Let's Get Something Straight
Written: Feb 04 '04 (Updated Jan 13 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Acceptably, if not perfectly precise; handy for a variety of household tasks.
Cons: Awkward mounting pins; tiny, hard to see, spirit level
The Bottom Line: Not the most versatile or durable of this type of product, this is a good entry-level, uh, level.
Why do I need to include information on Ease of Cleaning?
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| sundogg99's Full Review: American Tool Strait-Line Laser Line Level Generat... |
Illustrative personal anecdote:
I received this tool for Christmas from my soon-to-be-Mother-in-Law (an impressively hyphenated title that, alas, she will soon relinquish) - it was just about the only thing on my list, so although not a surprise, it was certainly welcome. Since that time, I've used the thing several times, with consistently satisfying results.
Last weekend, after cutting my teeth on a couple of fairly straightforward curtain rod jobs, I was ready to really test the sucker.
We've got this monster living room wall that's 14 feet high and about 25-30 feet long. More than anything, it looks as if it should be covered in little molded hand and foothold thingies, with lean, chalk-palmed rock climbers scrambling all over it. As a less intrusive and more aesthetically pleasing alternative, however, PrfStars suggested large mirrors to break up the vast expanse of wall space. I reluctantly agreed, with the provision that if I were on the spot to hang three framed mirrors, each one six feet tall, I was damn sure going to need the American Tool Strait-Line Laser Line Level Generator 64001 to help me get those babies lined up straight.
My installation strategy, to the extent that I had one at all, was to measure every dimension I could think of, screw in some hell-for-stout anchors, and hang the mirrors one time. If they were crooked, mis-aligned, or otherwise wonky, it was just going to be too damn bad, because I wasn't anxious to be moving 200 pounds of wood and glass all over that big old wall.
Therefore, it behooved (behove?) me to get it right the first time - not something I've demonstrated much proficiency at in the past. My minimal handyman skills are further compromised by my utterly unwarranted reliance on sheer luck to overcome my tendency to be (I'll be candid) kind of sloppy. The dictum "measure twice, cut once" is a mantra to which I really, really need to pay more attention.
The cost, fragility, and sheer bulk of these three mirrors convinced me to approach this particular task with more humility and rigor than is typical of my hubris-rich style. I enlisted Melissa's help and measured the bejesus out of the three mirrors: the precise locations of each mounted hanging bracket (no two in the same spot, duh), as well as the desired separation and height of each mirror.
Measurements in hand, the rest of the project went remarkably smoothly.
I clambered up my six foot step ladder and marked a spot representing the top edge of the mirrors, nine and a half feet from the floor. I pulled out my laser level and fastened it to the wallboard by using one of the integral, thumbtack-sized pushpins mounted in the base. I squinted at the tiny spirit level mounted on this tool, and carefully rotated the tool until the spirit level's bubble registered dead horizontal. I then pressed the other pin into the wall to anchor the device, then I opened the small slider to power the laser beam.
Bingo. A razor-straight, bright red line shot across the expanse of our living room wall. At the opposite corner, perhaps 20 feet distant, the beam had diffused to approximately 2-3 mm in width - certainly an acceptable margin of error for my hamfisted efforts. I moved the ladder and, by measuring from the beam to the floor, verified that I'd managed to get the thing horizontal.
Once I'd established a reference line, my earlier measurements made locating the anchor holes pretty easy. I checked everything once again, just in case, pulled out my drill, and set the anchors into the wall. After that, it was just a matter of getting my son up on the ladder to guide my grunting, sweaty efforts to hoist the mirrors onto their precisely-located mounting screws.
When we were finished, I was pleased to see that the mirrors were indeed, despite my previous experiences and expectations to the contrary, level.
Factual hoo-haw:
All in all, I'm satisfied with this product. It's not the best laser level out there, I'm sure, but it offers a good combination of reasonable price and features.
Note that this product's laser capabilities are limited to a single point beam... a two-dimensional line, if you will, projected across your work surface. Other higher end products can project a linear beam that illuminates a flat plane - very handy if you're building a deck or laying sheetrock, that sort of thing. This tool won't be of much use in those sorts of applications.
I wouldn't want to see someone try to build a bridge or skyscraper with this tool, but for typical homeowner tasks like hanging pictures or laying tile, it's got an adequate degree of precision... in my experience, somewhat better than the specified +/- 1/2" at 20 feet.
It uses a couple of AA batteries. After several tasks of various duration, I haven't changed them out yet, so I don't know about battery life. Or maybe I do. If the thing went dead tomorrow, I wouldn't complain.
Other reviewers have complained that the laser beam in this product isn't sufficiently powerful to be seen in a brightly-lit environment. Maybe it's because I tend to get around to such tasks after dark, or maybe we have an unusually gloomy house, but I've not experienced any problem seeing the beam.
Seeing the bubble in the spirit level is another story. Given the overall size of this product, the spirit level is, of necessity, mighty small, but I think they could have made it more useful by increasing its length somewhat and by reducing the vial diameter. More precise gradations on the vial would help, too. In any case, I'd recommend verifying your results with confirming measurements.
I don't know about durability, either. The thing is nominally clad in a couple of spots with some kind of soft rubbery stuff, but I don't doubt that when I drop the thing (and I will drop it), it's likely to break or go out of calibration in some way. When that happens, I will be annoyed and will probably swear.
My biggest gripe is with the ergonomics of the mounting pins. They're inserted by pressing on a couple of detents (called "push tabs") on the sides of the level - a task that's reasonably do-able when you're able to exert sufficient leverage, but frustratingly awkward when perched atop a ladder and trying to maintain a painstakingly-achieved degree of precision. Furthermore, there's no real indexing or way to know just how far the pins have seated, so it's entirely possible that the thing will fall off the wall if you haven't applied enough oomph to set the pins securely.
I don't know... maybe they could come up with some sort of spring-loaded percussion kind of thing that would drive the pins in?
By the way, while dinking around with this device, I managed to very efficiently and easily poke one of the pins into the palm of my hand... I'd warn you to take care, but I'm thinking this was a uniquely sundoggian bit of clumsiness and probably not something you need to worry about.
Recommended:
Yes
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