HAMMERHEAD HLCL01 Compact Self-Leveling Cross Line Laser with Clamp

What a great tool. I saw this in a youtube video before I started my DIY shower re-tile project. I've done two tile projects before so I instantly knew how valuable this tool would be. Tiling a three-sided shower wall is a 3-dimensional problem. I'm using 4"x12" tile so my walls need to be fairly flat. In the past I'd try to use 4' levels to assess flatness... it can be done, but it's slow and still quite subjective. This tool gives you an easy to see line that runs from floor to ceiling.I didn't want to buy any fancy adjustable stand to hold this line level, so I was hoping that I'd be able to use something like a cheap tripod. Yup, I found that I could use the levels clamp (with two articulating joints) to clamp onto one of the legs of the tripod, or the center post. Sometimes, I just laid the level on the shower niche (while tiling). Sometimes I could clamp the level to the door to the bathroom. Once I even clamped it to a 2x2 piece of lumber and just leaned that up against the shower wall.The nice feature of this level that makes it so easy to set up in all these different ways, is that you only have to get close to level to begin, and it then floats itself to level. If you don't have it close enough, the laser keeps blinking (and a light on top goes from green to red). You quickly learn that it only takes 1-3 seconds to re-adjust to get it close enough... very easy.You do have to be careful to remember that you're dealing with 3-dimensions. For example, if you're running tile and you want to use this to establish a vertical line reference. Let's say that you can't get the laser level located square off the wall you're working on. Maybe, the only place you can set up the laser level is 45-60 degree off to the side. You think you're looking at a vertical line, but if the wall is bowed from top to bottom then the laser line will bend away from vertical as it hits that bowed wall.I couldn't find any other potential problems with this laser, and it worked so well that my confidence went sky high because I always knew where my tiles were headed. Using this tool I was easily able to measure all three walls and knew exactly how square they were to vertical, and square to each other. I always checked my self as I went along, laying tile, but the measurements held up throughout. So, finally I started adjusting the tile gaps slightly, knowing that the outside corner wall edge was not perfectly vertical and I could play with the edge of the last tiles to follow that wall edge a bit.Fantastic tool. It had a few different modes, but I just used the on and off button... all I needed was a vertical and horizontal line reference and it did that easily and perfectly.

UPDATE: in the year of whoever you believe in 2023, this thing works just as well as when it was brand new. and i still use it, too! it was a very worthwhile purchase as i’ve moved a number of times, and i have a TON of frames so this comes in real handy.—————————————OG 2017 REVIEW:I got this to do some gallery walls and MAN it has come in far more handy than I expected it to be! So useful! It makes handing frames requiring more than one hook a BREEZE. The batteries that came with it lasted long enough (I have a tendency to just leave this thing on for hours at a time) - one thing that may have been mentioned in the manual (I'm not sure - so I'm mentioning it here) is that if the crosshairs just keep blinking, as if you're not within the "level" range - it could be the batteries need replacing. I was losing my mind for about 20 minutes trying to figure out why it wouldn't level and kept blinking - sure enough, changed the batteries - and back to normal.The clamp that came with it is super useful for high places too! Otherwise, I just use a cheap camera tripod I got from a thrift store some years back. LOVE THIS LIL GUY! Impressive quality too, and usually I just prefer Dewalt products over anything else. But this has been very impressive for the price. Highly recommend it.Also, I recently used this to drill holes for anchoring furniture to the walls. I decided to literally chain a couple of record shelves to the wall with gold chains because I like how it looks. I have two matching shelves on both sides of a credenza and I had to have the anchors (giant hook eyes) level across the whole wall, and this laser was PERFECT for that. It makes everything so easy! I had done the first bookshelf before getting the matching one, and BEFORE getting this laser - and I ended up drilling and anchoring only for it to somehow still be uneven (because walls are never perfect) and ended up having to spackle all and do it over and over again. By the time I got the second shelf, I had this laser, and it took maybe 45 minutes altogether (I had to paint the anchors gold to match the chains - I'll add some pictures someday, I'm sure I'm not doing a great job describing it). Anyway - this laser is a serious time saver.

For the money, this is very good value for those persons who plan to use this product for many DIY'er projects. Having read reviews from a similarly priced product I chose the Hammerhead due to the accuracy and fastening system in particular. I found the mount to be secure and easy to use for setup unlike the competitor's. I initially share the concern of one reviewer who discussed the lack of a locking mechanism for the self leveling unit. However, I admit that the product reached me in good condition despite the corner of the product box being crushed, I presume from dropping. I first tested the product in my shop which is brightly lit with overhead florescent lighting - the laser line was barely visible. I can see where someone would say it's worthless for outdoor use. It performed well with lower lighting. Accuracy seemed to be very good when comparing the laser line to my 4' bubble level. Overall use is simple and I'd recommend this to anyone who needs a low priced and reasonably accurate level for DIY projects, such as cabinet installation, picture hanging, etc. I'm not sure about the sturdiness of the unit as yet. My first use of the unit will be after driving 4 hours to my sister's house to install kitchen cabinets. It survived USPS handling so I expect it will survive my 4 hour drive. The self leveling feature seems to be locked when the unit is turned off, however, the manufacturer's instructions warn against shock and continuous vibration, so a bit more clarity from the Manufacturer would be helpful in knowing the limitations of use.