| Project by vonhagen | posted 34 days ago | 611 views | 1 time favorited | 9 comments | ![]() |
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i took a 12 inch starrett no. 98 level and set it into a 6 foot beam for precision leveling larger projects. i used 2 pieces of mahogany and laminated them together then inlaid extruded aluminum rails into the bottom and epoxyed them in then jointed the botom and then ran the top thru the wide belt to make parrelel. then inlayed the level and epoxyed into the top. in order for it to be accurate starrett says that the bottom must be dead flat so i used my 6 foot no 385 straight edge and a 3 horse router and large pattern bit to lightly graze the bottom flat. then calibrated the vial and it works awesum, it puts my stabila to shame. i also fluted the bottom so only the aluminum is exposed to the surface.
-- blaine von hagen































9 comments so far
a1Jim
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17138 posts in 476 days
posted 34 days ago
Nice
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com
huff
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1630 posts in 184 days
posted 34 days ago
Beautiful level. Nicely done.
-- John @ Myrtle Beach
Scott Bryan
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20780 posts in 721 days
posted 34 days ago
That is a really clever idea. Not only do you have a functional level but it is also prettier than your stabilia as well.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
socalwood
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968 posts in 503 days
posted 34 days ago
Nice project. So you do have a way to adjust calibration ?
vonhagen
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130 posts in 61 days
posted 34 days ago
yes, if you look at the top of the level you can see adj nut on one side so what you do is get on a fairly level surface and then see the position of the bubble spin the level 180 degrees then it should read the same. if not then adj the nut up or down and i also use sheets of paper as shims as to get level perfect as this levels accuracy goes down to 70 or 80 seconds and each line on the bubble is about .005 and a sheet of paper about .003 so basicly you should be able to spin the level and get identical readings both ways. this level will move the bubble one half line with a piece of hair off my head. my digital stabila is suposed to be able to read a grain of sand and i tried it but get differnt readings. you may wonder why would a woodworker want such precision and all i can say is that i got sick and tired of false readings and tried all types of levels, when you start to install something 100 feet long being out a minute of angel would mean 1 inch at 100 yards not much but convert that to a 1/16 in 6 feet and watch it grow at a 100 feet.
-- blaine von hagen
BTKS
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492 posts in 363 days
posted 34 days ago
Great craftsmanship and excellent tool. Keep up the good work, BTKS
nmkidd
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386 posts in 72 days
posted 33 days ago
Excellent job. If you don’t have any use for it, maybe you could donate it to the cause…....my address is..(lol)!
-- Doug, New Mexico.......the only stupid question is one that is never asked!........don't fix it, if it ain't broke!
Arnold
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108 posts in 461 days
posted 32 days ago
Neat
blockhead
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310 posts in 207 days
posted 28 days ago
Very sweet level Blaine! Great job…
-- Brad, Oregon- Wood, it's what's for dinner.