Makita SCMS Laser

[Mike Goetzke]

I've had the cordless XSL06 for a few years now. I don't use the laser light much because it's not bright enough outside where I usually use the saw (it's amazing too how many times eyeballing the cut line I need no board adjustment). OK, so I'm cutting some 1x4 trim for my shed that I pre-painted brown plus need many angular cuts so want to use the laser. The laser is fine to the right of the blade but faint to the left. The left is where I usually cut to. I took the laser out and cleaned everything up and still no luck. I even tried another blade. To the right I can see the laser line on the spindle washer but on the left the laser beam is partially hitting the blade teeth.

Any ideas why this may be happening? Diode misalignment?

Also, I saw a YT video where a guy mounted some led lights up in the blade guard to produce a shadow line. Is this a better route? Is a shadow light more visible in the daylight than a red laser?

Thanks

 

[Mini Me]

I gave up using lasers years ago on my scms and for repetitive cuts use stops and for other cuts I use a zero clearance sub fence. Mark the cut needed, align that mark with the saw kerf in the fence and make the cut.

 

[MikeGE]

Also, I saw a YT video where a guy mounted some led lights up in the blade guard to produce a shadow line. Is this a better route? Is a shadow light more visible in the daylight than a red laser?

I replaced my DeWalt DWS780 with the Kapex 120 for the improved dust collection.  My only frustration with the KS 120 is the lack of a LED shadow line, which I miss.  The LED shadow line on the DWS780 was clearly visible when cutting timber outside in the bright sun.

 

[rhoyer]

Also, I saw a YT video where a guy mounted some led lights up in the blade guard to produce a shadow line. Is this a better route? Is a shadow light more visible in the daylight than a red laser?

I replaced my DeWalt DWS780 with the Kapex 120 for the improved dust collection.  My only frustration with the KS 120 is the lack of a LED shadow line, which I miss.  The LED shadow line on the DWS780 was clearly visible when cutting timber outside in the bright sun.

I also went from a DWS780 to a Kapex and I really miss the shadow line as well. I have considered trying to mount an LED up in the guard, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Truthfully, any time I really care about hitting a line I just tap my fences in a hair (I make plywood sacrificial fences that are always attached), make a fresh cut with them, and just line my mark up to the kerf in the fence. There's nothing more visible than a cut piece of plywood, but I do really miss that shadow line. It's vastly superior to any laser.

*EDIT* - Sorry, MiniMe, I missed your comment. +1 for the shadow line, +2 for the kerf in the subfence.

 

[rhoyer]

I took the laser out and cleaned everything up and still no luck.

Any ideas why this may be happening? Diode misalignment?

Did you take the lens out and clean it, or the laser? There appears to alignment instructions in the manual. Did you give them a go?

 

[Mike Goetzke]

I took the laser out and cleaned everything up and still no luck.

Any ideas why this may be happening? Diode misalignment?

Did you take the lens out and clean it, or the laser? There appears to alignment instructions in the manual. Did you give them a go?

Yes, I not only took the protective lens out for a cleaning but removed the entire laser assemble to see if something looked wrong.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

No matter how good a laser or even shadow line is, you still need to align that to your mark. There is an inherent issue right there, and if you have multiple pieces to cut to the same length? Now you are not only marking every one of them, but you are also aligning it by eye, some of which depends on the quality of the mark. This is slow and has potential for mistakes.
A measured stop system is far far better. It skips the marking altogether and makes multiple piece cutting simple, fast, and exact.
The system I use comes from Kreg, but there are others.

 

[rhoyer]

I took the laser out and cleaned everything up and still no luck.

Any ideas why this may be happening? Diode misalignment?

Did you take the lens out and clean it, or the laser? There appears to alignment instructions in the manual. Did you give them a go?

Yes, I not only took the protective lens out for a cleaning but removed the entire laser assemble to see if something looked wrong.

If the left side adjustment screw in the manual snippet I attached doesn't get it back within spec, it's probably a bad laser unit. If it doesn't do anything at all, the adjustment mechanism must be messed up. Either way, I'd send Makita a note and see what they have to say. I'd be surprised if the adjustment screw didn't do anything.

 

[ChuckM]

No matter how good a laser or even shadow line is, you still need to align that to your mark. Snip.

Agreed.

For most work, the laser line and shadow line are good enough. The trick is to get really familiar with how those lines cut with your saw regardless of brands. Not just familiar but really so. Then you can cut really well -- for non-furniture grade/carpentry/renovation tasks.

For furniture-grade requirements, aligning the mark with the teeth of the blade or a cutline on the fence (as some suggested above) is the only way to ensure that you'll be cutting on the mark (but with allowance for blade flex/vibration).

Despite its inadequacy, I use the Kapex's laser lines all the time, saving the alignment-by-teeth method for when absolute precision is required (e.g. when cutting angled pieces). This is no different from making precise cuts on the table saw.