From: Michael Antares Subject: Laser pointers Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 15:15:51 -0800 I just wanted to point out one caveat when comtemplating using a laser for alignment. This may be obvious to everyone, but just in case... There is no guarantee when using either one of the inexpensive laser pointers or even one of the more expensive HeNe (Helium-Neon) gas lasers, that the beam axis will be coincident with the laser housing. This will need to be verified and/or corrected before they can be used for alignment purposes if you intend to use the laser housing as a reference. My two cents, Michael Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 20:07:26 -0500 From: PBurkha238@aol.com Subject: Re: Chapter 9 - mounting tabs Marc, I love the fairy tale twist... don't you wished you lived next door to someone who had built one of these prior to you building one...., regarding laser pointers I sent Norm a response and I later read that he has removed his name from the list. A friend of mine used the pointer to align his wing jigs, I suppose you could use it during several building procedures. I would caution users though, I'm not sure that they are made to any specific parameters. The outer barrell of the pointer may not be in perfect alignment with the beam itself. I would imagine that if one rotates the pointer about its long axis while held across the room in a firm position, it should keep its "dot" position on the wall, if properly aligned.. Paul Burkhardt Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996 00:26:03 +1100 From: allana@interconnect.com.au (allana@interconnect.com.au) Subject: Re: Laser pointers Michael Antares wrote - >There is no guarantee when using either one of the inexpensive laser pointers or even >one of the more expensive HeNe (Helium-Neon) gas lasers, that the beam axis will be >coincident with the laser housing. This will need to be verified and/or corrected before >they can be used for alignment purposes if you intend to use the laser housing as a >reference. I used a laser pointer to do my axle alignment and after a bit of fiddling around figured out that the beam was definitely not coincident with the housing. I used a block of wood with a hole drilled through it - large enough at one end to push the pointer in part way and only about 1/8 inche at the other end to line up the beam. A bit of fiddling with the angle of the pointer enabled me to line up the beam with the sides of the wooden block. I then used the laser for sighting the axle alignment. Seemed to work ok for me. Allan Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 09:35:26 -0700 (MST) From: "aka Mr. Radon" Subject: Re: Laser pointers On Sun, 7 Jan 1996, Michael Antares wrote: > There is no guarantee when using either one of the inexpensive laser pointers or even one of the more expensive HeNe (Helium-Neon) gas lasers, that the beam axis will be coincident with the laser housing. This will need to be verified and/or corrected before they can be used for alignment purposes if you intend to use the laser housing as a reference. I've use laser sights both at home and work. Don't trust the housing. Optical grips work the best to position the laser, if you can borrow one, but an adjustable vise will work to. (comes in real handy when you or your eight year old bumps into the table) Just use a piece of paper at different beam lengths to determine position. I experimented this weekend with my laser sight and it looks like it will work fine. (when I get there that is!)