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Gentlemen:
I’m interested in a line laser such as the pls5. The immediate use I think it would be useful for is framing interior walls in attic truss bonus rooms and cape cod type 2nd floors. You know what a pain locating walls on sloped ceiling can be. I could see alot of other uses too, mainly due to the plumb, level, square abiltiy as opposed to a rotary laser. Anyone have any input before I plunk down 800 clams?
Tom
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Replies
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b Tom,
Lasers are great things. I use one all the time for several different applications. I am familiar with the PLS 5 only from ads in the Mags. There is only one very invaluable feature that it is missing. You must level it yourself, so if you are off even a little bit...... by the time you get 40' away, you are off a lot. This also causes a problem when there is a chance that it may get bumped or excessive vibrations. You can give up all of the other features for that one simple one, that's how important it is.
I have heard of places that rent lasers. I'd rent one and try it out before you buy.
Jay
*Hey Tom,I can help you save a hundred bucks. Just give me a call and I'll come over with my level and plumb bob and do those marks and measures for ya for just 700 bucks.>View Image
*Tom... we got the PL-3, same as the PL-5 but (plum--and right angle)it is self -leveling, takes a lot of abuse, very accurate..use it all the time and keep thinking of new ways to use it...don't need a tripod... can set it on a brick,, or the floor, anything that doesn't bounce TOO MUCH...used a K&E Builders Transit/level for 25 years.. but now it sits on the shelf...think i paid about $700 a year ago...
*Durn !!I guess I'll have to lower my price to 600 bucks.I don't know how youse all expect me to continue making a living at this rate....View Image
*"keep thinking of new ways to use it... " I always say that good tools find work to do.You've probably seen the ad that shows a wood screw, all bent up, pounded into a board. There's a hammer lying nearby, and the caption reads "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Change can be a good thing.
*Mike, how could i use it. remember, I am strictly a rough framer. i hardly even use my four foot level. Occasionally I need to shoot the deck, if I have some type of problem, and it dons't ever rain.Torpedally yours,blue
*Blue....Bluelet's see, in framing:setting the sill and checking the foundation for level, squaring the sill,leveling the deck, plumbing walls plumbing gable endsprojecting a center line from the deck to the ridgeprojecting anything from the deck to anythinglike laying out recessed lights on a cathedral ceilingprojecting a roof opening off the deckleveling a wall drop (projecting it) across the houseprojecting cornice framing/ trim from one corner to anotherand laying out the grades for your new paving business.. sure beats a transit!Kermit
*Will the PLS 5 give you a line for siding?Dennis
*and project a level for siding...
*I looked at this tool a couple of years ago. It is top of the line and very well made. It also cost too much money for me to part with at the time. One thing I will mention is that although the 5 beams are all accurate with respect to each other, they do not have a common point of origin. The beams that go side to side are behind the beams that go up and down by 3/4" or so IIRC. I was told this is because it is difficult to make a five way beam splitter that is highly accurate. The lack of a common point of origin may not matter for your work. Anyone seen/used/played with a Robolaser Co. RoboVector? In the catalog picture it looked like all five beams had a common point of origin in this tool.
*Blue is right...levels, plums, and lasers are for babies....And never use a laser to set siding...run your siding from the deck and from the frieze!!!!!Don't make carpentry rocket science unless you like making ten bucks and hour while the rest of us are making fifty..and probably doing a better job!Oh, and if you want to buy a laser, I like the David white 2150...self leveling, does slopes and vertical...has the best accuracy, and has a huge range...well built for professional use, rain or shine...And a very good receiver, with backside reading, and beep mute...near the blue stream,ajIf the foundation isn't level, you might as well get back in the truck, go home and put the tools up for sale...walls are squared when the plywood goes on...if that's not done right, then get back in the truck and drive home and sell the tools...buy case with the proceeds.. and drink it...
*That's funny, but accurate Jack!I've ran into several unlevel foundations over the years. It's a pain in the arse but life goes on.Usually, I'll find a corner dipped or something small like that. I just shim it with steel and move on.The laser might be useful for plumbing some of the tall gables that I have built over the years. Some of these beasts are possibly 40' high (12/12 pitch, 9' ceilings, and walkout basement). I have occasionally had a problem when the brickies come to brich them, and we have the gable leaning out of plumb (horrors!). Sometimes, my torpedo fails me on these beasts.I'm still not convinced that I need a laser on-site though. But I do need a reason to buy one- I have an empty spot on my barn shelf!I'll be looking at the David white. Thanks for the tip.blue
*The PL3 has common point of origin.. and if you had bot it 5 years ago it would have paid fer itself the first year...the David White is fer the grown-ups with excavating and grading equip. that's why they need the remote.us babies only need the carpenter's version...hah, hahand the Robo i saw was a rotator with a remote that could stop the rotation .. haven't seen the multi-beam Robo, but if it ain't got PLUMB and RIGHT-ANGLE it is limited in general carpentry..the Robo i saw would have been ideal for suspended ceilings, but almost anything else the PL3 would beat it.....the kit that comes with the laser is pretty important too, it has to have different ways of mounting it to make it useful.. the PL# comes with a specialty clamp that you can clamp on studs or pipes or any vertical surface.. since it's self leveling it has to be within say 5 to 10 degrees or the mechanism won't level it..here we're set up to run a 40' gutter on a 100 year old house...
