Chalk line

[Brad_bb]

Well it seems my chalk line has gone missing.  Been keeping my eye out for it the last couple months to no avail.  So, I need a new one.  I was looking at the Tajima ultra thin Chalk-rite (blue).  It's cast aluminum, which tells me don't drop it on concrete from any decent height or you may have a broken chalk line. 

I also looked at a plastic bodied Tajima at Japan woodworker, but it's only 25 ft. 

I also considered the ink lines, but they appear to leave permanent marking, and on a finished face, I don't want a permanent ink mark.

I considered a hook on the end or a pin and it seems the hook would be better as you can hook it on the end of a timber or use a finish nail in conjunction with it and use it like a pin.  So you get both functions.  With a retractable pin end, you only get that one function.

So any opinions on the Blue Chalk rite?

[Rooster]

Brad,

What would be your application or specific use?  Would you need more than 25ft?

Rooster

[Brad_bb]

For TF, probably not often, but potentially you could hew a tree and need a snap line longer than 25ft.  Also I can think of a number of general construction tasks where you might need longer than 25 - snapping a line on sheetmetal for a row of screws...trying to get a line for the length of one side of a building?...Most lines would be under 25 ft granted, but what if you damaged your line and wanted to shorten it?  With a 25foot line you'd need a new line.  With a 100 foot line, you just cut off what's bad.  That's my thinking anyway.

[Dave Shepard]

I wore out my blue one. They didn't have another blue one so I got a red one and painted it blue.  :D It did not come with the fine line. I might replace it with fine sometime. I bought one of those Tajima auto winders, but it only goes to 25' or 35' if you manually feed out some more. Never used it. I have a Stanley Quickspike on my blue line.

[tyb525]

15-20lb braided dacron fishing line works well for chalklines, leaves a nice fine line. 50lb for longer, thicker lines.

[giant splinter]

TYB is right on with the braided dacron in your chalk line and it lasts a very long time, even 80 # braided dacron provides a thinner line than most of the new ones come with from the factory and I doubt that you could break it by pulling to hard.

[Brad_bb]

I ended up getting the Tajima CR202B-P Chalk-Rite II Ultra Thin Chalk Box via Amazon.  Used it once so far and made a nice line.

[Al_Smith]

Chalk lines and tape measures seem to be items that get missplaced for some reason .You go buy another one --then you loose it .You buy another then you find the other two or three .It goes on until you have amassed a dozen .

[giant splinter]

Brad,
You gave me a good laugh ....... @ myself of course, my small tools turn up MIA all the time and I usually find the when I clean out my shop or job shack.
I had a Makita 16" beamsaw seemingly dis-appear from the back of my pickup at one point when I was giving a hand to a local Timber framer that was trying to get a load ready for pickup the next morning we where sharing the saw all day and when I was picking up my tools I threw it in the pickup and closed the bed lid thinking I was all set to head home, I stopped to pick up a box of bolts on the way home and noticed I had forgotten to lock the lid, opened it to throw the bolts in and noticed my Beam Saw and my Big Al where not in the bed but all the other tools right where I left them, kind of upsetting when stuff like this happens but I had a new beam saw on the way from Timberwolf tools and figured I could get by without the layout tool. As it turned out Steve called after he got back from Montana and said he took it out of the truck to finish one cut and I left so he put it in his garage and took off for his project asking his wife to let me know it was there, she must have not remembered. Sheesh now I have two the old gold one and a new green one. I hope your old chalkline shows up at some point so you have a spare/loaner.

[Brad_bb]

Found it!  In a 5 gallon bucket with some hardware from a job here on the farm I was doing.  I had put it up on a shelf in my storage area to get it out of the way temporarily.  Never thought to look there.  I finally got back to finish a last detail on that job, went to that bucket to get the hardware and there it was. smiley_dizzy

[giant splinter]

 Some how I knew that was going to happen  ;D Now you have a spare, get some braided line and go with a second color in your spare one.
Glad you found it.

[Brad_bb]

Can you recommend for me a specific line?  From a website or amazon maybe?  At one time I had a spare Tajima thin chalk line, but who know's where that went to?  I'm actually pretty organized, but you wouldn't know it from these posts.

[giant splinter]

Brad,
I use Izorline premium dacron braid 30# test for Trolling line and backing. You might be able to find a tackle shop that will fill the spool for a minimal charge or you can order it and have it shipped to you, I get mine from these guys: www.thelongfin.com/izorline-dacron-braid.html
30# test 400 yds. is about $16.00 with shipping and enough for life if you use it for your chalk line,plumbob,dryline for layout, plumb and line.
The stuff is nearly indestructable and last many years in the worst of conditions and abuse it may be even thinner than what came with your new chalkline and if you tie the warn out stuff to an overhanging tree branch at your favorite lake it will hold your skiff in a light breeze. let us know what you think about it and how you like the skinney line it leaves behind without fuzzy edges. GS