Which laser level?

[Richard C]

All very interesting & lots of perspective on what folks use & expect from a laser but has anyone noticed that the OP hasn’t actually acknowledged a single post that anyone has made yet

 

[paulandfrodo]

Ah.... but were enjoying ourselves

I sometimes do work for 'customers' and i hate them because they ask you to give you a quote for some work and then never reply. Thank god I'm self funding!

On a total tangent, got some old people down my road and I do things for them for nothing. I do this as I know they are skint and they are nice people. They then ask what they owe you... Ruddles county seems to be the preferred payment scheme

 

[danr86]

Thanks for the responses - i'll give it ago without a laser to start with and see how it goes. Not really any clearer on which laser to go for tbh. Does the pendulum lock make such a big difference if I'm not transporting the laser around a lot?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Does the pendulum lock make such a big difference if I'm not transporting the laser around a lot?

It depends on what you are doing. Apart from preventing damage to the mechanism during transport a pendumul lock allows you to project a line at an angle; for example a parallel line up the line of a stairway to indicate the position of a dado rail. Not immediately obvious but nonetheless a useful feature

 

[alumni]

Does the pendulum lock make such a big difference if I'm not transporting the laser around a lot?

It depends on what you are doing. Apart from preventing damage to the mechanism during transport a pendumul lock allows you to project a line at an angle; for example a parallel line up the line of a stairway to indicate the position of a dado rail. Not immediately obvious but nonetheless a useful feature

Whilst not having the pendulum lock, the PLS 180 has the facility to display the beam, irrespective of angle.
Like you say, very useful.

 

[Micky1964]

PLS lasers: look cheap and rubbish.... but do a very good job!

 

[alumni]

PLS lasers: look cheap and rubbish.... but do a very good job!

Which suits me just fine.

 

[SammyInnit]

Ive always rated DeWalt, PLS, and HILTI. Despite the 'hairy arsed' comment about DeWalt users, they do the job, robust, easy setup.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

PLS lasers: look cheap and rubbish.... but do a very good job!

Which suits me just fine.

Errr.... he sais that they look cheap - not they are cheap (they aren't!). One point about them is that in the USA the small PLS180 is regarded as "consumer electronics" meaning that if you break it PLS won't repair it. This has been the subject of several discussions on US trade=type web sites. Not sure if that applies here, but I do know that DW, Bosch, Leica and Hilti all have repair and recalibration facilities for their tools in the UK. Possibly worth noting that whilst the others all have to go back to a central repair facility any Leica GeoSys professional dealer (the guys who sell the big stuff) can repair and recalibrate in their own workshop. Not much, but maybe worth a few days on a repair

 

[Micky1964]

Yes - I did mean they "look" cheap - as in very plastic etc

Not sure on servicing and repair on PLS in the UK but our Leica's have always gone to a company in Chester who are a main Leica dealer so they do have their own in-house calibration and repair centre. I'm pretty sure the other big brands would have similar setups in the UK.

Just avoid Pentax for this reason - see my earlier post!

 

[Deleted member 174758]

.....they do have their own in-house calibration and repair centre. I'm pretty sure the other big brands would have similar setups in the UK.

Bosch always go back to Bosch HQ. My understanding about DW is that the same applies - no dealer level servicing. My comments about PLS stand - their reputation in the USA on the lower end stuff is that you juts won't get it repaired

 

[alumni]

Errr.... he sais that they look cheap - not they are cheap (they aren't!). ...

I know what he said.
I don't use it for its looks.