Miter saws are used for the precise wood cutting processes. A miter saw can cut various cuts such as miter cuts, bevel cuts, and crosscuts easily. When placing the workpiece on the kerf, we cant see a cutting path. So it is essential to observe the cutting path clear by using laser or LED shadow. So let’s see, how both are important for the miter saw, including all in detail factors before you use it.
Laser miter saws can clearly visible the cutting path due to the sharpness of the laser beam. But LED shadow light will not provide a clear and sharp path due to blurriness and outer lights. The laser guide is a bit expensive and LED shadow light is a cheap solution.
More than that, we have to pay attention to the many factors. So let’s see how to select a better solution step by step in detail.
What is A Laser Miter Saw?
When the laser guide unit is placed on the outer blade flange is called the laser miter saw. A laser miter saw is highly precise than LED shadow miter saw. When the blade is spinning, the inside centrifugal switch in the laser guide will be activated automatically.
So you no need to activate or switch on the laser guide manually. This is a great advantage but it feels unsafe for some users. Due to the laser line, the user can identify the cutting path and avoid hands or fingers on the cutting path. So it is a great advantage for the user and increases the accuracy.
What is A LED Miter Saw?
The LED miter saw is a low-budget-cutting path identification solution. A LED light is lit up from the top of the saw blade. It will light up through both sides of the saw blade and there is a shadow on the workpiece due to the saw blade covering area.
The shadow area can be observed clearly when the saw blade is lower than the workpiece. It is not sharp much. Due to the outer lights, it can be blurry also. Frankly, this is not an accurate way of path indication. Due to the double side of the lighting, we can observe the thick black line of shadow. Sometimes we may be confused to identifying the correct side of the cutting path.
Difference Between Laser Miter Saw and LED Miter Saw
| Laser Light | LED Light |
| More Expensive | Cheap |
| Clear in any position | The lower saw head is more clear |
| A sharp Line | Blur due to outer light |
| Easy to fix with saw | Difficult to fix (Most are DIY) |
| High precise cutting | Low precise cutting |
| Minimum tolerance in the workpiece | High tolerance in the workpiece |
Why Laser Guide is Important than LED Shadow Line?
- Clear path visibility
- Increase the safety
- Quick job cycles
- Increase the accuracy
- Reduce the errors
- Increase the effciency
- Save the workpieces
- Increase the productivity
More than that, we have to consider many things before we use one of these two lights. So let’s see, what are the lights and their task with each and every detail of the miter saw with led or Laser indicators.
Is It Worth Having Laser or LED on Miter Saw?
Normally, we need to identify the cutting path in order to increase the accuracy as well as maintain user safety. Considering these things, there is no doubt having a miter saw with any light such as LED or laser. Because it is worthy.
- When we consider the investment of the laser miter saw it will be $25-$35 and LED shadow miter saw will cost maximum $15. Hence we can understand Laser miter saws ar expensive. But considering the perfomrmance, we can expect sharp cutting path light from laser miter saw.
- Laser miter saws have red light. As a result of it, it will not be blurry due to the surrounding lights and we can see clearly visible red light from white light. But led lights sharpness will be reduce due to the outer lights. Shadow quality will be reduce with the outer lights.
- Laser light is more clear in any posistion. But LED lights is not clear any posisiton. We can clearly observe the shadow when the saw head is lower to the workpiece.
- The laser guide will be activated when the blade starts to spin because of the automatic centrifuagal switch but LED light will work in any posisiton becuase it can operate using a manual switch.
- You can easily buy a laser guide as well as LED system from amazon.com and can fix to the miter saw easily and the most importnant this is there is no need to do any adjustments. Both are work with using the saw blade as a light barrier.
- When we consider the accuray there is no doubt, laser miter saws are with more accuracy. LED miter saws are with lower accuracy.
- Both indicating system can light up using a battery.
How to Add Laser Guide to the Miter Saw?
Step 01 – Check the arbor size
Step 02 – Buy a laser guide according to the arbor size
Step 03 – Check whether batteries are installed inside.
Step 04 – Unplug the saw
Step 05 – Retain blade guard up and out of the way
Step 06 – Remove the blade bolt and washer
Step 07 – Replace the washer with the laser washer
Step 08 – Tighten the bolt
Step 09 -, replace the outer blade flange with the laser guide unit. There are no confusing parts or adjustments.
Step 10 – Return the blade guard back in place.
How to Add LED Shadow Line to the Miter Saw?
You can follow the below steps to add the LED shadow to the miter saw.
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