The Craftsman 48250 2-beam Self-Leveling Laser Level is a powerful laser level that projects a beam up to 100 feet – the longest we saw when we reviewed the best laser line levels. It has an excellent mounting base that adds extra layers of usability, such as the ability to dial in on a specific height and attach to a wall or tripod.
This laser line level will auto-level a vertical or horizontal line if within four degrees. But once leveled, you can’t use it to project diagonal lines. Since the laser is on a gimbal, you can turn off the out-of-level alarm and rotate the laser to a perfect 45 degrees on a tripod. But the machine’s auto-leveling feature will not fine-tune angular beams.
Once you move the laser line level or bump it, it takes approximately five seconds to self-level. It has a loud out-of-level indicator – it’s helpful, but slightly annoying after hearing it a few times. That being said, the loud indicator is definitely preferable to not having an indicator. It’s also worth noting that this tool does not have a manual lock, so you’ll have to take care not to bump or disturb it once it’s in place.
This tool projects both vertical and horizontal lines, either individually or together. The level projects a line that can be moved within a 110-degree range, meaning it can spread across an entire room with-out issue. According to Craftsman, the laser level can project a visible line up to 100 feet away, but during our tests, we found the line was difficult to see at 50 feet and very blurry at 100 feet.
This cross-line laser level includes a base mount that allows you to quickly adjust the level to your needs. In addition to a standard camera tripod connection, the base mount includes strong magnets that allow you to attach the level to a metal surface, pushpins to attach to drywall and double-sided adhesives to attached to other surfaces. However, it’s missing other mounting options we look for such as a suction cup or clamp.
This tool will last 20 hours on fresh batteries, which is the longest among all the laser line levels we re-viewed. However, the batteries are not included.
The Craftsman 48250 projects a line up to 100 feet, but it becomes blurrier and less visible at the high end of that range. It has many but not all of the mounting options we look for, and the auto-level feature doesn’t work as advertised. Nevertheless, it’s a versatile tool that’s worthy of consideration when you’re shopping for laser line levels.
