I've not been tempted to get one of these Laser Level Kits before, the
one's which shine a horizontal or vertical laser beam on a wall which
can be used to mark/drill.

Anyway, I relented this morning when I saw that Homebase had one on
special offer - £19.99. I was on my way to hang some pictures for
someone and thought "what the heck".

I'm now a convert to these things - it was very helpful to make sure
pictures were lined up properly. The one I've got is a bit poxy, but
it's good enough for what I need.

Just thought I'd pass it along in case others might have been tempted.

PoP

On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 17:58:20 +0000, PoP
wrote:

I've not been tempted to get one of these Laser Level Kits before, the
one's which shine a horizontal or vertical laser beam on a wall which
can be used to mark/drill.

Anyway, I relented this morning when I saw that Homebase had one on
special offer - £19.99. I was on my way to hang some pictures for
someone and thought "what the heck".

I'm now a convert to these things - it was very helpful to make sure
pictures were lined up properly. The one I've got is a bit poxy, but
it's good enough for what I need.

Just thought I'd pass it along in case others might have been tempted.

PoP


How do you establish a level line with them ? (These are the ones that
look like a tape measure in the pictures ?)

Paul Mc Cann

On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 19:06:40 +0000, Paul Mc Cann
wrote:

How do you establish a level line with them ? (These are the ones that
look like a tape measure in the pictures ?)

The one I bought from Homebase looks identical to this one:

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...38178&ts=34465

Mine didn't have the goggles, but apart from that it looks identical
and I reckon it's the same model. I got a hard carrying case as well.

Basically the thing on the top is a bog standard spirit level, at one
end is a small laser LED (?). When set up that LED squirts out a
single dot of light onto the wall.

The kit comes with two inserts which can be shoved into the LED hole.
One is a prism which turns the beam 90 degrees (can't think of a use
for that, but it's there if I need it). The other is a prism that
splits the beam into a long thin line on the wall.

With the latter you can twist the prism to give a horizontal or
vertical line on the wall (and actually any angle in-between if you
need a line at a funny angle). Setting that line up is a little tricky
I found, the best way is to line it up on a horizontal/vertical
surface first, then change the elevation up/down

The head of the tripod twists and raises/lowers, and comes complete
with a small bubble level so that you can stabilise the head to fully
horizontal.

I had to install some picture hooks in a hallway today - it was a
piece of cake offsetting the tripod legs so that it could stand on two
steps and shine the goods onto the far wall.

BTW, if you go to Homebase to pick one of these up you may find they
are marked on the shelves as £29.99. When I got to the checkout I was
charged £19.99. Naturally I didn't feel the need to complain

I'm quite pleased with this purchase - as I said earlier I had
resisted the temptation but when I got a job where I could make use of
it I succumbed - it was a good buy as far as I am concerned. It would
most likely be very useful when wallpapering to give the vertical line
for the first sheet, but would be great for shelving and other things
where you need to line things up over a fair distance across a wall.

PoP

PoP wrote in message . ..

BTW, if you go to Homebase to pick one of these up you may find they
are marked on the shelves as £29.99. When I got to the checkout I was
charged £19.99. Naturally I didn't feel the need to complain

So are they on offer, or were you just fortunate?

If the latter, identical levels, with goggles, are available from
Argos for £24.99 (and their 16 day money back offer if you find it
unsuitable).

Malcolm Stewart wrote:
"StealthUK" wrote in message
Don't know how dangerous the laser is to your eyes though. Anybody
know?

At these power levels, we're supposed to be protected by our involuntary "blink"
reflex. I haven't tried it, and don't intend to.

Class 1 laser, blink reflex response to visible radiation, however stare
into the beam might and you may well cause damage...

Give me a class 4 UV laser, fully shielded and interlocked, much safer!

Niel.

The kit comes with two inserts which can be shoved into the LED hole.
One is a prism which turns the beam 90 degrees (can't think of a use
for that, but it's there if I need it).


That setting is for zapping incoming asteriods.

mark b

On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 21:19:55 +0000, PoP wrote:
The kit comes with two inserts which can be shoved into the LED hole.
One is a prism which turns the beam 90 degrees (can't think of a use
for that, but it's there if I need it).

Putting a straight line on the floor/ceiling? (Assuming you can use it
together with the fitting to shine a line)

dave wrote:
wrote in message
...

Class 1 laser, blink reflex response to visible radiation, however stare
into the beam might and you may well cause damage...
Niel.

