Johnson 40-6616 Laser Square Review

You know I love lasers, they automatically make everything cooler, and the Johnson 40-6616 tiling and flooring laser square is no exception. This cool little squaring laser projects two lines across the floor that are 90-degrees apart, thus making it ideal for the flooring trades. But you don't have to be one of the flooring trades to get good use out of this tool; the 40-6616 works great for anyone needing to make squaring lines on the floor.

Though the 40-6616 uses new technology like lasers, the tool itself is very simple in design and in function. A single push of a button is all it takes for the squaring fun to begin. You don't even have to level it, though the laser does have two level vials that can be used for layout on vertical surfaces.

The housing for the 40-6616 is made out of a combination of metal and plastic, but it is hard to see exactly how much of each is used. The bottom is metal which should allow for easy clean up, and survive the hard concrete floors. The top is made up of plastic which helps to reduce the overall weight. Around the edges of the square are markings in both metric and inches. These could be useful for offsetting the laser. The hypotenuse side of the laser has degree marking from 0 to 90, and can be used with the pivot point located where the lasers both originate to do layout marks at any of those degrees.

This function works similar to how you do degree markings with a triangle carpenters square. However, using the laser at anything other then 90 degrees limits you to using only one laser at a time.

With the housing being partially made out of plastic, I was, and still am concerned about how well it will hold up over time. The tool is a laser and because of this I treat it with more care than my other tools, but there is always the possibility of an accidental drop.

I am not a flooring guy, but like I said, the tool can be used for other trades. Quite often on the job I have to layout cabinet islands, or reception desks that are square to a wall or two. In the past I would have measure off of a wall, get out string-lines, use the good old 3,4,5 squaring method, make my marks, then measure off of a second wall to double check everything.

Now I can just set down the laser, turn it on, and adjust it off of two walls at once. The time saving this offers Is great. Just these last few weeks the 40-6616 has been used by my co-workers and myself to square a few large reception walls for a new City hall being built.

The accuracy on the laser is not the best at ± 1/4" @ 60ft, but is is plenty good enough for most of my needs, and anything a homeowner can throw at it. The kit also includes a target that is helpful in aligning the laser right were you want it, a carrying pouch, and batteries are included. I like the laser and think it is a great buy for anyone with a few projects in there future. The price seems about right at $50.