Customer Reviews

Irwin Industrial Tools 3061001 Miter Saw Laser Guide

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Some of the other reviews didnt mention that in the description of this product, that it does clearly state that it "fits MOST Miter Saws, Does Not Fit The Bosch, Ridgid & Pro-Tech Model Miter Saws". I have a Dewalt DW715 12" compound miter saw, and after READING the instructions, installed it in just a few minutes. I then marked a scrap piece of wood with a thin pencil line from a .5mm mechanical pencil, turned the saw on, lowered the blade slightly and the laser line appeared. The laser is thin and clean. Because it is mounted next to the blade and does not activate until the the blade is turning, you cannot see the laser until you begin to lower the blade slightly and the blade cover moves out of the way. I placed the laser dead on with the line on the wood and it cut dead against it to the left as advertised. It is not meant to cut dead on the line. Again, others posting reviews did not read the product description where it does clearly state "Projects A Clear Line Just To The LEFT Of The Cut". And just dead to the left of the cut it is. With this in mind, it isnt difficult for a good builder to compensate ever so slightly for a dead on cut. This is after all, a clever third party product to "retro-fit" your miter saw. For the money, it will save you time in making accurate cuts. Also, after installing, I did not notice any difference in blade cuts, balance, vibrations, or such.

I have posted a few images to show you the laser guide installed on my Dewalt miter saw. Hopefully you will be able to see the laser light and how it installs. I hope this helps.

D. Steele said all that needed to be said below. Excellent product that works extremely well. I've used this laser on my DeWalt 705 to trim out two houses over the past month or so and I am very pleased. It projects a crisp line just a fraction of a milimeter to the left of the cut. If you're not getting accurate cuts, it's your saw setup, not the laser at fault. I'm buying 2 more for other saws. The only way to improve this product would be to have a system where the laser was projected on both sides to show kerf, but that would require a whole different system and likely a saw specific(read expensive) design.

I saw this product in a display, came to Amazon and read a less than great review, causing concerns. I e-mailed the company and explained that I have a DW 705 12" miter saw and wondered if the product would work with that saw. The reply was that it would work with their "kit". I was asked for my mailing address so the kit could be sent. Well, today (9/07/05)the kit arrived. So, I bought the product, went to my shop, and installed the unit w/o the kit, first (it must be a guy thing). To my suprise, I found the unit to have an inset for the arbor (on the blade side) and the factory bolt worked just fine, no observed need for the kit. I reinstalled the blade guard and checked for clearance. All was fine. I started the saw and found no problems. I turned every lite on in my shop and found I see the line without any trouble whatsoever. I have 2 four foot double bulb lights right at my miter saw. I read the paperwork for the kit and find that it is for "older" 705 saws.

Long story short, I'm 54 and find this to be a great item. I'm thinking of having a bolt hole put in the arbor of my radial arm saw so I could put one on it!

I purchased this guide to complement an inexpensive miter saw I purchased on Amazon. I've used it with two Hitachi Compound Miter Saws with good results.
This product replaces the arbor washer on the saw and automatically produces a red guide line along the left side of the blade when you start the saw. I found the guide to be very helpful. Just mark your workpiece with a pencil and center the guide over the mark. You will quickly get the hang of it. Just make sure that the "keeper" portion is cut on the left side of the blade.
This unit came with a nice little soft case and several alternative replacement arbor bolts in case the OEM one doesn't work. You will need to make sure you have clearance between the blade guard and the arbor nut once the guide is installed. Tolerances were fairly tight on the Hitachi C10FCE2, but it worked.
User Notes:
1. I typically set up my saw outdoors. In bright sunshine the red guide can be difficult to see. For best results position the saw so the left side of the blade is in the shade or do your cutting in a location where you can control the lighting.
2. Be aware that using this guide may require more attention when cutting thicker stock. One and two inch material works fine, but if you intend to cut 4 x 4 material be careful. The diameter of the laser guide is wider than the washer it replaces so you don't have as much clearance on thick stock. I found it worked okay when I was paying attention, but if you fully depress the blade you're going to wind up marring the end of your material.

It's a novel idea - put a laser beam in the arbor washer. It turns on/off with the saw, and shines down the edge of the blade onto your workpiece. Not bad for a first-generation idea, but it needs improvement:

* The mounting hole is much larger than the bolts, so getting the part (which is solid & heavy) on-center to keep the blade balanced is sheer luck.

