Bosch GCM 12 GDL - Replace laser with saw shadow line

[Sandyn]

Yes, an old saw, but the classification was correct at the time. They have changed the standards, but the hazard from very bright LEDS remains the same.

 

[Westy619]

My Dewalt is a class 2 as well but it is a good 5 years old now. The LED i'm using certainly seems powerful enough, heat might become an issue if you go too high with power output. The Aluminium casing on this one should help disapate a lot of the heat too, its designed as a cabinet light after all. The PETG plastic I use has a heat tolerance of around 85° at continuous use, it prints at around 240°.

I have the complexion of an albino vampire, so NE Scotland suits me fine , be nice if it didnt rain quite so much though...

 

[samhay]

>the hazard from very bright LEDS remains the same.
Yes, absolutely. High power LEDs should not be considered safe to look at directly.
I assume you'd have to be fairly acrobatic to be able to stare directly at this once installed in the saw though?

 

[Westy619]

If you were looking directly at this one, I would be more concerned about getting a saw blade through the face rather than damaging my eyesight!

 

[samhay]

Indeed. If you're selling these, I guess it won't hurt to include a disclaimer that you shouldn't look directly at the LED though.

 

[Westy619]

Indeed. If you're selling these, I guess it won't hurt to include a disclaimer that you shouldn't look directly at the LED though.

A valid point

 

[Lazurus]

Any chance of these being offered for other popular saws like the popular Evolution, it would make a great addition?

 

[Westy619]

Much as I would like to, since I dont own one I couldn't guarentee my design would work. Took quite a few iterations to get the design and angle for the LED to work. I would however advocate the usefulness of 3D Printers, they're pretty cheap now so with a bit of learning you could make your own. The 3D design aspect also lends itself to CNC
Machines, I'm building one for my workshop currently.

 

[Sandyn]

>the hazard from very bright LEDS remains the same.
Yes, absolutely. High power LEDs should not be considered safe to look at directly.
I assume you'd have to be fairly acrobatic to be able to stare directly at this once installed in the saw though?

When it's installed, you really have to try hard to look into it, but you have to assemble it and will almost certainly test to see if it works, and may inadvertently stare into it. However the OP is just using an already available commercial product.

 

[Sandyn]

My Dewalt is a class 2 as well but it is a good 5 years old now. The LED i'm using certainly seems powerful enough, heat might become an issue if you go too high with power output. The Aluminium casing on this one should help disapate a lot of the heat too, its designed as a cabinet light after all. The PETG plastic I use has a heat tolerance of around 85° at continuous use, it prints at around 240°.

I have the complexion of an albino vampire, so NE Scotland suits me fine , be nice if it didnt rain quite so much though...

If you are just using the standard supply from the saw, that will limit the output. Just do some tests to check the temp of the metal enclosure when the unit is running all closed up. Can the lamp be left on? run it for a few hours at a known ambient, then see what temperature the metal enclosure reaches. You will then be able to see what headroom you have for the plastic, for example if the lamp reached 60C at an ambient of 20C, you have roughly 25C headroom.

 

[Dan Steely]

On the same Bosch axial glide saw I find the laser a bit useless and have come up with my own solution to see where the blade is going to cut:
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/bosch-axial-glide-mitre-saw-mods-additions.124987/#post-1390425
Over the holidays i'm going to remove the laser and replace it with some LED's to create the shadow. I'll try and use the low voltage laser power supply so it can be switched using the original switch.

I'll report back...

Happy Christmas to you all!

 

[dbrain]

Hey @Westy619, are you still making and selling these? If not would you mind sharing the technical details so I can print something up myself using a local LED (in Australia). In particular the voltage/size of the LED you are using would be great, not sure what voltage LED I should be looking for is my biggest issue. I can design the printed part myself to hold whatever light I find.

No stress if you want to keep it secret, just figured I'd ask before doing a trial and error run.

 

[johnwheat]

Hi @Westy619, I'm also interested in the shadow line upgrade if you're still making them? Thanks

 

[kinverkid]

I'm a fan of the shadow line over a laser line too. Now wondering if I could adapt one for my radial arm saw.

 

[Westy619]

The LED lights I have been using are no longer being made and I'm too busy at the moment to source a suitable replacement and do a redesign. I may do so in the future

 

[Spectric]

I brought one of these shadow lines for my Bosch glide and it transforms the saws ability to cut to a line. The laser it comes with gives two lines and your cut is between them but not clear, with the shadow of the actual blades teeth it is just so easy to cut to a line.

@Westy619 Although I brought and fitted one I did not pay much attention to the design, is it a combined LED with a built in PSU ?

 

[Westy619]

I brought one of these shadow lines for my Bosch glide and it transforms the saws ability to cut to a line. The laser it comes with gives two lines and your cut is between them but not clear, with the shadow of the actual blades teeth it is just so easy to cut to a line.

@Westy619 Although I brought and fitted one I did not pay much attention to the design, is it a combined LED with a built in PSU ?

No the saw itself provides the power for the light/laser

 

[Spectric]

No the saw itself provides the power for the light/laser

But in my case that would be 110 volts or are you saying the saw provides a lower voltage for the laser / shadow line unit ?

 

[Westy619]

But in my case that would be 110 volts or are you saying the saw provides a lower voltage for the laser / shadow line unit ?

Correct, there is a small DC PSU inbuilt within the saw

 

[dbrain]

Thanks for the response @Westy619, I kind of wrote you off and started ordering my own parts to make something similar (connector, small DC LEDs). Are you happy for me to share details here if I get things going or would you prefer to keep the option open to sell your own without specifics?

I wouldn't be selling just uploading the design and links to the parts required to printables.