Most of the time, miter saws, and sliding miter saws come with a laser guide to help you cut quickly. However, it’s very common for them to come out of adjustment.
If you use a crooked laser guide to cut your projects, they will be far from perfect. Therefore, you must adjust the laser before you start to work.
In this guide, we will give you a few tips on how to adjust the laser on the Kobalt miter saw so you can set it up quickly and accurately.
Quick Summary
In this post we will discuss the following points:
- How is the laser on the Kobalt miter saw supposed to work?
- How to adjust laser on Kobalt miter saw?
- Dos and Don’ts
So, without further ado, let’s get started.
How is The Laser on The Kobalt Miter Saw Supposed to Work?
Before we begin with the instruction on how to adjust the laser, you must understand the purpose of the laser guide. It is designed so that the line is not cut off.
In other words, the laser is mostly on the side of the cut, but it doesn’t touch it.
This makes it easy to set up the desired cut. All you need to do is draw the cut. Then, carefully align the cut with the right edge of the laser beam. This will result in a mark on the left edge of the blade.
However, if you follow this, make sure that the waste of the board is to the right of the mark.
How to Adjust Laser on Kobalt Miter Saw?
The first thing you need to do is turn on the laser guide to check if it’s out of adjustment. To turn it on, press the on/off rocker switch to the “on” position.
To bear the most benefit, you need to make sure that the laser is correctly aligned with the blade. This will allow the blade to cut straight and even.
Moreover, Kobalt miter saws come with a laser that is equipped with a Class IIIa laser beam. It lets you preview the path of the blade on the material that needs to be cut before you start the miter saw.
Note: Make sure that the miter saw is plugged into the power source and the on/off switch is turned on for the line to show.
Step 1 – Check alignment for the laser beam
- Change the setting of the saw to zero degrees miter and zero degrees bevel.
- Then, take a wood piece. Use a straight edge and mark a 90-degree line on the top of the wood piece. Make sure it’s on the front of the wood piece because it will act as a pattern line for all laser beam alignments.
- Now, carefully lower the saw blade to align it with the pattern line. As we mentioned before, you can position the blade on the left or right side of the pattern line as per your preference.
- With the saw connected to the power, turn the laser guide on. You will see the beam on the right side of the saw blade.
- Look straight ahead at the wood piece. If the beam is not parallel to the pattern line, this means you’ll need to adjust the laser.
Step 2 – Adjust the position of the laser beam
Procedure to adjust the vertical angle of the laser
- Before you start with the adjustment process, locate two adjustment screws on the laser guide.
- To turn the adjustment screw, we suggest you use a 3mm hex wrench or whatever is mentioned in the user manual.
- If the laser beam is angled to the right, rotate the adjustment screw clockwise.
- But if the laser beam is angled to the left, turn the adjustment screws in an anticlockwise direction until the beam angle is parallel with the vertical pattern line.
Procedure to adjust the horizontal angle of the laser
- Again use a 3mm hex wrench to make any adjustments.
- If you notice that the laser beam is out of parallel from left to right, rotate the screws in a clockwise direction.
- On the other hand, if it’s out of parallel from right to left, rotate the screws counterclockwise until the beam becomes parallel with the horizontal pattern line.
- Finally, after you follow all these steps and recheck for laser beam alignment.
Dos and Don'ts
While you make any laser guide adjustments, always insert a padlock or chain through the hole in the trigger switch. This will lock the machine and prevent it from accidentally turning on.
We urge you that you do not remove the padlock until all the laser adjustments are done for the sake of safety.
We also don’t recommend you make eye contact with the laser once it’s turned on.
Moreover, you should check for the adjustment before you buy a new miter saw. Most of the time, the laser beams are adjusted in the factory but come out of position during shipping.
While you use a power tool, don’t forget to wear safety goggles and gloves to safeguard your eyes and fingers.
There will be times when the laser itself will stop working. In this case, do not attempt to disassemble or repair the laser. We recommend you take your saw to an authorized service center personnel.
Whatever adjustment you’re about to make, it is always a good idea to review and understand all the safety instructions in the user manual of your machine.
Furthermore, to avoid electric shock, make sure your fingers never touch the plug’s metal prongs when you plug or unplug your miter saw.
Wrapping Things Up…
With that, we end our guide on how to adjust the laser on Kobalt with a miter saw.
After you adjust the laser beam, don’t forget to double-check the adjustment. You can do this by making a cut on the wood piece. Then, inspect if the blade didn’t cut too much or too little. If it did, go ahead and realign the laser.
Check out our page for more guides on how to adjust the laser.
Although this makes the process a bit longer, it will help you save time on future cuts.