Mine's labelled as a Class II. Have to take more care...


AFAIK it doesn't work like that. I think Class I means the laser is enclosed in
some kit or other (maybe visible or invisible radiation). Whereas in Class II
(and above) the beam may be directly visible. Whatever the case it is obviously
a bad idea to look into the beam directly or even via some sufficiently good
reflecting surface. The laser will still get into the eye of course (unless you
can anticipate and blink faster than c)! These are only my opinions. All advice
at you own risk. Do not drink the contents of this battery etc.

Class 1, fully enclosed and iterlocked, or low enough power in visible
wavelength that blink reflex will protect....

Take a class 4, MW power laser and fully enclose and interlock it
becomes a class 1 installation, there are other factors, but basically
class 1 is considered to be safe by virtue of power level and frequency
(wavelength) of output, or engineered (by enclosure and interlocking) to
be safe. There's a lot more to it, but I can look it up at work if you
want...
I work with enclosed class 4's, but they are NOT fully interlocked so
they remain class 4's, and as they are deep UV or far IR the beams are
not normally visible, so you treat must them with respect...
BTW "red" laser pointer's are considered safe, you blink, no matter what
police officers etc may say, the "green" ones however are often class 3
and have also been found to be class 4, thats far more worrying!

Niel.

I bought the Wickes one. Was very handy when block paving a front
driveway to mark out the finished level on the walls each side.
Don't know how dangerous the laser is to your eyes though. Anybody
know?

On Sat, 1 Nov 2003 15:42:01 -0000, "Mark B"
wrote:

That setting is for zapping incoming asteriods.

Pretty damn small asteroids then - 1mW laser.....

PoP

On Sat, 1 Nov 2003 16:22:22 +0000, John Armstrong
wrote:

On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 21:19:55 +0000, PoP wrote:
The kit comes with two inserts which can be shoved into the LED hole.
One is a prism which turns the beam 90 degrees (can't think of a use
for that, but it's there if I need it).

Putting a straight line on the floor/ceiling? (Assuming you can use it
together with the fitting to shine a line)

Haven't looked at that option. Good point.

PoP

"StealthUK" wrote in message
om...
I bought the Wickes one. Was very handy when block paving a front
driveway to mark out the finished level on the walls each side.
Don't know how dangerous the laser is to your eyes though. Anybody
know?

Had my "toy" laser level some months now. Waited for them to get down to £19.99
at one of the sheds (Focus DIA ?). The biggest problem is the relatively poor
swivel head on the tripod. From what I've read, Stabilo do a much better one
but it's about £180.

At these power levels, we're supposed to be protected by our involuntary "blink"
reflex. I haven't tried it, and don't intend to.

--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

On Sun, 2 Nov 2003 13:50:23 +0000, (Steve
Firth) wrote:

As explained elsewhere. There are also rotary level lasers which are
much easier to use for getting a level line. These have also dropped in
pric erecently and Makro are selling them for around £20 each. The
laster levels referred to in this post caost about £12 with tripod,
goggles, target etc. At that price it's cheaper than the sheds sell a
non-laser level of similar quality.

Next time I'm in Makro I know what'll be in my basket then.....

PoP

wrote in message
...
Malcolm Stewart wrote:
At these power levels, we're supposed to be protected by our involuntary
"blink"
reflex. I haven't tried it, and don't intend to.

Class 1 laser, blink reflex response to visible radiation, however stare
into the beam might and you may well cause damage...
Niel.

Mine's labelled as a Class II. Have to take more care...
--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

"Steve Firth" wrote in message
.. .

As explained elsewhere. There are also rotary level lasers which are
much easier to use for getting a level line. These have also dropped in
pric erecently and Makro are selling them for around £20 each.

Any chance of a URL for Makro and/or their rotary lasers?

Googling hasn't turned up anything useful - references to German makro lenses
etc.
Thanks
--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

On Sun, 2 Nov 2003 15:28:17 -0000, "Malcolm Stewart"
wrote:

Any chance of a URL for Makro and/or their rotary lasers?

The Makro web site isn't very specific in relation to products I've
found. More of a tourist brochure than an al la carte menu.

PoP

On Sun, 2 Nov 2003 13:50:23 +0000, (Steve
Firth) wrote:

Paul Mc Cann wrote:

How do you establish a level line with them ?

