scmrak's Full Review: Farberware Stanley 77 - 260 IntelliLaser Pro Laser...
Grandpa was a carpenter, he built houses, stores, and banks.
Chain-smoked camel cigarettes and he hammered nails in planks
He was level on the level, shaved even every door
He voted for Eisenhower, 'cause Lincoln won the war *
These days Grandpa would be using an air-powered nailer on those planks, and his block plane would likely be getting rusty in the bottom of his toolbox. And, of course, he'd have himself a nifty laser level - maybe even something like the Stanley IntelliLaser Pro, which combines a laser level with a stud finder, <obligatory double entendre>although Grandma might have kept the stud finder all to herself</obligatory double entendre>.
Or would he have one after all?
What You Get
The IntelliLaser 77-260 combines a laser line level and stud-finder into a single package. The stud-finder, which Stanley advertises can locate either metal or wood studs up to 3/4" (19mm) deep, doubles as a detector for buried AC wires. The laser head features three bubble glasses for leveling by eye; it's mounted on 180-degree swivel head with a detent every 45 degrees so you can project horizontal and diagonal lines in each direction plus a vertical line. The red laser beam projects up to twenty feet (six meters). The unit runs on a single 9-volt battery, which is not included.
Lights, Sound, and Controls
The stud-finder function has a front-mounted LCD display screen measuring 1-1/4 by 1-3/4 inches (32 x 44mm). The display - after calibration - remains blank when moved along the wall, but as a stud is detected a bulls-eye motif appears on the screen. The screen displays a stylized stud imprinted with the word "EDGE" as soon as the edge of a stud is crossed. When a stud has been located, the unit emits a steady beep. You can then mark within the laser beam, which stays lit during the entire operation, to show stud location.
When operating, the screen also displays an indicator for the detection mode (wood or metal stud), battery level, and an indicator that the wire-detector is working. When a live wire is detected in the wall, a red LED labeled "AC" lights on the unit's face.
The IntelliLaser has four controls: buttons to select "wood" and "metal" search modes and an on-off toggle for the laser can be found on the face. The stud-finder has an actuator switch, which must be depressed throughout calibration and operation, in a recess on the right-hand side of the body.
And the Rest
Four holes are molded into the body of the IntelliLaser so that it can be "pinned" to a surface after having been aligned with the bubble levels. A pair of pushpins are stowed at the bottom edge of the body. To hold an accurate level position on a more or less horizontal surface, Stanley includes a pair of tiny metal feet controlled by thumbwheels. The rear of the unit has two felt strips to protect finished surfaces.
The IntelliLaser in Use
According to the documentation, the IntelliLaser can be used on wallboard, textured surfaces, and plaster and lath. Since I live in a nineteenth-century farmhouse, there's plenty of plaster to test it on. I compared the IntelliLaser to a model sold by Zircon that purports to detect studs up to 1-1/2 inch (38mm) deep. There was no appreciable difference in the results, even though the Zircon's directions specifically stated that it could not be reliably used on plaster and lath walls. Results on plaster have been mixed, at best (and I hate drilling holes in plaster, don't you?) On drywall, the stud-finder picks up wood studs quickly and accurately. I haven't had an opportunity to test it with metal studs.
I'm not impressed by the AC detection, although it could be worse. It seems to give too many false positives - warning me of live wires in walls where I know there are no wires at all. Of course, that's better than a false negative, I guess.
Leveling the unit with the bubble levels is easy, though the use of very short sight bubbles (half an inch; 13mm) seems to me an invitation to inaccuracy because of the human element. This should not be considered a highly accurate leveling tool, despite the high-tech laser aspect.
When I Use it I...
When using the IntelliLaser, the first thing that I noticed is that it's just too big. The size - 9 inches by 3-1/2 inches (229mm x 89mm) - and weight of 14 ounces (390g) make it clumsy to use as a stud-finder, especially when compared to the much smaller Zircon I tested. Placement of a thumb switch on the side makes it easy to use, but also easy to accidentally turn on whenever you pick it up. This can be dangerous if the laser is pointing at someone else's eyes at the time. Also, because the unit's so long and the stud sensor is in the middle, it really should be set plumb before you can mark stud edges with the laser beam - a rather clumsy activity requiring about two and a half hands.
Using as a laser line level is much easier when you have a helper mark the line position for you. Though it's designed for hanging on the wall with the included pushpins, in reality those pins are too small and dull to penetrate anything but wallboard with a coat or two of paint. They don't penetrate plaster, and seem to be rebuffed by heavy wallpaper, too - and just forget paneling entirely.
At about fifty dollars, the IntelliLaser is a bit of a bargain compared to buying two separate tools, which makes it suitable for users on a budget or those who will only use it occasionally. For regular use or for professionals, I recommend that you pay extra to get two different tools. They'll be smaller, more accurate, and more easily used than the IntelliLaser.
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