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Thinking About Buy A Laser Level.


johnn_h

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Hello there .

I´ve seen many topics talking about laser levels and how much time i can save with them.

Yesterday i was working on some templates and stucked on the neck cavity part ( centering , aligning , setting the perfect position to make the neck pocket. )

Faced with boring and one-eyed-looking ways of find the center line correct , i decided to buy a cheap one for me.

i´ve looked some pictures about bridge centering and neck preparing ( on myka´s neckjig too ) and couldnt realize if the laser line reaches lower levels, like the height differences from the neck and the body.

Im also looking for advices of how to use it properly.

Thanks.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Here is how I use mine. I made a jig based on Myka's and set the laser level on my plastic router bottom plate which stradles the "fences" . Make sure the laser lines up with your centerline from the nut to the butt of the guitar. I use a business card with a vertical line drawn on it to line up with the center of the neck at the nut. To answer your question the laser does reach lower levels to an extent.

1VRneckalignmentwithlaser.jpg

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Ya, the laser is great for lining up certain things, like the neck.

But for other things, like what you're trying to do, I like to use one of those --don't know what they're called-- angle measuring thingamajigs...ah, yeah, it's called a protractor:

367447_sk_lg.jpg

You line the arrows up on your center line (there's even a hole there so you end up with four alignment points) and can then use the straightedge for marking out the pickup holes etc. It's also really helpful for finding the center line (like, if you've lost it because you sanded where you shouldn't have...)

The laser isn't really accurate enough--my laser's line is too thick. And you have to have things clamped down when you're working with it, since the slightest movement throws everything off.

With the protractor you can get more accurate--I use a mechanical pencil with a 0.5 millimeter lead-- the laser line is easily 2 mm.

On the other hand, the laser works great for lining up the neck. I place the laser higher up than the body, with the light pointing down a bit--there's no problem getting the line on all surfaces. Oh yeah, it really helps to work in a semi-darkened room too.

Look for a metal protractor, it's more accurate than the plastic type (as shown) because the metal is thinner and the markers are clearer.

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