Synopsis: Builders have relied on chalklines for decades. Whether marking a cut on a piece of plywood or oriented-strand board (OSB) or laying out walls on a subfloor, shingles on a roof, or siding on a house, nothing beats a chalkline for accuracy and versatility. Long-time Fine Homebuilding author Larry Haun discusses his favorite modern versions of this tool, including double chalkers, ink lines, and boxes with gear-driven rewind mechanisms.

The first chalkline I used, through the early 1950s, was a cotton string pulled through a solid piece of chalk shaped like half a lemon. After the string was pulled through the block of chalk a few times, the line was ready to be snapped. The setup was somewhat crude, but it worked.

Since that time, I’ve tried countless chalk boxes, all with different features and advantages. They are simply indispensable when it comes to laying out walls for framing, marking cutlines on sheathing, aligning courses of siding or shingles, and handling many other layout assignments.

I recently got the chance to try out more than a dozen different chalklines. My favorite models, shown here, have a range of innovative features that make them ideal for different layout tasks. Bet you can’t buy just one.

Fastest rewinds, lowest price

The new Irwin chalkline is an improvement over the old Strait-Line box that has been around for 50 years or so. The chalk reservoir opens wide, making refills easy, and the rewind handle retracts the line 6 times faster (a 6-to-1 gear ratio). A built-in clutch allows the 100-ft. braided line to be pulled out without spinning the handle, and a large pronged hook on the end does a great job of grabbing an edge, a big help when you’re snapping lines at odd angles. A lock keeps the line tight during snapping and also comes in handy for using the box as a plumb bob.

At $11, the SL6X is worth having in your tool kit, but I would like to see a better design to prevent chalk from spilling out of the nose of the box.

Built to go the distance

If you work solo and need to snap lots of really long lines, this tool is for you. Equipped with 150 ft. of heavy braided line, this chalk box is great for larger jobs like framing long outside walls. The standard hook is replaced with a 1-in.-dia. metal ring that slides easily over large bolts, nails, or even rebar. The chalk reservoir unscrews from the end of the box and holds more than a pound of chalk. The rewind handle is large and easy to use, but a rapid-rewind system would be a major improvement on this tool. A large molded handle comes in handy for getting a solid grip on the box and tightening up the long line before snapping.

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