As explained elsewhere. There are also rotary level lasers which are
much easier to use for getting a level line. These have also dropped in
pric erecently and Makro are selling them for around £20 each. The
laster levels referred to in this post caost about £12 with tripod,
goggles, target etc. At that price it's cheaper than the sheds sell a
non-laser level of similar quality.


I've seem these being used by fitters installing a suspended ceiling
for us some years back. Very impressoive and the ideal tool for the
job. Hung it in a corner and used it lo align the wall brackets.

Don't really need one but at those prices I'll get one to play with

Trouble may be that in a domestic environment I think one is oft times
better algning to existing fittings rather than just being level. If
the ceiling is slightly out then the curtain rail is going to look
wrong if ite level and the ceiling isn't .


Paul Mc Cann

Loads of laser levels on eBay, some go for silly (high) prices,
some look reasonable until you see how much they want for
postage. Maybe the odd bargian to be had if you're patient and
can be bothered.

Somewhere in the UK there is obviously a footie pitch-sized
warehouse packed to the roof with Far Eastern lasers, @ something
like £1 each if you buy a crateload. http://tinyurl.com/tdf6

Seriously though, where DO these traders buy the stuff from?

W.

On Sun, 2 Nov 2003 22:02:08 +0000 (UTC), "Woodspoiler"
wrote:

Seriously though, where DO these traders buy the stuff from?

If you search around on the Internet you can find these things out
usually. I've been watching the following clamps sell for £30+, plus
postage, for the last few weeks:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tegory=20 781

Nearly bought one myself a little while ago

Now if you head over to Axminster:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=BJ50D

A pair of identical clamps at £37.91, shipping included. Not difficult
to see how some people are making money on ebay.

I've seen similar things with other objects of desire to the punter.
These days I avoid anything that looks like a dealer transaction .

PoP

Seriously though, where DO these traders buy the stuff from?

W.

Sounds like "fell off the back of a lorry" to me...

That tinyurl leads to ebay... not directly to the sellers you mentioned...

That tinyurl leads to ebay... not directly to the sellers you
mentioned...

Still works here, but maybe the target URL doesn't work on other
computers.

It was just the result of an eBay search for "laser level". I
first started looking a few weeks ago and there is a steady
stream of these things.

You have to be very careful with eBay or you can end up bidding
more than retail, or paying the same but from some unknown who
may not be so good to deal with if the item develops a fault.

W.

On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 02:33:29 +0000, PoP
wrote:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=BJ50D

A pair of identical clamps at £37.91, shipping included. Not difficult
to see how some people are making money on ebay.

Still a useless piece of crap though. Those particular clamps are
neither strong nor rigid enough to make a useful router guide.
--
Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 02:33:29 +0000, PoP
wrote:

On Sun, 2 Nov 2003 22:02:08 +0000 (UTC), "Woodspoiler"
k wrote:

Seriously though, where DO these traders buy the stuff from?

If you search around on the Internet you can find these things out
usually. I've been watching the following clamps sell for £30+, plus
postage, for the last few weeks:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tegory=20 781

Nearly bought one myself a little while ago

Now if you head over to Axminster:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=BJ50D

A pair of identical clamps at £37.91, shipping included. Not difficult
to see how some people are making money on ebay.

I've seen similar things with other objects of desire to the punter.
These days I avoid anything that looks like a dealer transaction .

PoP


I wonder are they by the same manufacturer.

Last cramps I bought from Axminster were their own brand Tee bar sash
cramps.

They were dreadful rubbish

I see they have a version of the Bessey style 'F' clamp, with parallel
pull-up faces. Theirs are in yellow while the Bessey use red trim.
Wonder are they in the same camp as Bessey



Paul Mc Cann

Partly answering my own question here.

http://www.eprect.com/html/english/cpzse-011.htm

This is the manufacturer. Scroll down and you can see a pic of
the rotary levels continually being advertised on eBay. Elsewhere
it says the minimum order is 1700 units.

Next item down is one Axminster sells under its own name for £55

Half tempted to enquire with the co. for cost of 1700 delivered
to the UK.

W.






"Woodspoiler"
wrote in message ...
Loads of laser levels on eBay, some go for silly (high) prices,
some look reasonable until you see how much they want for
postage. Maybe the odd bargian to be had if you're patient and
can be bothered.

Somewhere in the UK there is obviously a footie pitch-sized
warehouse packed to the roof with Far Eastern lasers, @
something
like £1 each if you buy a crateload. http://tinyurl.com/tdf6

Seriously though, where DO these traders buy the stuff from?

W.