Laser Levels FAQS

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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions - Laser Levels

What is a Rotary Laser?
On a rotary laser the laser level beam spins around in a circle. If it spins fast enough your eyes will see the laser as a line instead of a moving point. Inexpensive rotary lasers have a motor that has two or three old-fashioned bubble level vials that tell you when you've got a perfectly horizontal or vertical line. More sophisticated models use gravity to self-level.
In order to prevent injury the power of the laser is strictly limited. It will be dimly visible inside a normally lit interior at a reasonable distance. Red colored laser enhancement glasses will make it more visible at a greater distance by filtering out competing colors. Outside, when competing with sunlight, the beam will NOT be visible more than a few feet away.
To use a rotary laser outdoors you need a "detector" (also called a "receiver"). The detector is a palm-sized box with a sensor on one side. The sensor is tuned to the frequency (color) of the laser and can detect the pulsing of the rotating laser beam. The faster the pulsing the further away the detector can sense the beam. The detector has two ways of indicating where the beam is. The first is an LCD display that tells you if the beam is striking high, low, or in the center of the detector. The second is a series of different tones that tell you when the beam is high, low or centered.

Are Laser Levels Better Than Optical Levels?
If you hang drop-ceilings for a living the answer is absolutely YES! For almost all other applications laser levels have one large advantage; they let you take a person off of your crew. Rather than one person doing the sighting and another taking readings, you set up the laser level then use a rod with a laser detector to get the readings yourself. A two person job becomes a one person job. That one advantage will let you pay for the laser in just a few jobs.

Are Laser Levels Better Than Optical Levels?

If you hang drop-ceilings for a living the answer is absolutely YES! For almost all other applications laser levels have one large advantage; they let you take a person off of your crew. Rather than one person doing the sighting and another taking readings, you set up the laser level then use a rod with a laser detector to get the readings yourself. A two person job becomes a one person job. That one advantage will let you pay for the laser in just a few jobs.

These three links show you the detectors that MyToolStore.com sells and the individual features of each. Except where noted, all are interchangeable. CST's detectors will work with David White's or Quadriga's lasers and visa versa.
David White LD-12N Detector	David White LD-18N Detector

Should I Spend the Extra Money to Get a Self-Leveling Rotary Laser?
Unless you are already very comfortable using optical leveling instruments the answer is almost certainly YES. With optical instruments the accuracy of your work depends upon how precisely you level the scope at the start of the job and it’s the same with a manual laser level. A slight error in alignment can mean a large mistake. For example, if you are "off" by just the thickness of the scribed line on the vial while aligning the bubble something that’s being measured at one hundred feet away will be off by about three inches!
A self-leveling rotary laser uses gravity to achieve perfect alignment. There are a number of different methods, but the most common is to project a laser beam through a prism that hangs like a pendulum. You just set the instrument up to be roughly level and gravity does the rest. The result is that the instrument is as accurate as is stated in its specifications.
Many self-leveling lasers have additional features that can be of great assistance. For example, the unit will flash or turn off it it's accidentally bumped after being set up. Some units will self-level in the vertical as well as the horizontal plane.

The links below will show you our least expensive manual rotary levels. They're all well built and will give you the accuracy they say they will - if you do your critical part:
David White ML450N Rotary Laser Level

These links go to the main indexes for each of our laser level manufacturers. Each index features a variety of self-leveling models that will do their best to help protect you from yourself:
CST/Berger (LaserMark)	David White Instruments	LaserJamb	RoboToolz

Do I Need a Laser Level With Two Beams? What's the Advantage?
By splitting the beam using a half-silvered mirror one part of the laser beam spins around to create the illusion of a line while the other part projects straight out of the top of the rotor to create a single dot that's directly above the level. Manufacturers call this a "plumb line" but you won't see a line, what you'll see is a dot. The usefulness of a laser level with two beams is largely a matter of personal preference. We’d love to hear from contractors who find this feature helpful. Send e-mail to MyToolStore.com and let us know what you think!
When you've set the laser to spin in the vertical plane the dot that normally projects upward will be in the horizontal plane. This can be helpful for laying out interior walls. Remember that it's just a dot and since it's not pulsing it can't be detected in sunlight by the laser detector. It has to be visible to your eye so its range is limited.
The new RoboLaser 2 is an exception. It has two rotating beams that form a cross. Since both beams are rotating both can be picked up by your detector and that is very useful.

RoboLaser 2

Is Speed of Rotation Important?
As stated earlier, higher rotation speeds allow detectors to read the laser beam at greater distances outdoors. However, because of the way our eyes work, higher speeds will make the beam less detectable when used indoors. The slower the beam travels, the brighter it appears to our eyes. The exact speed depends on the individual so the best lasers for interior use will be the type with variable speeds. This allows you to set the rotation to best match your vision.

Is Speed of Rotation Important?

As stated earlier, higher rotation speeds allow detectors to read the laser beam at greater distances outdoors. However, because of the way our eyes work, higher speeds will make the beam less detectable when used indoors. The slower the beam travels, the brighter it appears to our eyes. The exact speed depends on the individual so the best lasers for interior use will be the type with variable speeds. This allows you to set the rotation to best match your vision.

