A few companies have come up with innovative stick-laser products. Checkpoint Laser makes high-end torpedo levels with laser diodes inside solid aluminum bodies. Checkpoint president Jim Webb reasons that everyone carries a torpedo anyway, so why not increase the tool's usefulness with a laser? The bubbles are standard 45-arc-minute vials, but an optional 15-arc-second vial provides 60 times more accuracy.

Zircon's stick laser finds level for you, or at least tells you which way to move the tool in order to get there. The Laservision X uses a carefully oriented and calibrated electronic sensor to display lines on an LCD screen mounted on the side of the tool. The lines tell you which way to go to find level, and notify you when you get there. In laser mode, accuracy is resolved to 1.4-arc-minutes, which translates to about 1/8-inch at 50 feet. Users can easily recalibrate the tool in the field. The sensor's design lets you turn the tool 90 degrees and find plumb with just as much accuracy.

Levelite now makes a stick laser as well, one that incorporates the company's trademark pendulum technology. The FastLevel, accurate to within 1 arc-minute in 60 feet (or better than 1/4-inch), starts out with the beam aligned carefully with the edges of the rail. But flip a lever, and the diode inside swings freely to find level on its own. Stabila's stick laser, the 80LMX-P+L, shoots a horizontal dot and vertical line that's accurate to within 1/4-inch at 100 feet.

Line Projectors

Dot-spreading optics have been around for a while, but some recent tools make the function more useful. Zircon has a new family of line tools: the Plumb Pyramid, which throws a self-leveled plumb line; the Horizon, which projects a level line; and the Horizon, which shoots plumb and level lines at once to make a grid on the wall. You can use the plumb line to "paint" a line on the ceiling or floor for aligning lights or flooring. Put the Horizon tool in the corner of a room and you'll cover most of it with a level reference. The Horizon+ is great for wall-covering layouts.

Levelite, long known for dot lasers, now offers an accessory that spreads two dots into right-angle lines on the floor. This opens up a ton of layout options. Snapped chalk lines disappear quickly under mortar and tile, but the laser line is always on top.

Rotating Lasers

While visiting Laser Reference I spoke with engineers about rotating lasers and their applications. There are lots of ways to use this level line on a site, but you've got to trust that the line is actually level. Rotating lasers divide neatly into four categories based on line-leveling systems.

Manual leveling. These tools are the simplest rotating lasers. They use just three components to find level – bubble vials, knobs that change the tool's angle, and the user. Twist the knobs until the bubbles read level in both directions, turn the tool on, and you're in business. Carefully check these tools' accuracy specs; most are suitable only for indoor work up to 35 feet away from the tool.

If you do a lot of work in small spaces, a manual-leveling rotator can be a good option. Just remember to check the bubbles frequently. If someone bumps your tripod, the laser could project a sloped line. If your work requires accuracy at a greater distance, consider moving up to one of the most sophisticated models. Manual-leveling rotating lasers generally cost between $280 and $700.