The $40 laser level I laughed at now stays in the truck every day

I used to think those cheap green laser levels were gimmicks, especially after my neighbor bought one and it was useless outside in the sun. But last month I had to hang 14 cabinets solo in a kitchen remodel near Austin and my old string line setup kept eating up time. I grabbed a $40 class 2 laser from the big box store, just to shut the guy at the counter up, and honestly it leveled everything to within a quarter inch on the first pass. The kicker was when the homeowner walked in and asked if I used a transit, I told her it was a toy from the clearance rack. Now I use it for every baseboard run and even some deck framing, beats pulling chalk lines in the wind. Has anyone else found a budget tool that ended up replacing their tried and true method, or is it just me? I'm curious if the more expensive rotary lasers are that much better for outdoor work since I'm considering one for fence posts.

2 comments

2 Comments

alicer531mo ago

Wait, are you sure it was actually a class 2 laser? Most of those cheap green ones are class 3R, which is a whole different safety rating, but yeah the price point is hard to beat for indoor stuff.

young.thomas1mo ago

Hold on, you're telling me that little $40 thing might actually be a class 3R? That honestly changes everything for me, I never even thought to check the label before I started using it indoors all week.