*AJ,Sorry to hear about you run of bad luck ($50/hr.).Blue, those tall gables are the ones I try to keep plumb, just for the brickies. Torpedo for framing, come on old man, someone reading this board might believe that.Anyhow, speaking of the robo tool five beam laser. They just came to my Lowe's and for two hundred bucks I thought I'd try it. It has a five way splitter like a diamond that puts all the beams in one place, a handy feature. In just a few days, I can't stop finding and thinking of new uses for it. Have yet to use it outside and I think the beam might be hard to see. It seems pretty light duty but it is plenty accurate to 50 feet or so. I'm gonna play with it for a while but for typical jobsite use I'll probably have to upgrade to the pls model. Oh, a nice feature on this unit is that you can recalibrate it.Waiting for the day when they can etch my corneas with plumb and level lines.Thanks for the input all.Tom
*Tommy...Try Lasik Plus...For an extra five bills I had the lines added to the corneas...Great for skete shootin too!near the dam stream, now proud owner of at least five torpedos and a couple of the keychain (limited to 9' walls) levels to(o)..ajOk, I do break out the 80 incher for door hangin...Doesn't slow me down from five minute installs but if it ever does, it's history.
*Hot dam Mike, that things' as big as a house !!!How you get that inna truck ??Forget the laser, just hollow out the inside and live in it.
*don't make me come over there luka....dammit get yur hat back on...u no wat happens when u stop wearin it...(i squeeze your head) hah, hah
*Im not sure of the keychain type level, AJ. I don't think Ive evr saw one.I did used to use just the bubble that fell out of a level when I was doing a lot of interior metal studs and cabinet work. It worked fine until the lines wore off. It worked fine after that too, but I'd prefer lines, if I have a choice.I also own an 80" magnesium level but I haven't seen it, nor used it for more than ten years. Five minutes? You're slowing down I see!blue
*When in the thick of thin things, and seemmingly "on a roll," I often eyeball all, toss the ruler aside, cut from the pile, using the scraps to measure, and by golly it works...zometimez...near the ztream, aj
*Hey Mike,I just priced raydeeyul carrototomy layzer surjury, (for my bad eyes). It's too dam expensive. If I come over there do you think yer PL3 will do the job ?How much will it cost ?Will I be able to see a flea on the nose of an eagle in a tree 2 miles away ?Can you make the surgery scars look like a peace sign ?Do you have references ?What happens if you slip and hit my ear, (those two organs being so close together, you know), will I be able to hear better too ?When can I schedule an appointment ?p.s. cow tipper asked me to ask if you do sir-cum-sizz-zhuns, (or something like that).
*I've used the pls5 alot. great tool. no more holding a 4' level to a 2x4 and trying to transfer a line to the ceiling. You don't need a card to read it. I don't think I would buy one if I was still building new homes, but for remodeling it's pretty useful. The electricians are always asking to use it to establish a level line for those outlets above the countertops.
*I use a $1600 laser device to align v-belts on belt-driven equipment. Do I need it? Probably not. But I haven't found anyone yet who wants to actually pay me to use a piece of string to do it. But pull out the laser and they don't have a problem at all.
*we have and use three PL's as well as a laser mark- the PLs are the ones we reach for- saves me a guy every time they're used- throw a line 30 ft to the other side of a 20 ft hi foundation wall for ledgers, plumb a 24 ft gable wall in the wind, transfer grid lines from floor to next floor[shoot up, drill 1/8 hole- done], center steel bents for center to center of room-one quick shot and its there, stick frame those tall gables in place, shoot an overframe ridge on to next roof. Ive done string and plumb bob for decades but i'm a total convert- however i do not trust them as a 90 degree device [besides, Construction Master gets me the total diag ev
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Gentlemen:
I'm interested in a line laser such as the pls5. The immediate use I think it would be useful for is framing interior walls in attic truss bonus rooms and cape cod type 2nd floors. You know what a pain locating walls on sloped ceiling can be. I could see alot of other uses too, mainly due to the plumb, level, square abiltiy as opposed to a rotary laser. Anyone have any input before I plunk down 800 clams?
Tom