Found a trick for aligning guide rails on tight jobs

Overheard a guy at a supply house in Charlotte say to use a laser level on the rail back instead of a straightedge. Tried it on a 10-stop install last week and it cut my setup time by almost half. Has anyone else tried this on curves or just straight runs?

3 comments

3 Comments

grace8922d ago

Yeah that part about the laser sitting cleaner on the flat mounting surface is exactly what I found too. I tried it on a straight run first and it was night and day compared to messing with a straightedge and clamps. But then I had a job with a curved header for a storefront in an old building downtown and I was nervous to try it. I just went for it anyway and honestly it worked even better than the straight runs. The laser picked up that flat back surface no problem and I could see where the curve was pulling the brackets off way faster than if I had used a string line. It saved me from having to redo the whole layout twice like I normally would. Definitely a game changer for curves.

the_christopher22d ago

Has your buddy tried it on curved track at all? I got a call from a friend in Raleigh who does commercial doors and he swore by this trick. He told me he was setting up a curved header rail for a custom storefront and used his laser level on the back of the rail instead of a string line, said it saved him from having to re-do the whole layout after the first two brackets were off by almost a quarter inch. I guess the laser just sits cleaner on that flat mounting surface, you know.

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hannahsingh22d ago

Got a buddy in Atlanta who does roller shades and he swears by the same thing @the_christopher. Told me he was working on a curved track for a weird arched window in some doctor's office and the laser level on the back rail saved his whole week. Said he would have been out there with a string line for two days guessing where the curve was throwing everything off.