You Sell RoboLaser - Why Isn't it in the Link Lists with the Other Rotary Lasers?
Unlike RoboLaser 2, the original RoboLaser isn't a rotary laser. It can turn around, but it doesn't spin around to create the illusion of a line. It's a unique tool. Instead of spreading the energy of the laser around in a big 360° circle, it keeps all the energy concentrated into a single dot. This dot (like the laser sight on a gun) is visible in broad daylight up to about 100 feet. The unit itself is self-leveling and you control it using a remote control that will swing the unit to point wherever you want it. It has three speeds of travel, the slowest a real "snail crawl" that makes it easy to get the dot centered on your rod.
RoboLaser's most frequent application is laying out foundations: set the unit at grade, then move around the perimeter with your rod and remote controller to take the measurements. It can also be used to lay out things like interior shelves and cabinets, but you have to do a little extra work compared to using a rotary level: you point it at one end of the line you need, mark it on the wall, move to the other end, mark it, then snap a level chalk-line by hand. And for drop-ceilings, this is not the tool of choice. Rotary lasers generate level information throughout the entire room simultaneously -so finding the points where you need to bend the hangers is a piece of cake. Trying to find a skinny wire with a single tiny movable point is not much fun.

You Sell RoboLaser - Why Isn't it in the Link Lists with the Other Rotary Lasers?

Unlike RoboLaser 2, the original RoboLaser isn't a rotary laser. It can turn around, but it doesn't spin around to create the illusion of a line. It's a unique tool. Instead of spreading the energy of the laser around in a big 360° circle, it keeps all the energy concentrated into a single dot. This dot (like the laser sight on a gun) is visible in broad daylight up to about 100 feet. The unit itself is self-leveling and you control it using a remote control that will swing the unit to point wherever you want it. It has three speeds of travel, the slowest a real "snail crawl" that makes it easy to get the dot centered on your rod.

RoboLaser's most frequent application is laying out foundations: set the unit at grade, then move around the perimeter with your rod and remote controller to take the measurements. It can also be used to lay out things like interior shelves and cabinets, but you have to do a little extra work compared to using a rotary level: you point it at one end of the line you need, mark it on the wall, move to the other end, mark it, then snap a level chalk-line by hand. And for drop-ceilings, this is not the tool of choice. Rotary lasers generate level information throughout the entire room simultaneously -so finding the points where you need to bend the hangers is a piece of cake. Trying to find a skinny wire with a single tiny movable point is not much fun.

What Good Are Self-Leveling Pocket Laser Levels?
There's a nifty chart that answers that question by showing you how much money you can save doing a particular job (transfering plumb reference points from floor to ceiling). The numbers are impressive: Calculate Your Savings

These great little tools come in several varieties, capable of generating up to five laser points all at exact right angles to each other:
CST/Berger (5 beam model)	Pacific Laser Systems (3 & 5 beam models)	RoboVector (5 beam model)	Stanley Laser Tools (5 beam model)

And if all you want to do is transfer points between the floor and ceiling, try one of theses inexpensive new tools:
Stanley Laser Tools (1 beam)

What Else Do You Have in Laser Levels?
If you mount a high-tech little laser level in an old-fashioned hand level, you can extend the range of the level so greatly that it becomes a whole new breed of tool. Laser torpedo levels are great for plumbing runs and general interior trim and remodeling work. Some have adapters that snap on over the laser to bend or split the beam into two points at 90° angles, or to spread the point out into a line.
Checkpoint added a whole new twist to this type of level by building in a "digital inclinometer." What it does is sense the angle of the level and display it in degrees and fractions of a degree. Wedge Technologies pioneered this technology years ago in a product they called the "Smart Level." But it was a bit ahead of its time and Wedge sold their patents. In Las Vegas our building inspectors bought this type of "digital inclinometer" a year or so ago (but too late for Wedge) and currently use it to check the exact angle on all handicap ramps. So then local contractors had to buy the same gizmos to stay ahead of the game... Installers of high-end sound systems (THX, etc.) use the Checkpoint to measure angles of sound dispersion so spacecraft can rocket by your ears at appropriate levels and angles.

What Else Do You Have in Laser Levels?

If you mount a high-tech little laser level in an old-fashioned hand level, you can extend the range of the level so greatly that it becomes a whole new breed of tool. Laser torpedo levels are great for plumbing runs and general interior trim and remodeling work. Some have adapters that snap on over the laser to bend or split the beam into two points at 90° angles, or to spread the point out into a line.

Checkpoint added a whole new twist to this type of level by building in a "digital inclinometer." What it does is sense the angle of the level and display it in degrees and fractions of a degree. Wedge Technologies pioneered this technology years ago in a product they called the "Smart Level." But it was a bit ahead of its time and Wedge sold their patents. In Las Vegas our building inspectors bought this type of "digital inclinometer" a year or so ago (but too late for Wedge) and currently use it to check the exact angle on all handicap ramps. So then local contractors had to buy the same gizmos to stay ahead of the game... Installers of high-end sound systems (THX, etc.) use the Checkpoint to measure angles of sound dispersion so spacecraft can rocket by your ears at appropriate levels and angles.

Here are the "regular" torpedo laser levels:
David White Finish Line Torpedo Level	Checkpoint Index (Several Models)	Stanley Laser Tools (Several Models)

Whatever laser level you choose, take a look at LaserJamb. It replaces the usual tripod with a nifty support device that sets up fast and lets you adjust the height of your laser line a lot more easily, quickly and accurately than any ordinary tripod ever can.

The LaserJambs (there are four versions) are here:

LaserJambs


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