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 ………. !

For £3.49 you have a definate bargain & YES, in the 80's I clearly remember authorising the purchase of an £18k laser level.

5/8" X 13 thread ??? FIIK ???

I've just bought a 300mm 'magic arm' to mount my wildlife cam. It cost just a few pence more than your tripod, yet I don't have anything useless attached to the purchase to throw away?

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

At 60 I guess I am one of the younger population, but wonder how many on this forum actually pre-date these acronyms? Famously "OMG" was used by Admiral Fisher in 1917 (although he helpfully put "Oh! my God" in brackets afterward), FUBAR and SNAFU go back to the 1940s, and RTFM to the late 70s, predating even Usenet and FAQ.

Brian