Point Lasers

KennMacMoragh

I walked into a Hilti center today and looked at their lasers. I was looking at this point laser.

It cost $394.83

I asked him why it cost so much more than the Stanley lasers, he said these are more accurate. Then he looked it up in his catalog and said this laser is accurate to 1/8" in 30'.

So I left and looked at this Stanley point laser at Home Depot.

This one cost $199.00

And they advertise the accuracy at 1/4" in 100', which is the same as 1/8" in 50'. That is not less accurate than the Hilti at 1/8" in 30'.
I am confused at the differences, is there any reason to pay more for the Hilti one?

WarnerConstInc.

One Word: Service.

KennMacMoragh

True Hilti offers a warranty, but I don't see how that would affect their lasers. Their warranty only covers use from wear and tear, not abuse, so if you dropped it they wouldn't fix it. And I don't see how you could put wear and tear on a laser, all you ever do with it is let it sit there.

DrewD

Check this out.

Accuracy +/- 1/8 inch at 100' and toolup.com has a special for only $351.00. It includes carrying case, pouch, floor target, and wall bracket. I have the PLS90 and have had no problems with it.

BCConstruction

Whats the advantages of these lasers? I use a auto level rotary one quite often but am wondering what these can do and are they worth a purchase if i allready have a roatary laser?

KennMacMoragh

They are cheaper, faster to set up, can shoot a 90, and can shoot plumb. They are good mainly for smaller projects, if you're someone who does foundations or excavating all the time, then the rotary laser would be the way to go.

BillD

I have pinned a lot of footings and they make it easier than doing it with levels.

Bill

MikeNeufeld

plslaser.com

Good lasers( dropped mine a couple of times ) they are accurate to and 1/8" over 100' and are durable.

I see Stabila's lasers are so pricey, yet they dont compete spec wise with pls, leica or any others ( dont mean to hijack the thread ) curious as too why this is?

Inner10

Hilti offers a calibration service for their laser tools.

Stanley can't even make a tape measure, hammer or level properly, why would I ever trust their point laser?

MikeNeufeld

At least Hilti understands that they do not make the best laser if they offer this cali service!!!

strathd

When these 5 beam lasers first came out about 8 years ago or so I bought one from a company called Robo Vector. Mine does'nt have the indent in it for plumbing walls. It came with a gauge target to place beside the top plate for plumbing walls. Never used it for plumbing walls as it seemed like too much of a hassle.

When snapping lines on a very cut-up foundation this tool came in handy. I would snap lines after pulling paralell's then place the laser at the corners to establish 90 degree angles. Remember this was only used on very cut-up stuff. I would have one guy at each corner of the 90 holding a speed square on the foundation and rotate the laser till it hit both points and adjust accordingly.

Sure I can do the math but this method was much quicker. The first few times I tried this I checked lines for square and it was allways on.

Works for me.

MikeNeufeld

Lasers have been so good for what I do in trim carpentry, railings, columns and cabinatry. Pls LAsers are alway's on the job, never have failures and they are very accurate...

Would recommend over alot of companies...

strathd

Another way I have used it is for laying out ceramic tile in an old house. When the room is'nt parallel or square you can set the laser down and move it around till you find the best layout. In cases like this it's all about reveal at the walls and making it look the best you can.

KennMacMoragh

I think that extra accuracy with the PLS lasers would be worth the price. But I wonder if they are really telling the truth with their 1/8" to 100'. Maybe Hilti is just honest, so they call it 1/8" in 30'.

I was also thinking of just getting the PMC 36 combilaser:


This one cost $557.24 and is accurate to 1/16" in 30', and shoots lines as well as dots. The lines would be nice, the dots sometimes can be a pain trying to find them. You need one guy with a scrap piece of plywood or something to find it, then a second guy to turn the laser. But with the lines, you could find it easy with one person.

MikeNeufeld

go shoot that line from around 30 feet on a pls 180, take a level over to that line and i will garentee u absolute accuracy!!!... Hilti is like mercedes, It looks good, works well and are durable, but you sure pay a helluva alot up front when the lexus does the same trick ( more economically ) imo.

KennMacMoragh

It probably would be if you checked it that way. I've always wondered how they check or calibrate laser and transit levels. I was on a job once where we had a transit level that fell off a trailer, and we were using it to frame a stepped foundation. We were wondering if it was really accurate and were trying to think of ways to check it, like comparing it with a water level. I don't see how you would check it when you're comparing it with a 30' or 100' distance. When buying a brand new one, I don't know if that would really matter in my work, but I would feel better knowing I had the more accurate tool.

XanadooLTD

The combi is one bad mama jamma. It shoots the lines from the side to the front. That with the red glasses and you will see perfectly outside even. I guess great for tiling, etc. ALmost like a rotary as you get the 180 degree.

Kgmz

To check it you do what is called a "two peg test". This will work for optical and laser instruments, and is easy to do. Just do a web search for a "two peg test".

Double-A

I believe Hilti also has a repair price cap. You only pay so much, no more.

Will Stanley even repair a laser?

__________________
"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

KennMacMoragh

The two peg test makes sense, interesting. I ordered the PLS5 one, I'm pretty convinced now it's the way to go.