When I do a lot of interior work I need lines. Lots and lots of lines. Square lines, level lines and set lines. Since modern technology has developed the laser, it slowly has come to use into the construction field. So now we use lasers more often than using chalk lines. But laser levels can be well over $500 for top of the line models, while cheaper models are unsatisfactory and break too easily.
This is where Stanley’s FatMax™ Laser Level Square comes into play. It’s designed to be not too expensive (around $120) and still be productive enough to warrant its use in everyday construction and home project use. This is where Stanley went wrong.
I found that the price was way more than I wanted to spend on a hand held laser level. At nearly $120 a pop, I was hesitant. But after a few minutes of hemming and hawing, I took the FatMax™ Laser Level Square to the checkout line of my local home improvement center.
Once I got the FatMax™ Laser Level Square home and unwrapped from its package, I immediately started to play around with it. Right away I realized it didn’t point the laser like I thought it would. The FatMax™ Laser Level Square comes with two reusable packages of mounting putty to hold the laser level in place. What a joke. I think silly putty would have worked better. After a few minutes the putty began to move and my laser line was instantly changed. It really didn’t do its job at all.
The laser beam itself was pretty strong and bright. After I figured out how to secure the laser level where I needed it, I did find that the laser was very bright. I took it out outside in full sun to see how bright the laser was. I was not impressed. The three AAA batteries may have seemed bright indoors, but outside was a different story. I could barely see the laser a few feet from the FatMax™ Laser Level Square. Again I was not impressed at all.
While the FatMax™ Laser Level Square was built to withstand the rigors of a hard life in the construction field, I found that its plastic case and aluminum design seemed kind of weak to withstand heavy use. I felt if I dropped this tool, it might just shatter into a hundred twenty $1 pieces. I decided not to let my construction crew get their hands on this new toy.
All in all I would not recommend this tool to anyone. It’s too expensive, too wimpy and too frail to use in normal construction. If a homeowner was to buy this tool, they would be sorely disappointed. Its usefulness is limited to holding books up on a shelf or scaring away stray cats with the laser. Don’t buy this!
