Spent $600 on a digital level and it paid for itself on one job

Bought a Hilti digital level back in 2018 for a big commercial ceiling grid job in Charlotte. Old guy on site kept telling me to stick with my bubble level. But I was working solo and needed to pull 200 points fast. That thing let me mark everything off a single laser line without climbing down every 5 minutes. Finished the job 2 days early. How many of you have upgraded to something digital and actually saw a return?

3 comments

3 Comments

julia2862mo ago

@the_anthony I feel you on that. The "toy" comments are just part of the deal when you try new tools. One job I used a digital level to shoot 40 door frames in a new office build and the other guys were still on number seven with their bubbles by lunch. It's not for everything, but for speed and accuracy on big layouts, it's hard to beat.

webb.val1mo ago

Ever notice how the stuff that actually saves you time always gets the side-eye at first? I see it everywhere, not just on job sites. Buddy of mine bought a robot mower for his yard, neighbors were all giving him crap about being lazy, now three of them have one. It's like people get uncomfortable when someone finds a smarter way to do the hard stuff.

the_anthony2mo ago

Man I bought one of those Bosch digital levels a few years back and my foreman literally laughed at me on the first job. Called it a toy. Then I hung a whole row of kitchen cabinets in like 45 minutes while he was still chasing his bubble around with a level on the second cabinet. It paid for itself that same day honestly. I felt like a real dummy dropping the cash at first but now I cant imagine going back to the old way.

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