Black & Decker BDL310S Projected Crossfire Auto Level Laser

Customer Reviews

BDL310S laser level - Good value with some minor shortcomings

2008-03-29
This is a very good product for the "do it yourself" folks and will come in handy for many home improvment projects. I used it for installing drop ceiling in our basement and it made the job much easier. The unit is compact and has a flat base which allows it to be placed on pretty much anywhere. I was disappointed that the hanging strap is not included in the package, which would be very useful for drop ceilings etc. I improvised by mounting the wall mount frame on to a piece of 1X6 and then attaching the 1X6 to the joists. This allowed me to use the rack & pinion system to adjust the height accurately. The laser beam is not very powerful. It gets fuzzy at longer distances. Overall, a good value for the price.

Very nice auto level laser

2008-02-17
Easy to use. Very adaptable to a variety of situations. Great with both horizontal and vertical modes or even both at the same time.

BDL310S v. BDL170

2007-11-02
This is a great product with 2 comments that would've made it a 5 out of 5. The first was mentioned in another review which is that the nut that a tripod screw is supposed to engage is recessed too far. I have 2 tripods, neither of which could reach. The saving grace here is that the bottom has a magnet in it so I was able to set it on the tripod somewhat securely. The second is that it would've been nice to have been able to lock down the self leveling laser (basically the laser is hung freely in the case)so that if you wanted to sight it on an angle you wouldn't get the dotted line laser telling you it's not level. You can work around this.
I was going back and forth between this device and the BDL170 and am happy I got this one. I used it for the first time to put up a chair rail around the room that still had furniture in it and across windows with trim. I was able to move the tripod w laser to various spots, rotate the laser to get the next section after resetting the height to the last section (I was on a rug so height varied) and when i got back to where i started it was dead on. I'd still be measuring and compromising (and not writing this review) had I not had this tool.

I don't know how I would've done this with the BLD170, particularly when it came to going across the window trim (which is raised from the wall) since it would've broken line of site for a device flush with the wall.

To net it out, I'm very happy with this tool. and if you're doing corners or adjacent walls with the same line and there is anything on the wall to break line of site (like raised trim), this is the better unit. And you can do non-level lines with a little fanagling(sp?).

Many uses

2007-08-06
I needed a laser level that had both horizontal and vertical lines and this one fits the bill. There are several ways to place it with the included mounting stand or use it by itself. You can sit it on a stand, table or tripod. You can also mount it on the wall with the 2 built in pins or hang it from a nail. It also has a hook to hang it from the ceiling. Try using the stand then place it across the room. You can then adjust the vertical line with the knobs on the stand. You can also adjust the horizontal line up or down by about 4 inches. You can also aim it into a corner and it will show on both walls. It has a bright solid line. If the line is broken or dashed then the unit itself is not level. I am finding more uses for this laser all the time and you probably will too.

Hanging a Suspended Ceiling

2007-04-02
I used the product to hang a suspended ceiling and to make the ceiling level. I hung the laser in the center of the room at the desired height and went to work. No drawing lines, no strings. Very easy to use.

Handy for new homeowner

2008-07-26
I bought this on an Amazon Gold Box deal just before moving into a new house and it's turned out to be money well-spent. It is easy to use and can save a huge amount of time and frustration when you have objects that need to be hung on a wall in either horizontal or vertical alignment (or both). I've used it indoors in every room and outdoors in covered areas like the front porch.

There is one design flaw, however, that takes off a star: as noted elsewhere, the screw threads in the tripod mounting hole are just out of reach of the stubby standard screws found on most tripod heads. It would appear that the designers failed to take into account that the black rubberized shell would add about 1/16" to the depth of the recessed hole.

It's not a professional tool, but is more than adequate for occasional use around the home.

A great product

2008-06-04
This product was invaluable to my husband when he tiled around our bathroom sink, he did a great job.

Great tool, great price

2008-05-09
Works great, lines show up great even in sunlit filled room.

Very handy for hanging multiple pictures at the same level.

Only downside is small pinholes left in drywall, but they are very hard to notice.

Nice little unit

2008-04-26
This isn't the be-all and end-all of laser levels, but for the price it's a very nice unit. The out-of-level indicator that interrupts the laser beam when the unit is tilted too far to accurately self-level is a great feature which makes hand-holding reasonable for many tasks. This is good because the thing is otherwise a bit difficult to get into perfect position. To cast a horizontal beam, you essentially have to place the level at the exact height you want. There's an elevator adjustment on the mount that goes through a range of about six inches, but you need to get the unit mounted within that range on your own. I tried to use the tripod mount screw hole, but for some reason it doesn't fit with either of the camera tripods I have at home. The positive magnetic engagement with the mounting base is another nice feature. Still, I'm happy with it and would recommend it.

Good for very infrequent occasions

2008-04-18
I really am trying to love this level.. but I keep trying to use it in these certain situations that make it completely useless. I don't want to poke a bunch of holes in my freshly painted walls (the level lets you poke holes in walls to hang it).. so I am forced to stack it on chairs to get this thing to be of any use. What this thing should be able to do is point the horizontal laser up and down. So that you could have it set on a counter at 5 feet.. and point the horizontal laser up to the opposing wall at 7 feet. Unfortunately.. you can't even try to angle it up as the shielding will block the laser. Very frustrating.. I've found I've just stuck with my good ol' bubble level in 4 out of 5 cases.

Also, the thing is super delicate when on its mounting platform.. any kind of touch will knock it off line and you have to re-finetune the positioning... it's just not that professional of a laser level if you ask me.