Level for Hanging Sign Letters, Magnetic Torpedo or Cross-Line Laser

9 in magnetic torpedo level:

• 9 in long, with three vials: level, plumb and 45°.
• A magnetic edge that holds on a steel raceway, so the level stays put while you adjust the raceway and tighten it down.
• Good for a single logo, a short name and checking each letter as it goes up.

With a torpedo level, draw a light level line on the wall where the bottom of the letters will sit, and check it in several places along its length. On a long sign, small errors add up as you move a short level along a line. That is where the laser helps.

Self-leveling cross-line laser:

• Projects a level horizontal line and a plumb vertical line across the wall.
• Levels itself: set it on a steady surface, let it settle, and the lines are true.
• Best for long signs, raceways and letters spread across a wide fascia, where one line across the whole wall beats moving a short level along it.
• Runs on AA batteries, included.

With the laser, set it up at about the height of the sign, line up the template so the horizontal line runs along the bottom of the letters, and use the vertical line to center the sign or line up a second row. The lines are hard to see in bright sun, so outdoors work early, late or in shade. Do not look into the laser.

Whichever you use, step back before you mark anything. Look at the template from the street or the far side of the room, next to the windows, the door and the roofline, and only then mark and drill.