* The beam is very sharp, but it's also very dim. Hard to see in normal shop lighting. They should make do with shorter battery life (3 button cells) and use a brighter laser.

* Dispite Irwin's claims, it doesn't work on the very popular DeWalt DW705 12" compound miter - the part isn't tapered on top, so it grinds against the pivot joint for the blade guard.

I would have kept mine anyway, but with a DW705 it's sadly not possible.

A lot of the negatives here are true, however you can compensate for them. It fit right on my cheap no-name brand 10" compound miter saw (that I am using to build a large addition to my house). Yeah, the laser is off to the left a little, you line up the laser to touch the left of your measuring mark, and you'll cut the mark with a thin kerf blade. Want to cut to the right of the mark? Line the laser up on the mark. I'm sure you get the idea. Not rocket science.

Better than the alternatives, up and down and up and down. And for the price? Good deal and IMHO good product. Good, not great.

I put it on my Makita LS1221 and it has worked wonderfully. It is a tight fit, but it doesn't rub. The laser throws a crisp, clean line, and for me it just exactly to the left of the cut (this is using the blade that came with the saw). It took me about five practice cuts before I could hit it dead on every time. I am very pleased.

For all the people complaining that it's not adjustable or a double laser or can't be switched to the right of the cut, really now. It's a $30 add on that does exactly what it's supposed to do. You can easily get a fully adjustable double laser if you want one. They're usually on a $900 miter saw.

This product does exactly what it says it does. If it doesn't align then it wasn't for your saw.

This is a $30 BARGAIN. It is such a pleasure to not have to raise and lower the blade a dozen times to get the cut "right on". Hats off to Irwin, thanks for a great and reasonably priced product.

My saw is a DeWalt 708. Nothing special, just a "plain jane" sliding miter. I can't wait to use the laser guide on my 40 year old Craftsman Radial arm saw.

Thanks Irwin, this is another reason why I keep buying your products.

I never leave feedback on anything I buy, even though its a must for me before I purchase. I don't want to have to send something back that sucks, who does? It's only fair to help others as they had helped me.

To start out, this was very simple to install. I was a little worried at first because on the package it came in, they state which brands it will work for. ( Bosch, Dewalt, etc.). I have a craftsman, and craftsman was not on the list. But, it did fit fine.
You get this nice little zip up case that it comes in, along with 3 different threaded bolts. The bolts are there just in case your original bolt on your miter ends up being too short after you install the laser. I got lucky, and the bolt from my craftsman was long enough. Now that the laser is in the miter saw, the case really has no purpose?
As far as performance goes... Ive used it for the first day now; I cut several pieces of wood and its perfect. I'm not sure about other miter's, but mine is mounted on the left of the blade, so when I align the laser perfectly on the cut line, the blade cuts just to the right. Its great... Id rather it do that than cut RIGHT on the line. Some people don't care about compensating for the width of the blade, but a lot do and its worth it.

***NEGATIVE THOUGHTS:
I'm not sure if its my saw (which Im sure it is) but as the laser turns on when I start the saw, and I bring the saw down to cut, the laser moves about a mm to the left as I come down. So, I really have to start the saw, bring the blade down almost all of the way, then line up my cut. I'm not sure if anyone else had this problem. Other than that, no other complaints.

Overall, its worth the $20. It saves me the trouble of having to bring the blade down to the wood, and having to always cut my piece just a hair bigger to play it safe. Now, I just line up the line with the laser, and its on the money every time. Having to deal with bringing the blade down almost all of the way every time because of the slight misalignment of the laser isn't that big of a deal. I wish I could find a use for that zip up case it came with, its a decent little case that would be useful for something. I don't know what, but it is one of those things where one day you'll need it for something random. If your a perfectionist like me, you will definitely want this laser. Not only does it help make perfect cuts, it saves a little extra time too.

After reading some of these reviews (after purchase!) I was concerned that perhaps it wouldn't fit on my Makita LS1013 miter saw - but it does fit and I must say worked extremely well. It clears the blade cover and opening mechanism, but only just. 1/100" thicker and it might not have fit. Perhaps they could reduce the thickness a tad on the next model to eliminate any possibility of problems.

The left edge of the saw blade dissects the thin laser line exactly in the middle.

Even under bright light the line was still visible, but I need to reduce the wattage on the saw spotlight to make the line more visible. Since now it's easier to see where the saw will cut the light doesn't need to be as bright anyway.

One negative was that installing the laser guide is a little fiddly due to close clearances so if you change your blade regularly this is something to consider.