Aldi bargain laser level

I love a bargain and this morning I picked up this laser level and tripod for £3.49 at the local Aldi store. Should be £14.99. It's not very sturdy but could come in handy as a camera tripod, just needs a little thread converter making from the weird 5/8" x 13tpi to 1/4" x20tpi. UK only they must be getting rid of the stock I think.

It would be a good buy at the recommended price, but £3.49 is brilliant.

Last week picked up two pairs of work trousers reduced at Aldi. £2.99 a pair.... well worth looking at their reduced stock.. John

Sadly, after a lifetime of over indulgence, they do not keep them in my size ………. !

£18,000!!!! Wow! Quick question is the 5/8" x 13 a standard thread for survey equipment?

The instructions are pretty good as to getting it level, but I'm not bothered because I am pretty certain I won't be using it as a laser level! For £3.49 I got a cheap and cheerful tripod which I can use for my camera or phone, and a spirit level (with a built in laser beam!) and the bubble has a built in magnifier too which is cool.

Last week they had the last one of their table top band saws in a battered box, I was going to ask the price but I haven't got the room for a band saw. It probably would have sold for 20 quid or so too!

Ian

Thread mystery solved! I checked it again and paid a bit more attention this time! It's actually a very bad cast plastic M16 x 2mm pitch at 15.25 mm dia nowhere near 16mm or 5/8" diameter come to think of it!

I wrongly assumed tripod fittings were imperial thread sizes like camera mounts. Although I am pretty certain I machined an adaptor for theodolite survey posts, which were used to check a massive bridge being built locally, which had a 5/8" UNC stud on top of them to accept a 1/4" x 20 camera mount many years ago.

Ian

Its a laser pointer with a bubble level and not a precision instrument if you only rely on the bubble.

I used one to determine the levels for the storm water drainage piping around my house and because it was on fairly flat land, could only achieve a fall of 1 in 100. Prior to using the laser, I used a length of clear plastic tube, filled with water to mark datum points at several positions around my house and used these points as targets for aligning the laser. Then I could swing the laser between the datum points and measure the depth to the trench for the water pipe.

After the pipes were installed, a council building inspector told me it had to be checked by a certified surveyor. Luckily the cheap laser level and water filled tube did their job and the project was passed.

Paul.

Aldi do have bargains from time to time but this set of rubbish is not one of them...even at 3.49 it's a waste of money and there is ZERO chance of either 'eve; or 'tripod' ever being used for anything meaningfull........

..........If you are desperate to spend money in Aldi while herself is gtting the groceries then do yourself a favour and buy the set of crochet hooks for £2.99 as there is at least a chance that they may come in handy at some point.

Yes it is rubbish but I suppose we all buy some rubbish at some point in our lives, last week I bought a pack of 'Deluxe' biscuits ... I ate one and they were disgusting so the rest went in the bin! 3 quid wasted! I can guarantee the tripod and level will last a lot longer and be more useful than the biscuits, and probably taste nicer too!

That method is excellent wherever it can actually be used (i.e. where there's a useable low point for the U. Gravity is delightfully consistent and it doesn't matter what mix of tube diameters you use.

I was given a similar laser 'level' years ago and it is cheap and nasty BUT still useful and better than trying to do the same thing with a laser screen pointer. When the alternative is bits of saggy string and wooden pegs, it makes itself useful. And I can always check and re-check.

Members really should be more realistic when expecting 'high professional standards' in every aspect of DIY (unless they have money to burn). Cupboards full of posh equipment that was used once and never since, are really not good value for money, Hire shops can cost you a lot but it's often the best way to get use of fancy gear. You just have to get over feeling offended by the cost.

That brings back memories.

When I was 10 years old my fathers foreman ganger used to let me sight down the boning rods when drain laying.

Salt glazed drains with cement joints..

Datums were set with a Cowley level.

Still would not mess about with a laser if there was 2 of us.

Still got the dumpy level & staff he let me buy for my own use when I was 16. An antique now I suspect.

If a building surveyor told me that i had to have a "certified surveyor" to check my drains I would have told him to get stuffed- (Regardless of the fact I am qualified anyway, it would not matter)

One of the questions I used to ask site foremen when interviewing them was, "Can you use a dumpy level" Answer " yes" - OK

Do you know how to check it for accuracy? That used to stump some of them & I suspect that lasers, when hired, borrowed etc. would not necessarily be accurate. Most would just assume they are. But hired equipment gets abused.

I have never used one in anger; but if i did I would know how to check it.

I wonder if others have had the problem- is it an issue with lasers?

So here is a question for you.

How would one check a "hired in" laser for accuracy prior to use?

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 14/07/2019 07:30:33

I wish posters would refrain from including a group of capital letters in their post which mean absolutely nothing to me! Am I the only one that doesn't understand these things. I'm assuming it's 'text speak', but this isn't texting is it?

Sam,

I only had a home builders certificate and had to comply with the council inspectors request, otherwise they would not approve the completion of our house. Sometimes you have to do as they say and keep quiet. Fortunately I knew of a surveyor who lived nearby who did the job at a fair price.

Yes, the laser is a cheap and nasty piece of equipment but if used to its level of precision (pardon the pun) can be useful. I have also used it to set the heights for the boundary fences. Better that a string line which sags in the middle. One of its main faults is that it is hard to see the laser dot in bright light. OK on a white background if shaded from the sun.

Paul

OK, OK, OK.

I thought everyone would understand that particular grouping of two letters!

BUT, it is still good to befuddle those that just reply without really having a clue of the topic under discussion. But, yes, acronyms should be accompanied by the real full wording on the first occasion of use. Now, how often have I needed to back-track in a report because I missed the first occurrence? More times than I could possibly remember...

Yep, I understand OK, but what the hell does FIIK mean?

Google Urban dictionary should help.

HTH & ATB,

Daniel

Standard Instrument securing thread in the UK is 5/8" x 11 Tpi. Whit. form. There is another US style at 11/16 " x 11 Tpi. This is mainly used in Aircraft building, test equipment.. Also some military applications, just to be awkward I think.

**LINK** Hi RMA, notice the wording in brackets, helps to make your own mind up.

Regards Nick.

That's the wonderful thing about standards. You can have as many as you want.

Thanks for the pointers folks, but I'm assuming most of us on here are beyond a certain age and don't use trendy 'language' obviously found to be necessary by the younger population. I certainly don't intend to learn it now, I'll just ignore the posts that contain it! There must be better ways to recapture your youth, another topic maybe for the tea room?

Apologies for going off topic.