Thanks to the new house coming up, plenty of garden work & interiors lined up. Headed off to Masters (Pakenham, VIC) to buy spirit level. Was Keen to buy Stanley Fatmax i Beam Spirit level 1.8m when I saw this one.
Looks sturdy, has magnetic end (one side) and at a decent price. Hope it helps someone. If the brand is bad, let me know, shall return it asap :)
People who can hold back - can get the same for $33.03 with this bargain
:) Looks like i am caught :P
This is their regular price. To me it was a bargain because:
1) Bunnings Stanley Fatmax non-magnetic 1200mm @ Bunnings was $52 and it goes up.
2) Closest to this price @ Bunnings was Trojan 900mm for $32.5
3) Average cost for any spirit level > 1.2m in ebay (ofcourse different brands) are no less than $40. Hence, I felt it was a bargain. Happy to take it down if mods feels otherwise.
Good Night JV :)
why u not on the water swirling fast thing mr JV?
Not the best of brands, but Ok for light use/DIY. Just be sure to check it's level before leaving the store;
Take a pencil with you, level the level against a wall/vertical surface
Mark each end above level then reverse the level left to right and check that your vial is still showing level when holding the level against your previous pencil marks.
Surprising how many stores sell ones that are out by 1 or 2mm (sometimes more) over that distance which is useless for some trades. If you're looking for something that will take a bit of a bashing or for everyday use, buy a Stabila.
I'm a tiler BTW.
beautiful legs…
on the tripod. ;)
Or level the level with another level in store. :)
Who's to say which one is out?
Take a pencil with you, level the level against a wall/vertical surface
There is absolutely no need for pencils nor walls.
Place the level on the shelving, note position of the bubble (doesn't matter if it is level or not)
Now spin the level by 180 degrees (so left is now right, and visa-versa. Is the bubble in the same place?
If the bubble follows the rotation, then it's not a level level.
Once you've weeded through all the ones that aren't even close, but using a sloping shelving unit… you can check the best of them more accurately by levelling onto a packer (a coin or key or bit of cardboard, then rotate 180 degrees and confirm OK.
An alternative way which also works but not quite as accurate method of testing, if you reposition the level in anything other than the exact spot where you placed it, be it left or right, forwards or backwards, this can easily give a different reading on the vial.
but not quite as accurate method of testing
Compared to drawing lines on the retailers wall, then attempting to line up the level to the lines you drew before they kick you out of the place?
if you reposition the level in anything other than the exact spot where you placed it… this can easily give a different reading on the vial.
Well, derr - when you are checking a level in this way you obviously you don't reposition the level in a different location.
For somebody who claims to be a tiler you seem to have a poor understanding of the geometry of the real world, and the simple methods to achieve an end result. By drawing lines you introduce FAR more error than could possibly exist when re-placing a dead flat level onto a dead flat surface (ie: the shelving rail).
However even if the surface was bumpy, when you initially position the level you pick up 2 "high points" - then when repositioning, you simply place it back on the same points. Since the level is flat, irrespective of where you position the points where it touches the surface remain in the same place. Those points don't change hence the tilt angle doesn't change.
To check a level is accurate you just need 2 points that are horizontal enough to be "within the vial".
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about..
Trying to reposition a level from memory from where you placed it before within 1mm is nigh on impossible and therefore deemed to be likely inaccurate.
Also, using the level against the underneath side (as opposed to the side) is more prone to inaccuracies due to less surface area hitting you're testing it against due to tilting etc.
Using my method, when marking the last 10mm of the end the level it is IMPOSSIBLE to place the level in any other position than you had it previously, and millimetre perfect, using a pencil just means you can easily rub out the marks you had on their steel shelving beam/ wall etc. You are not going to get chucked out of the store for this.
Listen, i'm a perfectionist when it comes to tiling. I've been doing it for years and I test my levels almost weekly using the above method, I work with levels for hours on end every day. You're method is for DIY folk or people who don't give a shit about something being 100% accurate.
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about
LOL - as an engineer (rather than a labourer), I most certainly DO know about this kind of stuff.
Trying to reposition a level from memory from where you placed it before within 1mm is nigh on impossible and therefore deemed to be likely inaccurate
Memory? An equal amount of skill is required to place the level back along the edge of a shelf etc as would be required to place it in line with a couple of hand-drawn lines on a wall.
I don't understand why your are concerning yourself with millimetres of accuracy "left to right" when the objective is to check the horizontal levels which are a completely different axis and your method is not really checking with any degree of accuracy.
Also, using the level against the underneath side (as opposed to the side) is more prone to inaccuracies due to less surface area hitting you're testing it against due to tilting etc.
Underneath what?? Side of what?? Spirit Levels are designed SPECIFICALLY to check the horizontalness of flat horizontal surfaces. They have one side milled flat, and that is on the bottom. This milled surface is the face of the Level which needs to be placed down onto a "flat" surface to check whether the bubble is centred.
Any method of checking a Spirit Level that does not involve it being tested IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY as it will be used will introduce significant errors. So, if it will be used for levelling the top surface of (say) floor tiles, then the Level must be checked in exactly the same way (ie: flat down onto a surface like I proposed).
Using my method, when marking the last 10mm of the end the level it is IMPOSSIBLE to place the level in any other position than you had it previously, and millimetre perfect,
Using a logical method, no drawing of lines, nor erasing of lines afterwards is required. Furthermore, since the indexing of height at BOTH ends is mechanical (ie: the level is physically touching the surface it's being referenced to) eliminates ALL error and will be infinitely more accurate than drawing lines and then attempting to line up to those lines by eye.
The whole idea of checking the level using horizontal surface (rather than a vertical one like you are proposing) is because it doesn't matter where the level gets placed and re-placed. The bottom surface of the level is FLAT, so even moving it 300mm left or right makes absolutely no difference.
? •Listen, i'm a perfectionist when it comes to tiling. I've been doing it for years and I test my levels almost weekly using the above method, I work with levels for hours on end every day.
Tiling is hardly a high accuracy occupation, so I can understand why you feel your method is sufficient. Tilers must concern themselves with flatness far more than levelness…. in fact, much of your work on horizontal surfaces will be including a fall anyway.
You're method is for DIY folk or people who don't give a shit about something being 100% accurate.
No, quite the reverse. I mainly work in 100th and sometimes 1000th of millimetre tolerances, so even the width of your pencil line (let alone the inaccuracies introduced by your attempts to line up something by eye) would be totally unacceptable.
Watch this video, and learn how to do it properly… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-IsjQnww8
Or this one, which is using packers to improve accuracy on non-flat surfaces…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmursRJL3dQ
No, quite the reverse. I mainly work in 100th and sometimes 1000th of millimetre tolerances, so even the width of your pencil line (let alone the inaccuracies introduced by your attempts to line up something by eye) would be totally unacceptable.
It does help if you use a more accurate pencil than these
Watch this video, and learn how to do it properly… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-IsjQnww8
And right there is proof that that you have no idea what you are talking about.
That level is out, I would not buy that.
The bubble is around 0.5mm closer to the left line than it was before he rotated it.
Engineer doesn't mean you have a better ability to read a level.
If you were to use that level around a large bathroom, that would create problems later in the job.
So why is this a bargain? What's it normally cost?