Laser Level - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

5-26-2004

Laser Level

Laser Level
By: Amy Jacquin

It's time for us to level with you. To give you some straight talk. It's about a product promising to shoot a beam of light down the wall, called the Black and Decker Laser Level.

It has a magnet on the bottom. You attach the base, and it turns to open this little tripod stand, which can be used for floor work. There's also another base attachment, that you can stick into drywall so you can use a hands-free method of hanging pictures.

We decided not to poke new holes into the drywall at the station, so she just holds it instead. "You flip it on it's side, turn it on, and there's the beam!" exclaims Amy the first time she turns it on. "The beam has no trouble going around an inside corner, but as you can see, it will not go around an outside corner."

We test it several more times, and have no trouble seeing the line of light. If you have to go around something already on the wall, like a picture, or a window, it does cause the line to break-up. But that just follows the law of physics, explaining why the line can't "hug" an outside corner, too.

Directors say there is some laser radiation, so you're not supposed to look directly into the beam when using the laser level. The laser travels for quite a distance on a straight wall, but fade away quickly after turning a corner. However, it does give you a reference point, and would be useful when hanging things on more than one wall. So the $29 Black and Decker laser level tops out at an A.