After seeing this video, I just taped a cheap led magnetic pocket flashlight (was on sale from haborfreight for under $5) to my miter saw and works great. Just need to change the 3xaaa batteries periodically. Amazing change in using it. Thanks so much for the idea!!!

I followed your instructions exactly and damn... works perfectly! In fact it’s SO perfect I’m kind of astonished they don’t have something like this standard. It’s so much better than the junky lasers that are not accurate and possibly dangerous. Bravo!

That had to be the BEST tip I've ever gotten from KZfaq! I thought I'd tell you that my 12 inch Bosch saw (GCMSD.... which I thought was identical to yours), it turns out it wasn't..... it did not have that black plastic removable piece. I just drilled a hole in the back of the metal raised part and ran the wire thru and it worked great. One thing I did different was to NOT open up the housing at the bottom of the light but instead take a couple of pliers and twisted the gooseneck open to access the wires inside. I cut off a couple of inches of the metal gooseneck and extended the wires that way. Very easy! Thanks again for a great idea.

Chris. I was skeptical I could pull it off. But for $9 on amazon I bought 2 lights. Not only did i pull it off ... THANK YOU!... I wired it to the saw power side of the switch and use the common. Now I have 1 plug in with the saw, Light / guide that is ON/OFF when the saw is plugged in... AND and AWESOME saw line thanks to YOU!!!! GREAT IDEA.

Fantastic! I just picked up a Bosch yesterday at an estate sale and was surprised that Bosch did not include something considering the retail cost of this puppy. I believe I will do this on my ol' Hitachi also.

I finished installing mine yesterday using a 12" gooseneck light. There was enough wire inside to do a splice and is working flawlessly. There was also enough material in the black cover to grind away and reinstall all 4 screws. Just used it a few times today and perfect lineup. Thanks for posting this!

You, my friend are a genius. I had the Dewalt with the shadow line, but sold it to get the Bosch, and the one thing I really miss is the shadow line. Not anymore. Thanks for posting this video.

I purchased the dewalt dws 779 and I couldn’t spend the 110 bucks for their custom light conversion kit. I figured something like this could work, and I assumed someone already thought of this and I searched KZfaq and here it is. Great job!

This channel is great! I bought the same light but the bulbous light part wasn't going to fit under the guard of my old Dewalt chop miter saw. I found out though I could disassemble the bulb part and end up with a nice flat LED circuit board. This fit fine under the guard. I cinched it down with a cable tie. This whole shadow light concept works great. I am glad I could mod my old saw for it. Thank You!

Hi Chris, I just bought a GCM12SD last winter and the blade shroud does not have a black plastic cap like the one you modified for your version of the 12” axial glide saw. No matter though, I used your idea and modified the plastic housing containing the LED board instead to give me more clearance when the blade guard rotates over the LED housing. I hot glued EVERYTHING (even LED housing) and I am really impressed with your fix to add a shadow line to the saw kerf! I have to admit it’s pure GENIUS on your part! Thank you very much for sharing this with the community. P.S.- I was never a big fan of hot glue until this project and now I use it more often then of epoxy. I think this an amazing saw and it’s even more precise with addition of your shadow line solution!

I followed your install but I changed it up a little. I installed the switch and driver in the handle. Turned out pretty clean. Thanks for the video, very informative. I would attach a picture but don’t know how.

This came as a feature on my DeWalt DWS780. At first I was like "Oh how nice - an LED to better see my work" - - then I actually took a look at the instructions for something else and saw its true purpose - and it is an amazing simple feature that does the job so very well.

Not gonna lie, probably the easiest and best mod for any miterbox... Handsdown! Nicely done sir! Thanks for sharing!!!

Did this on my 12" Harbor Freight miter saw and it worked perfectly. The guard had plenty of clearance and the light I bought from Amazon was more than bright enough. I'm not sure it will show up in bright daylight but we'll see. Still, it's a great hack!!

Brilliant- no pun intended- absolutely one of the best tool hacks I’ve seen on YT. WHY didn’t Bosch do this in the first place? You’ve made a popular saw 5x more user and greenhorn friendly / much respect!

Great video. I have the DeWalt with that shadowline. It works way better than the lasers I've tried. My shadow line doesn't show up real well in bright sunlight but even casting a shadow on the saw helps

I have 2 different folders I put this kind of videos on. I can't decide if this is incredible enough to go into the genius or belongs in the miter saw folder. Whatever, it is truly a brilliant innovation.

I was about to spend 80 dollars on a light for my dewalt, thank God this video came across

That LED makes an amazing line, I wouldn't have guessed it does as well as a laser, I'm going to try it on my Ryobi 10"....

