Laser levels - why not just use a ball of string?

Laser levels - why not just use string?

Reply to
landnotloans
Loading thread data ...

Where would you put the batteries?

Reply to
wattie

laser levels look cooler .. lots cooler !

I cant think of one other reason why I use my laser level, but it was a bargin at 3 quid and its cool

I defy anyone who is handed a laser level not to turn it on and put thier finger in front of it. Its like an in built pavlovs dog response. You KNOW you couldnt use it to cut Sean Connery in half , but you have to check anyway.

Your right , string, level etc work just as well, they are a gadget, but I'm a sucker for any gadjet that had large red buttons :)

Each to his own I suppose

Reply to
simonsmith.uk

How would you impress your neighbors?

Reply to
badgolferman

How do you level the string, how do you obtain a single 'correct' reference high by using string, yes I know it is possible to do it with string, tape measure and bubble level but it's a lot easier to use a laser and stand!

Reply to
Jerry

so true. Last time I used one I quickly realised a large spirit level was much quicker.

NT

Reply to
meow2222

They look better in the dark.

Seriously though, there are many uses when it's just 'easier' to use one over the other.

For example, whilst plasterboarding a ceiling recently I set the the laser level on the floor marking out where the centre joist was... with the board then in position it was a simple task to then screw down this line. Sure, I could've marked the position of the joist at both ends and drawn a line across, or lay some string between the two points, or even just judged it by eye, but my cheap-and-cheerful laser level made it a no brainer.

Horses for courses at the end of the day...

Another thought, which may be pushing things a bit too far, is that a piece of string suspended between two points is never going to be perfectly level (in terms of being straight) - there will always be a slight curve in it no matter how tensioned the string is (particularly so over longer distances). Of course, in practice the curve may not make any difference to the task and indeed my cheapo laser prism may not be any better!

Mathew

Reply to
Mathew Newton

"There is no force, however great, Can stretch a cord, however fine, Into a horizontal line, Which is accurately straight" (W Whewell, Elementary Treatise on Mechanics 1st ed, p 44).

Douglas de Lacey

Reply to
Douglas de Lacey

The message from snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com contains these words:

Because string does not self-level, does not reach past obstructions like doorframes, doesn't easily go round inside corners, is fiddly to adjust if you're not sure exactly where you want the level in the first place and droops.

Reply to
Guy King

I once saw some drainage laid out on site with had been levelled with string. LOL

Reply to
Darryl Bailie

..By that I do of course mean the laser illuminated a line on the joist (and subsequently the plasterboard) as opposed to the floor..

Reply to
Mathew Newton

Because only the cat gets any fun playing with a ball of string.

Reply to
Phil Anthropist

High tech string, of course. Don't have any? It is fantastic! Point the free end at the destination point, squeeze the ball and it unwinds, extends free end out to where you want it, rolls the excess back onto the ball and maintains correct tension to place a straight line along it's length. It comes with free accessories - a levitator, so you can mark without holding the ball of string, and a carrying case, with lock, so it doesn't jump out and scare the neighbors.

Reply to
Norminn

And, more to the point, it doesn't show any interest in the laser level and hence you are free to get on with the job. (been there done that... little bugger)

Mathew

Reply to
Mathew Newton

formatting link

Reply to
dom

There may be something wrong with your cat !

Ours chases the laser dot to exhaustion. We call it the "cat exerciser."

Reply to
HeyBub

The message from Douglas de Lacey contains these words:

Ah, d'yer remember the way exam questions were phrased? "Two masses are connected with a light inextensible string..."

Reply to
Guy King

When your not using it as a level, it makes an OK cat toy (with the laser is on).

That and string sags.

Reply to
scott21230

I was more referring to the line... but, yes, a dot sends them nutty. I reckon I could actually kill one of ours through exhaustion as they don't seem to know when they're worn out.

Indeed, I never knew cats panted until I got a laser pointer...

Mathew

Reply to
Mathew Newton

Indeed.

Ours did, until they figured out that even when they caught it, they didn't.

Would you believe: US Patent # 5,443,036 "Method of Exercising a Cat".

Abstract:

"A method for inducing cats to exercise consists od directing a beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus onto the floor or wall or other opaque surface in the vicinity of the cat, then moving the laser so as to cause the bright pattern of light to move in an irregular way fascinating to cats, and to any other animal with a chase instinct."

Reply to
Keith Williams

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.