Strait-Line 6041300CD Intersect 1/8-Inch at 15-Feet Self Leveling Crossed Line Laser
December 3rd, 2009 by admin | Filed under self improvement.
Strait-Line’s claim that this is “the most capable laser level ever built” is an invitation to skepticism, but folks, after spending a little time with this model, we think it’s true. Yes, there are other laser levels on the market that project both a horizontal and vertical line, but we’ve never seen one that lets you access the exact point of intersection—-this one does, so every job gets off to a flawless start. And flawless it is, because the Intersect self-levels within 8 degrees on a vertical surface. All you have to do is attach it to the wall (more on that in a minute) as close to vertical as you can, and Strait-Line’s amazing technology projects perfectly level and plumb lines with zero guesswork for a 30 foot tot [Read More...]
Buy Strait-Line 6041300CD Intersect 1/8-Inch at 15-Feet Self Leveling Crossed Line Laser at Amazon
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Tags: 1/8Inch, 15Feet, 6041300CD, Crossed, Intersect, Laser, Leveling, Line, Self, StraitLine
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I own several of the newest laser levels—the Ryobi, Straight Laser, etc. and now the Strait Line Intersect–
The intersect is by far the best of the bunch, the auto level has worked flawlessly thus far–even after a slip and fall from 8 1/2 feet up to the hard wood floor. Wish more time and thought was put into the latest tools such as this one
Oh, and by the way–it beats the pants off the other straight line laser levels offered too!!!!
THIS ONE IS TRUELY TOPS in my book
This is one very useful tool. It is great because you actually get to see where the lines intersect and because it projects lines and not just a dot on the wall. When placed on the floor, my unit will project lines on the floor and a short distance up the walls as well. All of that for a reasonable price. I have other lasers, but I like this one the best. I probably won’t be using those other lasers much any more.
As one of the other reviewers has noted, the switch is hard to work. Mine was REALLY hard to work. I thought I would break the tool. I took out my Dremel mototool and cut part of the black switch off so I could apply more force. I’m 6′4″ tall, weigh a lot, and don’t have my nails done. The tool is shaped like a wedge of cheese cut from a big wheel of cheese. The back side is curved. I wish the back side was flat and perpendicular/parallel to the two laser lines it projects (when the lines are “locked”), so you could back the unit up to a finished wall and you would know that one of the projected lines was parallel and that the other line was perpendicular to the wall that the unit was backed up to. I know I can get around that with some additional measurements, but I can dream. I strongly recommend this tool for people who do floors. It is a cool tool.
After reading the mixed reviews, I decided that it was worth taking a chance, given the low price and amazon’s return policy. What I found was a tool that projected lines clearly and accurately, and it self leveled far better than I ever thought it would.
I’ve used traditional bubble levels, and levels with built in lasers that rely on the user positioning them using a bubble. With any of those, there is still a degree of error since it’s a matter of judgment whether the bubble is exactly between the lines or in the middle of the circle.
This level merely requires being held against a wall, or mounted with adhesive. It doesn’t matter if you hold it a few degrees off center because the lines will eventually come to rest exactly where they should.
It is designed to be against a wall with the switch facing toward you and the writing facing the correct way to read. Since the bottom part is curved, it is not designed to be used while placed on a surface. It’s not surprising that one reviewer found things off by a few inches when used that way. It would fall over if properly oriented and point randomly if set down with the switch on the top.
The manufacturer says you will get 10 hours of use with four 1.5v alkaline batteries. Since four 1.2v NiMH rechargeable batteries would produce 4.8v instead of 6v, the reviewer who tried them got the results that should be expected.
A limitation is that you can’t use this to check to see if your floor is level, nor could you project a line within the bottom inches of your wall. But the manufacturer tells you that up front. And you also can’t sit it on a desk or a table that you want to level. But you wouldn’t want a laser for that anyway.
UPDATE:
After using it regularly for about a year, it is still going strong. Despite its single switch simplicity, it has become clearer to me how easy it is for people to misuse. The “design flaw” is the lack of “this end up” labels and “level” and “square” switch labels instead of just lock and unlock ones. My teenage daughter completely misunderstood it. After I spent a few seconds showing her, she kicked me out of the room and successfully completed her first “do it yourself” project: mounting a full length mirror on a wall.
If you throw the switch the “wrong” way (for leveling), you will lock it (by design) and it will work to square things. If you want to project one beam against a line so you can get another one at 90 degrees to it, it can help with flooring but if you think you are using it as a level that way, you are going to get bad results.
When unlocked, the unit is essentially like a three way laser pointer hanging from a pendulum. If you let it rest, it will self center. If you turn it sideways, it will come to rest randomly. Think of it as an unwound grandfather clock with its pendulum pointing straight down, unless you lie the clock on its back.
The laser itself is class IIIA, with a frequency of about 635nm. With four AAA batteries it is capable of shining clearly and brightly for a long time. Class IIIb and above are banned in the US and many other countries, so other “red” lasers will NOT be brighter or project farther.
Ultimately, the tool must be designed to assume that the surface will be parallel to its beam, which is as strong and accurate as the law allows. Despite that, your wall might not be the same color or shape as someone else’s, and minor differences in offset could make performance appear better or worse.
Sticking it to the wall is as necessary as it would be with a conventional level; it would leave your hands free. I had a set of laser balls that could not be used any other way, and had short battery life. With this product, it’s very useful even if you never use the adhesive pads.
The bottom line is that the laser is the best in its class, the mechanism is as accurate as gravity itself, the batteries will keep it going for a long time, but the switch should have been designed better. You can use it properly with minimal training. But it’s very easy to misuse and some surfaces will not allow it to project useful lines despite the accuracy of this tool.
UPDATE 2:
I gave mine away to a TV repairman who was impressed by it. I bought a new one and the switch has been redesigned and no longer looks like the one in the picture. I had no problems with it sticking or being difficult to use. If you find one as pictured (lines across the entire switch) then you have an old one that might cause problems unless you wear kitchen gloves. If it has the lines only running up to the middle, and decreasing in size, you have the newer one that does not have any problems with the switch being difficult. (updated 9/2009)