Laser level seemed like a gimmick, now I can't work without it

I remember when my buddy Dave showed up with a $90 green laser level at his shop outside Austin, I laughed and said my 4 foot bubble level was fine. Then we had to build a 14 foot run of upper cabs with a sloped ceiling, and that thing had us dead nuts on the first try where I would've spent an hour with shims and a string. Now I use it for everything from marking hinge holes to checking if a toe kick is even, and honestly my layout time is half what it was. The only catch is the batteries drain if you leave it in the truck in July heat, so I keep spares in the drawer. Anyone else talk trash about a tool and then get converted within a week?

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ray_king23d ago

My neighbor spent $120 on one of those laser dealies back in 2018 and we fought for an hour trying to get it to show a line on a sunny day. The beam was so faint we basically had to stand in the dark, and then the batteries died halfway through hanging a single door. I've hung hundreds of cabinets with a bubble level and a straight edge, and I can tell you the old way teaches you to actually think about what you're doing instead of just trusting a little red dot. Plus, that thing is useless when you're working outside in the Texas sun, which is about half my jobs. I'll keep my trusty level and my shims, thanks.

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