I first watched this video when I got my Bosch saw a couple of months back and realized that paying over $500 for a saw doesn't get you a laser or anything. :( I finally made my next order to Amazon and received my sewing machine light. Time to go do the install now. Thanks for the great idea and instructions. We all go farther when we share these kinds of ideas! Happy Woodworking!

I really wanted to get this exact saw but as soon as I used a DeWalt at work with the shadow line, it became essential. Thanks for the video. Now I can buy the Bosch and all is well in the world

Best USABLE hack I've seen on KZfaq to date. And of course it takes an ordinary man, with a shit load of common sense, to come up with this idea. I was contemplating getting a Lazer for my 12" miter, but not now. Not to mention saving a lot of money. Great video and great job. Consider me a subscriber. 2 THUMBS UP

Cool mod. Love the shadow line. You may want to think about adjusting your red kerf boards, they look like they are in the factory shipping position. It's really nice to have zero clearance on those.

I had a 10" Dewalt compound miter saw for around 12 years (light duty). It still works great kzfaq.infoUgkxPeGkHOMe05FySypTOvYumxMn-xi39oRe but I wanted something bigger. My only complaint about the 10" was the location of the motor, and this version fixes that issue. The XPS system works well. My only request for future versions is a dust collection port (or adapter) that fits large shop vac hoses (or standard PVC pipe fittings) a little better. But that's not a complaint, just a request.

Great mod. It makes lining up the kerf so much quicker. I used a somewhat different sewing machine light, but this guide makes it super easy to follow.

Thank you for posting this video. One thing to add is newer version of the Busch 12 in mitre saw sold n Canada do not have the black plastic cover at the top any more. Instead the metal dome over the blade has been extended and has a larger cavity above the blade. I'm planning to place the light in this cavity and drill out for the wires as there's not enough room on top of the blade housing any more.

I've seen mitre saws with 2 lasers now, 1 for each side of the blade. This idea is soooo much better than a laser or even the 2 lasers gimmick.

Installed the lamp last week. Tried it out today on the job site. Shockingly great results. Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?

I just did your mod on my Bosch Glide Miter. Terrific! Great idea and I'm liking it. When I ordered the sewing machine LED they had other choices.....30 and 40 LED versions. All the same price. I was tempted to go with one of them, but was concerned that the dimensions of the light unit would be different. I will try this one out in the sun. If it's hard to see the line, I may upgrade. Can't go wrong for 10 bucks. Thanks

Great tip! The best I have already found on internet.

Great idea! I used a battery powered book light and hot glue total time for installation under 5 minutes. Not bright enough for outside, but perfect for shop. Now to figure out how to add one to the table saw.

Love this idea. Never seen it before but answering a big need in the shop to line up cuts with less trial and error. Thanks for sharing!

The laser of my miter saw broke down, so I’m definitely gonna have a look if I can apply this idea. Great job, good tutorial. Tnx!

Thanks for this video. You saved me at least a hundred dollars. I was able to take the little power supply circuit board and fit it into the handle of my DeWalt miter saw and tapped the 110V input from there also. That way no extra plugs to plug in, and no wires showing at all. I did have to cut the LED board in half though, very easy to do with an abrasive dremel disk. Just had to solder a small jumper on that to power all the LEDs as they are wired in series.

Great mod, just did it, light was only $13 now on Amazon. Pretty straight forward thanks to your video. Thanks!

Great idea. Going to do to my saws and get rid of the battery disc. Way better. Thank you.

Such a beautiful crips shadow on the wood. That's not a mod, it's an upgrade!

NICE! Ive been debating to upgrade my miter saw and ive fallen in love with the Bosch 12 inch glider. The only thing that is keeping me from getting one is no option for shadow line. Im so used to my Flexvolt XPS that i almost went and got another one but saw your video today and now i kinda wanna try this mod. Thank you for sharing this how to!

Very helpful video. In fact, Craftsman radial arm saws came with a beautiful high power genius riving knife, anti-kickback pawl, blade guard, and incadescent light bulb inside the blade guard, on their early 1970's radial arm saws. I am not sure which model it was, but I got a $75 1978 model Craftsman radial arm saw and I purchased the blade guard with the "light bulb" and riving knife, and installed that onto my 1978 radial arm saw, and now it's SO nice, it is more precise and I can cut tiny pieces of wood with absolute laser precision, a lot safer than a large compound miter saw. The compound miter saw excels in making angled cuts on regular "normal" size materials. The radial arm saw excels in making highly precise cuts on very tiny, super thin, fragile, or hard to hold objects. The radial arm saw can cut a 1/2" wide cube of wood with effortless precision, without any need for a jig or sacrificial fence.

I have the same saw and have been looking for a laser guide for it. This is so much better....and cheaper. Great idea! And you now have a new subscriber.....

Brilliant - great idea! Not seen this anywhere else. Also a really good explanation of how you did it. I'll try this on mine - thank you

Chris, watching your videos is a real pleasure. So much good information!

