Rotating laser levels

[Andrew Mawson]

I would be interested in others opinions of the cheap rotating laser levels that seem to be selling for around the 30 quid mark - an example being:

they are 'made down to a price' copies of far more expensive truely professional kit and as such cannot be expected to be perfect. The example I've bought, although very 'plasticy' seems to be able to be set with reasonable precision if care is taken, though I'm not sure that the laser will be bright enough in daylight outside use.

Andrew Mawson

[Frank]

> Obviously they are 'made down to a price' copies of far more expensive

don't know what they are like to use but Focus diy have them at £29

[OldScrawn]

I'm quite pleased with my Focus one; a bit fiddly to level because the angle bracket flexes as you adjust the screws. I'm a bit puzzled by the red laser goggles that seem to let the beam straight through; "real" goggles for red lasers are green!

[Alan Campbell]

Fine for DIY use. They are difficult to set up accurately but this is fine for the occasional job. I recently used one to check how level my barn was (to work out the slope required for new guttering) over a 17M length I would say it has an accuracy of +/- 15mm. (I set the level up

3 times from different points and checked the difference between the level marked on each setting) It is very hard to see the dot in good daylight - definitely a job for a dreary day. Try to keep the tripod as low as possible as it can be a bit shoogly which can affect accuracy.

[John Armstrong]

Aren't the goggles to make the laser line easier to see, rather than to protect your eyes?

[Andy Hall]

Shoogly? Scottish expression for wobbly??

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[S P O N I X]

[Woodspoiler]

See the same item. They are everywhere - prolly on account of being eight for 99 pee at the factory gate (which is at , in case you want to buy a container load and make a killing, or send an enquiry to discover quite how disgusting Screwfix's profit margin is )

Wait a few weeks and you'll probably have one drop out of a cracker.

W.

[John Rumm]

For most applications I prefer the straight traditional level with laser as opposed to the rotating type, but each have unique advantages.

The rotating type are good when you need to set a level over a wide area. Handy for shelves and dado rails etc. I also found one very handy when laying the support bricks that went under the floor bearers on my workshop (50 ish half bricks set on dabs of mortar on top of the slab base). I setup the level to one side of the work area and then set the first brick in mortar. Using a ruler resting on the top of the brick - the rotating beam indicates a position on the ruler. It was then very easy to repeat the measurement for all the other bricks.

They are not much use for horizontal angular measurement however - and I also find the "notchy" effect of the motor is a PITA when you want a stationary beam because you can guarantee that you will only be able to get the spot 6" to one side or the other of where you want it!

[PoP]

I bought one of these from Focus. Very pleased.

Haven't used it yet apart from checking it out when I bought it. Seemed to do a pretty good job.

PoP

[OldScrawn]

protect your eyes?

Well maybe. In theory the contrast will be better, but then you are looking for a red dot/line on a red background. Can't be bothered to look in the workshop now but I'm pretty sure the brochure described them as for safety.

[Andrew Mawson]

Used mine tonight to set out the base of a garage I'm building. I think it was a distinct advantage to be doing it in the dark (and I didn't set the thing rotating - just used as a beam). It made the job much easier than using a conventional level, but maybe no better than a water level. I am matching up to the height of an existing slab (building a garage in front of a garage) - the new bit is 24 foot long, and setting the laser on the original slab, I was quite surprised how large the blob was on the target - getting on for 1/2" diameter, but not really a problem to guesstimate the centre to mark it.

Over all quite pleased for the price, but I'm tempted to re-engineer the "L" shaped bracket in something that doesn't flex as you use it.

Andrew Mawson