"Best Line Laser?" Topic

The only small, portable, "cheap" line laser I can find is the one from Army Painter sold as the "Target Lock Laser Line
$12.99 USD"

I have looked around elsewhere, but the search parameters go completely to hell, and I haven't even found anything comparable.

Has anyone found one in the U.S. that is cheaper / better?

Thanks!

NOTE: I'M NOT LOOKING FOR A LASER *POINTER*

"Best" is always a funny word.

Here is some-peoples ideas of "Best"
link

But to pick one out, for under $10 USD USD.
link

Will even give you cross "hairs" if that is useful. See the video clip for details.

Good old Harbor Freight Tools (a very discount tool store in the US) once sold laser levels with a line function of even less. But hard to beat Amazon of cheap these days.

Harbor Freight might be your cheapest. Not sure what else you do but they are handy to build with.My cheapest was -about $50 USD for bottom line Bosch, but it's a backup if need a second.

I was using my Harbor Freight one just this weekend for checking line of site. However it does not look like they have it any more. It was a surface mount to add a laser line to aid in cutting.

Some of the laser pointers sets have attachments to have it display a line instead of a dot.

All kinds of them on Amazon. From $9 USD to $50. USD Cat toys to tools.

I have a Target Lock Laser Line. It does the job and I couldn't find anything better.

A line laser is different than a dot laser. It gives you a horizontal line, or vertical for instance you could put a set of brackets for a shelf without moving it.

I found one, many years ago, on Wish.com. It is hand-held, a pen, using two AA batteries, projecting a red (Helium Neon) laser line, around 5 mW output (powerful enough, close up, to cause permanent retinal burns). No brand name. I tried looking for it later on, but I could not find it again. I use it for tracing line of site, holding it above the table. It is hand-held, and only useful for gaming, really, as it moves -- a very great deal. Still, I find it highly useful.

I would recommend searching Wish.com, Temu, etc. They are highly useful, in penlight format. In larger devices, such as those listed, they are too clumsy for gaming use. Cheers!

You all mean line of sight, don't you?

The best I've seen was at a game convention some years ago. The owner got it from Harbor Freight. It put out two lines at whatever angle you specified.

So if the forward machine gun of your tank can attack any target within a 30-degree arc, you could just put the device in front of the gun, set it to 30 degrees, and turn it on, and you would see two lines coming out of it at a 30 degree angle.

Yes, I'm talking about laser LINE device, used to measure line of sight quickly from the altitude of 1,000 foot generals.

It would be a nice bonus to be able to set it to 45 degrees and measure arcs, also. In my mind, it would need to be able to do this:
\F. arc/
|UNIT|
put a straight line down against the unit's perpendicular side, then measure the 22 / 45 / whatever arc off that.

@Dyehard
Yeah, the Qooltek is sorta what I'm looking for, but I'd prefer a small penlight size like the Army Builder Target Lock Line Laser.

At $13 USD it isn't outrageously priced, but I'm thinking there must be someone somewhere who makes one for half the price. I'd like to get a batch of them for multi-player wargames, so saving 50% would add up when I get 8 of them.

This might help, or it might not…

Wish.com link: 5 mW laser diode, with the lens attachment, you supply a power switch, a housing, and a power supply, for $2.54 USD each. It should have 2-3 AA Batteries, in series -- diodes are current devices so you have a wider range of voltage it will accept; two AA's in series = 3.0 Volts, and three AA's in series will apply 4.5 Volts, while the diode needs > 1.5 Volts to turn on.

Or…

Wish.com Link2: lens to turn a standard laser pointer to a line, for $6.99 USD, each. Downside of these is that you need a pointer of 5 mW, or higher output, or the line will be too dim to be useable. Advantage of this lens is that it should be easy to adapt to most pen laser pointers, just using some duct tape (the Handy Man's Secret Weapon, a well earned reputation). LOL! Cheers!

Yeah, not seeing anything except laser pointers at wish.

The DIY project isn't really of interest to me.

It just seems like something that should be available, but it's not there.

Well, the second link to the lens would require you to duct tape it onto the end of a 5 mW laser pointer. That is quite simple, really. Either that, or buy them from Army Painter. Cheers!

Stalkey and Co:

I may have found something you will like:
Golf Putter Laser Sight Pointer Training Putting Training Aid Corrector Fix Your Putt in Seconds:

link

Under $10 USD, projects line, sort of pointer like. Even free shipping if you get more from Amazon.

The optic to turn a pointer spot into a line is, in fact, very simple, a cylindrical lens, and could be purchased and added to many lasers, but that can be fiddley. But the last one I recall was still $30 USD, so buying a consumer product is the best way to save on cost. The putting tool fits the bill. most of it is plastic junk, much of which could be cut away. But will work as is. Watch the video to understand what you will get.