I am doing a rather challenging project in an old home where the floors
were laid on a web of small joists supported on beams which are
basically complete trees with a flat side adzed along the length.
During the last 150 years, the lumber has copped an attitude of its own
and has become very creative in its non-levelness.
To attempt to correct this washboard/minigolf, I decided to snap a
chalk-line grid on the floor of 12" squares and that way measure the
elevation at each intersection relative to a level plane shot across the
floor with a laser. I transfer the elevation differences to the side of
2x4's and bandsaw them to fit the wobbles and valleys etc. I have used
this method in an office in Toronto before with great success, using my
dumpy level, and the end result was a very solid floor without too much
increase in height... now I want a decent laser. The client goes along
with the budget, Rob is happy, Rob gets a new toy, Rob gets to do a
goofy project.
Off I go to The Borg (Orange) and start checking claims on the displays
and I then check as much as I can on Google.... Back to HD...I want
something simple, self levelling, small, and something that puts the
beam as close to the floor as possible. I luck out on getting the help
of a very friendly lady who is not afraid to rip open packages of
batteries, so we can play with these things in the store.
Final bake-off happens between two lasers, exactly $100 apart. Both low
enough to the ground to make me happy.
The one with the thinnest line is going to be it.... we turn them both
on at the same time...and the Black & Decker BDL310S Crossfire wins it
hands-down over a Johnson Acculine Model 40-6620 for $ 100.00 more.
Goes to show ya...
Robatoy wrote:
> I am doing a rather challenging project in an old home where the floors
> were laid on a web of small joists supported on beams which are
> basically complete trees with a flat side adzed along the length.
>
> During the last 150 years, the lumber has copped an attitude of its own
> and has become very creative in its non-levelness.
>
> To attempt to correct this washboard/minigolf, I decided to snap a
> chalk-line grid on the floor of 12" squares and that way measure the
> elevation at each intersection relative to a level plane shot across the
> floor with a laser. I transfer the elevation differences to the side of
> 2x4's and bandsaw them to fit the wobbles and valleys etc. I have used
> this method in an office in Toronto before with great success, using my
> dumpy level, and the end result was a very solid floor without too much
> increase in height... now I want a decent laser. The client goes along
> with the budget, Rob is happy, Rob gets a new toy, Rob gets to do a
> goofy project.
>
> Off I go to The Borg (Orange) and start checking claims on the displays
> and I then check as much as I can on Google.... Back to HD...I want
> something simple, self levelling, small, and something that puts the
> beam as close to the floor as possible. I luck out on getting the help
> of a very friendly lady who is not afraid to rip open packages of
> batteries, so we can play with these things in the store.
>
> Final bake-off happens between two lasers, exactly $100 apart. Both low
> enough to the ground to make me happy.
>
> The one with the thinnest line is going to be it.... we turn them both
> on at the same time...and the Black & Decker BDL310S Crossfire wins it
> hands-down over a Johnson Acculine Model 40-6620 for $ 100.00 more.
>
> Goes to show ya...
I have occasion to do similar projects with great frequency. The PC
laser is superb for such applications.
http://cgi.ebay.com/RoboToolz-Self-Leveling-Laser-Level-NEW-RT-7210-1_W0QQitemZ4448037551QQcategoryZ20765QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
It's around $200 but worth every penny. The remote control is
amazingly useful. The laser follows you around as you walk around the
project - far more useful than having to go back to the tripod to swing
the beam around.
BTW, the width of the point of light is not really a factor in most
applications. If you mark the center of the point of light it'll be as
accurate as you'll ever need it to be.
R
Robatoy (in [email protected])
said:
| In article <[email protected]>,
| "Owen Lawrence" <[email protected]> wrote:
|
|| Why not just lay
|| the 2x4 across the floor and draw a pencil line along it while
|| keeping the pencil tip against a vertical stick that you drag on
|| the floor?
|
| ...and how do I get a laser out of that? <G>
You could use one of those nifty ball point pens with a laser built
into the barrel. :-D
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto
Robatoy (in [email protected])
said:
| In article <[email protected]>,
| "Morris Dovey" <[email protected]> wrote:
|
|| Robatoy (in [email protected])
|| said:
||
||| In article <[email protected]>,
||| "Owen Lawrence" <[email protected]> wrote:
|||
|||| Why not just lay
|||| the 2x4 across the floor and draw a pencil line along it while
|||| keeping the pencil tip against a vertical stick that you drag on
|||| the floor?
|||
||| ...and how do I get a laser out of that? <G>
||
|| You could use one of those nifty ball point pens with a laser built
|| into the barrel. :-D
||
| Are they running hot enough to mark the 2x4?
Let's hope not. The real trick with these will be to use the pen end
to mark the tubafur while you're using the laser end to indicate where
the mark goes. Tough to do unless you're relatively (pun intended)
spry. Probably better to buy two of 'em so you'll have a backup.
On the other hand, if you did get a _really_ high-power laser, you
could simply use it to burn off the high spots...
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto
> To attempt to correct this washboard/minigolf, I decided to snap a
> chalk-line grid on the floor of 12" squares and that way measure the
> elevation at each intersection relative to a level plane shot across the
> floor with a laser. I transfer the elevation differences to the side of
> 2x4's and bandsaw them to fit the wobbles and valleys etc. I have used
> this method in an office in Toronto before with great success, using my
> dumpy level, and the end result was a very solid floor without too much
> increase in height... now I want a decent laser. The client goes along
> with the budget, Rob is happy, Rob gets a new toy, Rob gets to do a
> goofy project.
Being a laser nut myself I appreciate your desire for a new toy. But
transferring measurements seems like an awful lot of work. Why not just lay
the 2x4 across the floor and draw a pencil line along it while keeping the
pencil tip against a vertical stick that you drag on the floor? Or am I
misunderstanding what you're doing?
- Owen -
In article <[email protected]>,
"Owen Lawrence" <[email protected]> wrote:
> And
> because you're using a laser your work automatically becomes more accurate.
<G>... my pencil lines are way finer than any laser I have seen, so this
must be Tongue-In-Cheek.
In article <[email protected]>,
"Owen Lawrence" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Why not just lay
> the 2x4 across the floor and draw a pencil line along it while keeping the
> pencil tip against a vertical stick that you drag on the floor?
...and how do I get a laser out of that? <G>
In article <[email protected]>,
"Morris Dovey" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Robatoy (in [email protected])
> said:
>
> | In article <[email protected]>,
> | "Owen Lawrence" <[email protected]> wrote:
> |
> || Why not just lay
> || the 2x4 across the floor and draw a pencil line along it while
> || keeping the pencil tip against a vertical stick that you drag on
> || the floor?
> |
> | ...and how do I get a laser out of that? <G>
>
> You could use one of those nifty ball point pens with a laser built
> into the barrel. :-D
>
Are they running hot enough to mark the 2x4?
>> Why not just lay
>> the 2x4 across the floor and draw a pencil line along it while keeping
>> the
>> pencil tip against a vertical stick that you drag on the floor?
>
> ...and how do I get a laser out of that? <G>
Okay swap out the pencil for a burning laser head. You'll need to mount a
laser somewhere on your bandsaw, too, if it doesn't already have one. And
because you're using a laser your work automatically becomes more accurate.
Make a hologram of your finished work and post it to a.b.h.w.
- Owen -