Patent ID: 7398719

Claim:
A miter saw comprising: a) a motor; b) a saw base; c) an arm connecting the motor to the saw base and being movable between an upper position and a lower position; d) a spindle that is rotatably driven through operation of the motor e) a blade secured to the spindle; f) a laser light source mounted to the spindle and arranged to be rotated in conjunction with the blade, the laser light source emitting a narrow beam of light adjacent the blade for providing a visual indication of the alignment of the blade with the workpiece; and g) a moveable guard that pivots to cover at least a portion of the blade that is not engaging the workpiece, the movable guard including: i) a mask portion that is configured to prevent the narrow beam of light from being projected toward a normal eye position of an operator, and ii) a slotted portion that is configured to allow the narrow beam of light to be projected on a portion of the workpiece when the arm is in the upper position.