I added the LED and it is as good as any laser. Thanks for posting this video.

Why are some of the simplest fixes so awesome to see? That's fantastic, nice job! Subscribed!

You just save me $600, as I was seriously considering replacing my old DW706 miter saw. Liked, subscribed, bought the light through your link.

Chris, that's super cool. Those red lasers are not as accurate and change with each blade replacement and the battery is always dead when want to use the laser.

Wow! Thanks! I just added one to my Dewalt DWS709 I had to use a different light to make it fit but great job very easy to do! Anyone who wants to give it a try: QUANS 5W Clip on Clamp Gooseneck COB LED Desk Table Light lamp Warm White 19inch Neck Black I had to strip everything so it was light, wire and control box. I hot glued and taped it.

What a great idea I did this today after watching your video thanks next job is to install the remote starter for dust extractor thanks again keep up the good work Craig

Been having trouble aligning my laser since day one. Gonna have a look at my saw tomorrow and see if that light will fit. You're a genius

BRILLIANTLY OBVIOUS WHEN YOU KNOW . THANKS A MILLION .TONY

Wow! That is one hell of a modification...much better than the spinning factory Laser indicator.

Ordered one of those LED lights from Amazon. Gonna convert my Ridgid 12" saw this weekend.

fantastic. I've always wanted to get one of those led universal screw on light cause I've always though that's the only option. Love this cause you don't need the saw running which doesn't bother me but it not running is much better for lining up. Thanks

Heat shrink tape? Where have I been? Great mod BTW - a product waiting to happen.

I did this and can't recommend it enough. I used a slightly more powerful light than the one used in this video but I'm sure any led fixture that will fit will work. The newer saws don't have the small hood at the front of the blade housing but it's still easy to do. To do it: Take note of where your blades rides inside the housing and mark the outside top of the guard with the blade's center. This is important because you want the space between the two rows of LED's to rest right over the blade. If you offset it you will get a slight shift in the shadow line from the actual kerf. Not much but in critical work you might be off by a 64th to a 32nd of an inch. I used an industrial adhesive to fix the light panel at the front inside of the guard. I then glued the wires from the light ( you have to cut them at about 6 cm from the LED control board ) to the switch inside the guard along its top left and after that I layered them with an industrial epoxy. This may sound freaky but there's 3/4 inch or more clearance in there. I exited the wires through a 3/16 hole in the guard that received the goose neck from the original light. I fabricated a small guard and mounted it to cover and bind this wire exit point. The the wires were routed inside the belt housing by entering a cooling vent and drilling the casting flashes and running it through them over the top and into the handle chamber. Those were then epoxied to avoid vibration chafing. The red LED mains wire (110v hot ) goes to the mains black at the saw switch on the un-switched side. The mains green wire is combined with the neutral hub. The LED switch white wire is lengthened about 5 inched for rerouting as are the switch yellow and red wires. In my case I cut a 1.5 by 1 cm rectangle into the handle top cover just behind the 4 clamp screws and mounted my switch there. I positioned the LED control board in an empty hole by the switch wire galley, soldered in my connections, routed them in the existing wire galleys and closed it up. The external switch and hub were secured with polyurethane adhesive. Now I have a shadow light with a switch mounted like the Laser switches on other saws have. This light gives good kerf location and serves as a work light. Attaching the LED unswitched side of the mains to the saws unswitched side of its mains is no different eclectically than using two plugs in the same receptacle.

What an awesome idea bro. Using the housing intended for the laser as the housing for a superior product you thought of yourself. Well done Chris, I've also got this saw and the built in laser (which is housed in the black plastic housing you manipulated to suit your led, stopped working a few months ago. A replacement laser is around £70 (I now live in France but bought the saw when living in London a few years ago). So your idea seems way more practical and inexpensive. That's some really dynamic thinking on your behalf, nice one bro.

That’s pretty was pretty awesome I am going to try that with my Dewalt metal cutting chopsaw. Thanks for the video.

Chris, great meeting you at Jimmy’s this weekend. Excellent video. Looking forward to checking out more. Hope your puppy adventure went well.

I added 2 or those same lights to my mill about 4 years ago. Wired it some they come on with the power switch. I plan on replacing my 15 year old dewalt miter saw with this one. Think ill try this mod. Thanks for sharing.

OMG! I’ve been wanting this for mine (Bosch axial) for 10years! Thank you for sharing this!

Great. Now I have to figure out how to adapt this light, or something I can make myself, to my carbide metal crosscut saw. These use internal blade guides, so your method won’t work, unfortunately. But watching this has me thinking about ways to overcome that, so thanks for the inspiration.

