V
12

Warning: Manual layout saved me 3 hours over laser mapping on a 50-foot tank seam

I tried using a laser layout tool on a big tank job last month in Phoenix and ended up chasing shadows all day. Switched back to a chalk line and trammel points from an old-timer on the crew and had it laid out perfect in 2 hours. Anyone else run into laser issues on curved surfaces or was it just my bad luck with the tool?}
3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
3 Comments
karen_carter
karen_carter12d agoTop Commenter
Buddy of mine out in El Paso had the exact same problem last spring. He was renting a brand new Hilti laser kit for a 60-foot tank bottom and the thing kept ghosting on him because of the reflection off the brushed steel. The old foreman on the job just laughed, grabbed a soapstone and a piece of string, and had the whole thing marked out in under an hour while my friend was still trying to reset the tripod. He said the laser ended up costing him more time than it saved and he hasn't touched one since for anything curved.
4
miasanchez
miasanchez12d ago
Respectfully gotta disagree, lasers are great if you dial them in right.
4
paige_robinson24
Did you try adjusting the pulse rate on your laser or was it just a straight up reflection issue? I've seen guys in Tucson fight the same problem with those green beam lasers on stainless, the glare makes them worthless in direct sun. What brand of laser were you running?
2