One of the guys here at work brought in a laser level he got as part of his inheritance, and he can’t figure out how it works. The axis of the laser is some little distance above the bottom of the level. So if you set the level on a table top, for instance, the dot on the wall woudl be about a quarter inch above the tabletop.
So how are you supposed to use this thing?
One of two possibilities depending on how the laser self levels itsef. It may be intended to rotate in a horizontal plane allowing a line to be marked on every wall at the same level or he’s actually got it sideways and it should go flat against a vertical wall.
My laser level can be oriented vertically or horizontally; in any case, yes, there is an offset, and you just need to account for that. If you wanted to have a hole in a wall level with a table top, you set the laser beam level with the table, not the body of the level.
My level also has two settings; one is a crosshair setting that can be set up at an angle to the wall so that a line will run the length of the wall – very handy
ARRGH!!! That last one should have read “very handy when making a series of holes at the same level.”
Advise your friend to contact the manufacturer, either by mail or online, and request an owner’s manual for the device. He or she may well discover numerous applications and features previously unknown.
I’ve bought many tools at country and online auctions, and an owner’s manual is step one, unless it is included with the purchase.