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extended starrett no. 98 level

Project by vonhagen posted 34 days ago 611 views 1 time favorited 9 comments Add to Favorites Watch

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

View a1Jim's profile

a1Jim

17138 posts in 476 days


posted 34 days ago

Nice

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

View huff's profile

huff

1630 posts in 184 days


posted 34 days ago

Beautiful level. Nicely done.

-- John @ Myrtle Beach

View Scott Bryan's profile

Scott Bryan

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.

View socalwood's profile

socalwood

968 posts in 503 days


posted 34 days ago

Nice project. So you do have a way to adjust calibration ?

View vonhagen's profile

vonhagen

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

View BTKS's profile

BTKS

492 posts in 363 days


posted 34 days ago

Great craftsmanship and excellent tool. Keep up the good work, BTKS

View nmkidd's profile

nmkidd

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!

View Arnold's profile

Arnold

108 posts in 461 days


posted 32 days ago

Neat

View blockhead's profile

blockhead

310 posts in 207 days


posted 28 days ago

Very sweet level Blaine! Great job…

-- Brad, Oregon- Wood, it's what's for dinner.

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