Mocked a guy for using laser guide on his install. Now I own one after 15 years in the trade.

I was working a big freight door job in Seattle a few months back with a younger guy. He pulls out this laser guide to mark his rail brackets, and I laughed at him. Told him my eyeball and a level were good enough, been doing it since '08. Then I spent an extra hour re-drilling three holes because my marks were off by 1/8 inch. Next day I bought a Klein laser level off the truck. Has anyone else here switched to lasers after swearing them off for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

evannelson27d ago

Yeah I gotta say I see it a little different man. I mean I get it, lasers are cool and all that and they save time when you're working alone or in a tight spot. But I've been doing this for almost 20 years now and my eyeball still gets me within a 16th every time if I'm paying attention. Lasers break when you drop them off a ladder or when dust gets in the lens and then you're stuck with a dead tool. I've seen guys rely on them so heavy they can't even square up a doorframe without beaming a line first. There's something to be said for learning to trust your hands and your eye before you let the tech do the thinking for you.

the_olivia27d ago

Oh I remember reading something a while back about how these younger guys coming into the trade don't even get taught basic layout anymore because everything is digital now. It's a real shame because I've seen too many jobs go sideways when a battery dies halfway through and nobody knows how to snap a chalk line. There's nothing wrong with using a laser once you've got the fundamentals down, but you can't skip the step of learning to trust your own two hands first.