Green Laser

Do anyone have a good contact on the web for a green lazer that I could mount on my striper? Red just doesn't cut it. Thanks

I got mine at www.z-bolt.com

Looks like the price has gone down some at Z-Bolt. My computer crash lost the info I had on the green line generators and cross-hair generators, does anyone have this information to share?

How are you guys mounting the laser? How useful have you found them to be? Thanks Bruce

I have only used the red line generator type, at night to eliminate chalklines on new layout. I would say I have a few thousand feet under my belt. I'll go green and never look back.

Does anyone know if the Z-bolt green 5mW version can be seen in daylight?

In my experience, the 5mW is not bright enough to be seen on a black surface in direct sunlight. It is ok on a cloudy day or at night but to see the dot in direct sunlight 15 - 20' in front, you have to break OSHA rules and use one that is much stronger than the 5mW.

Randy which one do you recommend? and do you need any special permits to order or use it?

Frank, I got one that is a 30mW from Z-Bolt and it is just about right. However (here is the disclaimer), after reveiwing OSHA regulations, I have determined that OSHA would never allow such a powerful laser to be used in our application. It is not a controlled environment and in their opinion there would be too much risk of hurting the public. Furthermore, it would require all people within range of the laser to wear safety glasses designed to protect from such a laser. This is not practicable as there are pedestrians, motorists and pilots that could get a reflected beam (piece of glass, gum wrapper, chrome reflection etc) in their eyes. Have I used it on public lots? YES. Was it helpful? I can't tell you how much. Was it safe? Yes, I was the only one using it (not a careless employee). As far as permits, yes. I believe you would be required to have permits but a permit to use such a powerful laser in our application would never be given. This is just my opinion and I encourage all interested in using a laser above 5mW to investigate all applicable laws to form their own opinion then weight the risks of breaking those laws with the potential benefit.

During the day does the green laser show a line or just a dot at the other end, looking to eliminate chalk lines.

If it is a laser pointer then only a dot will appear and if it is a laser line generator a line will show, a higher quality laser can have all sorts of different optics from lines to crosshairs, dots, multiple dots and more. It also depends on the power of the thing, 5mw having less power than a 20mw etc. If it is a lower power unit you may not see much on a bright day. The units that are over 5mw are regulated and IMO dangerous, if your not careful with them you or someone else could be blinded or serious eye damage could occur easily.

Well last night I used my 5 mw green laser with a homemade filter to create a line. I started a new layout using chalk lines for backup and to check out how easy the laser would work. After doing 14 stalls with chalk lines and the laser I was producing a straiter line then just with a chalk line. next I went to 14 stalls with only a start point and finish point at the curb, with the laser line set on both points and maintaining contact with the finish point. I produced perfect lines. next I tried back to back stalls totaling 40 ft lines. A stat point, mid point, and finish point. Lining up all 3 points which were 20 ft apart again produced a perfect line. Next was a Loading zone with hatch marks 2' apart. I did the box (20' x 10') and let it dry well setting up the laser line 2' off to one side of the machine. @ 45 degrees from 1 inside corner I shot the first line with the laser line on that corner. moved over and used that first line to line up the laser on and shot the second line. It took less time to layout and shoot that box then it took me to write this post. My next step is figuring out a safe and legal way to go over the 5 mw for daytime use. My 5 mw is visable about 10 feet away in direct sunlight as a dot but as a line in the sun only about 3 ft. I figure about 40 mw would be about perfect. for daylight shooting and I will keep my 5mw for night shooting.

Sweet...

Dwan's line generator for the laser is a great idea. A few people had a chance to see it at the SW party in Atlanta and everyone was very impressed with what he had made. I have not had a chance to try it at night yet but I can't believe it would not work exactly as he described above. I have found that just by using a dot 40' away on layout marks will give me straight lines. I can't imagine the convenience of that projected green line.

Are there any types of filtering glasses you could wear to see the line on a lesser powered green laser (5mw) without reducing your vision so much that you could still see other areas where your going? Also Bob, on the 30 you have is it powered with a small bettery pack or internal battery?

Where can one get a green laser, or at least talk to someone and get some hands on experience. Not very good with pictures or wordy discriptions. Holding one and talking about it is much better for me. SW wwas brought up. Do they have them?

I got mine here: http://z-bolt.com/generic27.html

Robert which Z-bolt model are you using (maybe the DPSS-30)?

I have the cheapest one (<5mw). It makes a dot I can see in the daytime. BTW, I have some green tinted sunglasses that I found out by accident, accentuate the brightness of the laser.

make sure you get one with the on-off switch and not the momentary one.