Customer Reviews

Stanley 77-153 CL2 FatMax Cross Line Laser

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this self-leveling laser line "projector" yesterday since I am starting to build my own kitchen cabinets. My floors and walls are not perfcctly level or plumb so I needed a fast reference line to measure to. What a dream this tool is. Just place it on the floor or a counter, aim it where you want a line, turn it on and a perfectly horzontal line splashes across the wall, regardless of what it is sitting on. Hit the button again and a vertical line gets projected. Hit the button again and cross-hairs appear with both horizontal and vertical lines. Hit the button again and the cross-hairs lock and you can tilt the tool to a desired tilt. I calibrated it against a plumb-bob on the vertical and it's bang on. The only draw-back I can see for pros may be the range of the laser - pretty weak beyond 25' and outside is weak also beyond 10 feet depending on the brightness of the day. Provides a very wide angle of projection (maybe about 120°)

I've used this laser level for wall tile, floor tile, hanging cabinets, building a level bench on sloping ground and painting a 16 ft diagonal straight line. This tool is excellent and saved me a huge amount of time.

As to accuracy, I've had no problem. Regarding the complaint that two units were way off, I suspect he moved the laser as he worked on the wall. You have to leave the laser in precisely the same spot, you can't move it along as you move down the wall. I made this mistake. I wanted the line a little brighter where I was working, so I moved the tripod, thinking, it would still be at the same height. It was the same height off the floor, but the floor wasn't level, so my new line was 1/4" higher when I moved the laser.

As to the complaint that you have to raise it to the height you want the line projected at, well that is just how any laser would work. It is like complaining that the problem with a screwdriver is you have to get it right up next to the screw. It may be inconvenient, but it is how it works.

As to brightness, I've had no problem indoors. it is easily visible at 20 feet. I haven't used it in a larger area. Outdoors, it is better than others that I've used, but it is impossible to see in bright sunlight. Working in the shade it was fine.

Not a bad unit. Mounts on my camera tripod or just sit it on a flat surface. Self-leveling is a real time saver. A great way to get a nice straight line on the project...I would have liked to see the line a little bit finer, but you can mark one edge of it. It is pretty hard to see the line in bright light. But then I guess all the brands have that issue. You have to remove the rubber cover to get to the batteries. This is annoying. The "chin strap" of the rubber cover has nothing to keep it in place and the small location "stud" under the top of the same cover has broken off already. Not that it is needed there anyway. Overall, a very handy setup tool. It just needs the dumb cover redesigned.

I measured the accuracy of the FatMax I received. (1) The leveling (horizontal angle of the center of the projected cross) spec that is printed in the manual is 0.025-degree, and I measured better than 0.01-degree. (2) The plumb accuracy is hard to measure and no spec is given in the manual. I measured better than 0.05-degree, and it probably is much better than that. (3) The horizontal (right-to-left) line spec printed in the manual is 0.045-degrees. On my FatMax the line up to 45-degrees from straight ahead is level to better than 0.007-degrees. Beyond 45-degrees, the line curves down on both sides so that at 80-degrees from straight ahead it has dropped 0.030-degrees. I myself cannot speak to its robustness, since I have been treating it carefully, but its accuracy is much better than the company claimed.

let me first say that i am blessed (cursed) with an eye for symmetry. things jump out at me when something is CLOSE to being symmetrical but is off. the world doesnt have to be symmetrical but its annoying to me when its apparent that symmetry was intended and not really achieved.

let me also say that Im not framing houses or pouring cement foundations... im hanging letters on the wall to spell out my daughters name (etc.)

i have vultured on ebay for steals on the pro-grade self levelers and could never get one for the price of this thing. i didnt want to pay $300 bucks for one but i even briefly considered it because it could take me an hour and a half to hang two pictures on a wall because they HAVE to be just right. i didnt realize that there was a homeowner-grade product on the market.

nevertheless i was happy to see this and scooped it up to see if it was worth messing with.

im really happy with it. i have a full sized camera tripod and when mounted to that i can shoot it pretty much straight on and not have concerns with regards to aiming it up or down.

i hung two mirrors and a string of letters with it and decided in the beginning to just trust it without taking a bunch of 'backup measurements' to confirm its accuracy along the way. when i was finished and turned it off and backed away and sized all of the hangings up from different angles im really really satisfied. it looks like i spent a lot of time measuring, or got really lucky. maybe it was a little bit of the latter.

considering how much these things cost for professionals i think this product is well done for the price point, and well worth having for use around the home.

keep in mind that if you have an old house like me that the room itself may not be too square. its still good to measure at different points up to the ceiling to kinda check things up. you can hang a string of things on a level line accurate to less than 1/1000000th of a degree and it can still look off if your crown molding is not level.

...and thats where manual mode is useful. if you have a relatively ridgid mount and you dont move it around you can still use it if the room is still horribly settled or out of square.

just measure down from the ceiling on either end of the wall and put the laser on those marks. even if its not level it will look fine because it lines up with the ceiling. a ball-mount on the tripod really helps quite a bit here.

Used this level for the first time yesterday for the purpose it was purchased for - to draw a level reference line around my garage in preparation for siding install. Set it on my camera tripod and started at one corner and started drawing the line around my building. When I got all the way around,back to the corner I started from, I was thrilled to find I was less than 1/16" off from my starting mark. A perimeter around a 30ft x 20ft building @ 1/16" off?!? Well done!

Comes with its own little unique tripd which should work well when near working near the ground.
Rubber surround could be better afixed near the bottom-front.
Pouch is useless for protection. Rigid case would've been better.
Line is PLENTY bright and has a WIDE throw.
Servo action on the auto-leveling is a little slow, but totally acceptable.

I saw a subcontractor with a similar item and he paid over $200 for it. This unit does the same thing for far less. I first used it to level out a 5 ft entry door and I could not believe how much time it saved me. Now I use it for interior doors and cabinet hanging. I've used the vertical line to line up railing balusters and interior columns. The horizontal line is great for wall tile. Great tool for the pro contractor. I don't leave home without it!

I bought this to replace a Craftsman model I have had for more than five years. The one thing I think is lacking in this one is that the self level does not seems to lock for travel. I can see it beaten up while bouncing around tool boxes. Other than that it does everything I want it to. More often than not that is hanging pictures for the wife.

I hesitated buying this after some negative feedback but after buying and using it I don't see any reason to complain. You need to take the rubber hood off to replace the batteries - yes, takes about 2 seconds to remove and 3 seconds to replace. Difficult to mount on a tripod because the socket is recessed? I didn't have a problem mounting it on a tripod. As for accuracy and brightness, plenty accurate and plenty bright for indoor work. You probably don't want a very bright, very sharp laser line because you may accidentally blind yourself.

I do agree that the carry bag should be big enough to carry the mini tripod it comes with. But, I couldn't find much of a use for the mini tripod anyway. You'll need a good quality, sturdy tripod which raises the unit to the correct height to make this a practical tool. With the tripod on the carpet, walking around in the room made the line wiggle quite a bit. A solid, heavy tripod will reduce this problem.

With the plumb line I was able to straighten out a wall of framed photographs in minutes. As for accuracy, I don't really see the obsession with acquiring a fraction of a degree of level for carpentry work. You aren't going to see 0.01 or even 0.04 errors with your eye anyway - although it's nice to dream.

I have not tested the accuracy yet but for what this laser can do it is great. You get a quick level for anything that need to be level on a job. Furthermore you get the vertical and horizontal if you need it like for tiling walls. So far I am pretty happy with the product and it is quite cheap.