for about two months on several trim and cabinet jobs. It can save time on each cut as you don't have to scribe a cut line and sight the blade, just put the laser where you want it vs. your measurement mark and cut. I do find myself forgetting to use it particularly on complex trim jobs, not because I don't trust it but because I never used one for the past 25 years. A new trick for an old dog.

Installation was easy and set up was straightforward. Just take your time and follow the directions. If you do, you can set the laser line to indicate exactly where the blade will cut. Mine seems to stay in adjustment pretty well but I'm careful with my saw. Changing blades usually does require tweaking the lateral adjustment due to different kerf widths on different blades.

All in all a nice thing to have on your saw. Only 4 stars because the line is hard to see in direct sunlight. In shade or inside it's fine.

I have years of experience with dewalt miter saws and have kept returning to them after much success. I have seen laser systems before and thought they were a gimick. Since this one carried the dewalt name I thought that it would be professional grade. This is not the case the laser leaves a fat line that is not fine enough for trim and cabinetry work. The laser was easy to put on, but took some time to adjust. After I had it sighted in I found that the line it projects completly covered my pencil line on the board. This attachment is not meant for professionals

Laser works awesome as long as you only want to cut on left side of blade.
If you want to cut on the right side you have to completely readjust the laser. Unfortunately by the time you turn the adjuster 9 turns to move to the other side of the blade there is no more spring tension on the screw. The screw almost comes out of the threads. Personally, when I cut trim I usually make one cut on the left and then one cut on the right. Left, right,left, right and so on. This attachment looks cool on your saw but that's about all it does. Amasingly poor engineering. Two thumbs down.

I bought this laser along with Dewalts 12 inch double bevel miter saw. Attaching it is easy and alignment wasn't too bad once you figure out how the set screws work. The laser is fairly bright but also wide, maybe 1/32. It is also hard to keep aligned. Everytime I move the saw the laser seems to be off a bit. If you keep all of you cuts to one side of the laser it works okay, but remember to check alignment during the work day, even the vibration from the saw causes it to wander a bit. Save your money and buy a decent blade.

Before you buy this product, I would advise carefully examining your DeWalt saw beforehand (mine is the DW715) to make sure that the pigtail switch wires that engage with the laser unit are long enough to make the connections. I did not have this luxury as I bought both items from Amazon and the laser unit arrived 2-1/2 weeks before the saw.

Despite what the DeWalt video for installation shows (and the incompletely written installation guide implies), it was nearly impossible to connect the unit to the saw because one the pigtails (the black tipped one) that comes out of the saw was only 1-1/2" long total (including the plastic connector). Unfortunately, this needs to be at least 1/2" longer in order to minimally engage the laser switch unit and provide enough slack to manipulate the laser housing. As supplied, the connection can only be completed blind, and then the second problem becomes evident.DeWalt does not specify in the instruction manual or the video how this short 2 wire system should be oriented, although a careful eximination of the wire unit leads one to believe that it must be positioned so a tab will engage the connector and lock it in place, but it does not. So, even as the blind connection is (just barely) made, the connector will not snap into place, and as soon as the switch housing is manipulated to connect the second wire connector set, the unsecured first connector falls out. This happened at least two dozen times before I quit in disgust (in total I spent at least 3 hours trying to make this connection).

In truth, the quality control problem is shared by both the saw and the laser unit. One), the pigtail from the saw is way too short to provide enough slack to connect properly to the laser unit, and, two), the connector on the laser unit is poorly designed to engage the wire securely.

I own many DeWalt tools, and have always found them to be of excellent quality. For this reason, I intend to keep the saw, since it can be used without the laser, although not as easily as it could be (the curse of bi-focals!). But, the laser unit is going back to Amazon, since it cannot be connected.

I have to say that this experience has soured my opinion of DeWalt tools and their quality control, and I will be looking more closely at alternative products in the future before making a purchase.

My DeWalt 716 is a fairly good saw, but a laser is really needed to avoid "trial and error" cutting. So, I bought the laser to aid in cutting siding for my home. If you are planning to use this laser outdoors, don't bother unless you work after sunset or on VERY cloudy days. On even "cloudy bright" days, the laser line is not visible. In bright sunshine, you can't even tell if the laser is "on". I never gave this a thought before I purchased the laser. I guess I'll keep it for use indoors after the siding job is done. Setup was kind of a pain, too. The wires were difficult to connect and place in the recess provided. Accuracy seems fair to good, but the alignment screws seem too loose and prone to vibrating out of adjustment. All in all, pretty disappointing, and I certainly wouldn't call this item "heavy duty". If I ever buy another miter saw, I think I will look at Makita.