Do DeWalt Miter Saws Come With A Laser Guide?

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Using a miter saw to cut lumber down to size can be a delicate task, requiring careful positioning to ensure your cuts are even. This is why some miter saws come with some manner of built-in guidance accessory, such as a laser guide that projects down onto your workspace. The DeWalt brand manufactures quite a few miter saws of its own, and also dabbles with lasers for its other tools like DeWalt's laser level. Unlike the saws produced by other brands like Makita, though, DeWalt's saws don't opt for the laser light approach.

While you won't find any laser guides on DeWalt miter saws, that doesn't mean the tools leave you to figure out placements and cuts all on your own. DeWalt has its own light-based guidance system that works with a similar, yet distinct principle. Rather than beaming a light straight onto your current project, DeWalt's Cutline crosscut positioning system (XPS) uses the absence of light to create a guidance shadow. This is why users frequently refer to this feature as the "shadow line."

DeWalt's Cutline XPS uses a rather simple concept to create an accurate guideline on whatever you're cutting. Instead of a dedicated laser light, the linchpin of the Cuttline system is an LED work light set right above the saw blade on DeWalt's miter saws. Of course, this lights up your workspace, but in addition to that, the precise positioning of the light also casts a thin shadow right below the saw. Wherever that shadow is, that's exactly where the saw is going to cut into.

This simple setup is a little easier to use than miter saws with a laser guide, which you might have to set up and calibrate independently of the saw itself. As long as the work LED shines, the shadow will appear on your workspace. As an added perk, since the shadow comes from the blade itself, you can also see both the plate and teeth of the blade, which makes the ensuing cut even more accurate. It's this feature that makes a DeWalt miter saw a solid addition to any woodworker's tool cabinet.