Awsome idea! the laser on my Ryobi broke off (piece of material hit it and snapped the bracket). Also I'd cut aluminum and pretty much ruined the plastic lens. This might work better than the laser.

One of those brilliant ideas. Thanks. Cheers, David

Great mod! I had seen someone else using the led light and thought what a great idea. You know exactly where the blade is going to cut. will be trying to put one on my miter

Thanks Chris, that is absolutely brilliant. (especially the light). That problem has been haunting me for years - it’s my next project. Colin

I saw a friend of mine do this too, excited to add one to mine. I'm older and have a hard enough time seeing the cut line at times, especially if it's not bright out or working with darker materials.

Thanks for sharing! Another job to add to this weekend 👍

I just did this on my saw. Instead of carving up the black plastic piece on the front of the blade guard, drill a 1/4" hole on the small side as high up as you can, and drill a 3/8" hole on the larger side 7/16" up from the flat open end. This will allow you to snake the wire and steel coil through and be snug through the small hole, and then the light boss that is 10mm will be snug on the large hole. There is still enough clearance for the light within the moving guard, and you can epoxy to fill any other gaps.

I have always been surprised Dewalt is the only slider I know of with this type of indicator. Has to be cheaper for a manufacturer to go this route vs a laser and its so much simpler to align.

Great idea. Love it. I don't like the lasers because i cut aluminum as well as wood and the laser is usually where the dust extractor is and the ali chips dull the plastic and makes it useless.

This is the greatest hack in woodworking ever! It's a good time to be alive lol :-)

This is a great idea. I’ve been wondering how to do something like this for a metal cutoff saw. I kept having to cut big and sand to the line. It just took to long that way and was driving me crazy. Thank you

The UK version has a double laser in that black plastic piece that you took off. It also has a better clamp than the US version. Great idea, Thank you!

Been wanting to do this for years! Thanks for the video!

That is beyond brilliantly simple. Thanks.

Very nice idea. I found a very small laser line generator for the same price that I'm certain could create a line you could see without having to lower the saw down to the work piece (which would be my preference) but I'm unconvinced that it would be as brainlessly accurate as this over time, especially with different kerf width blades and vibration when the saw is running. It's worth noting for users of this saw that on the newest iteration the front guard is all one metal piece making this installation less practical.

Nice idea, I`m trying this tommorow,will let you know.

Yep, this is the way to go, thanks.

Thought this was going to be a dumb gimmick and only make me want the laser more. Def going this route. Thank you.

Excellent idea and video , thanks for sharing. I'll be putting this on both my saws.

Absolutely fabulous...thanks. Have to see if I can get it to work on my Dewalt Radial Miter. Love your other videos too. Thanks again,.

The newest iteration of this 12” Bosch doesn’t not have that plastic piece that you put the light under. The shape is there but it is now part of the casting. Probably have to drill a hole in the casting for the wires and epoxy the light in somehow.

When I did mine the other day, I wired the light into the handle power line. That way the light does not have to have a separate power plug. Haven't seen anyone else do that.

Cool idea, thanks! That small amp draw of a little LED wouldn't affect saw performance if hardwired to it.

Great idea and I plan on adding something similar to an older miter saw with no guide lines. However, as a side comment, I find speeded up instructional videos pretty annoying. Especially since it's very difficult to see details in what is being shown. But thanks for the info. 😊

I watch a lot of videos, this is up there with the best, what a brilliant idea, nice one mate I'll be doing this mod to my saw thank you

Harbor Freight came out with the Hercules 12" double bvl sliding with the LED shadow light. In Oklahoma it runs about $299.00

Great tip. Been wondering how I was going to get a light in that spot on my bosch. I'm really surprised bosch hasn't made something yet.

Thanks for this one! I gotta do this to my Bosch.

Great Idea!! I have the same saw and love it. I wished I went with the 10" version. because the 12 is a beast to move. I think I will be doing this upgrade

Great video. I have the same saw and I have been looking to add a laser but this works just as well.

Just watched this again. Very helpful! Thanks!

I'll try it on my RYOBI. Greetings from Spain ;) Canary Islands to be exact

So much better than a finicky laser that needs adjustment.

Cool build I've wanted to do this to my saws for awhile. Good call not wiring it to the power supply of the saw!

curious now thats it been awhile how is it performing more importantly how about outside in direct sun light?

Woah I’m amazed this isn’t standard on every mitre saw... so much better than a lazer!

Mate! Excellent idea would have never thought about this.

I had one of those lights, so I went right out there to install it. I can attest that it will not work on an HF 12" compound miter. There isn't enough clearance between the place that you mount it and the blade guard. Unless you are willing to cut without the blade.

Was all set to buy this model saw and make this modification only to realize Bosch has changed the design on the blade cover to a solid piece (ie there is no black part that can be removed as it is now molded as a part of the cover)