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A friend of mine asked me to build a few custom made wooden levels for him. He had searched and searched for something for sale on the internet, but they are just not out there. I decided to make him a couple of brass bound levels, similar to the old Stanley #98 or Stratton Bros. levels.
They are each 36" long, about 1 3/8" wide and 3 1/4" tall. They are quite hefty in the hand. Inlayed with 3/16" square brass rods along the lengths and 1/16" brass sheet cut to fit the ends and center bubble cover plate. The clear plastic bubbles are 1 9/16" long x 3/8" round. I don't normally do much metal work so this was quite time consuming and a bit difficult for me, but I think they red out well. The woods are of course walnut, curly maple, and cherry. My friend loved them and will be keeping one for himself and gifting the other two to his father and father in law.



Thanks for looking an Merry Christmas to all!!

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1,424 Posts
Very Cool!!
 

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841 Posts
Great looking levels, with outstanding brass trim. I know what you mean about the metal work-it takes forever but it really adds to the finished product. Well done.
 

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3,654 Posts
Great work RS. Favorited. Are the square rods set in epoxy?
 

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100 Posts
really cool, best looking levels I have seen!
 

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77 Posts
Excellent workmanship!
 

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194 Posts
Thanks very much guys.
CL810, yes I used a 2 part epoxy with a 1 hour cure time to affix the brass, it was messy and time consuming, but it worked out well in the end and that brass isn't going anywhere!

Ryan
 

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375 Posts
Those are neat
 

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158 Posts
Awesome looking levels and the brass looks terrific. Nice wood combinations on each and finish.
 

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485 Posts
Dude! Wow…
 

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Let me "level" with you by saying those are really finely crafted. Well done….and thanks for sharing
 

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39 Posts
What a great idea for a gift. You did yourself proud. Beautiful.
 

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264 Posts
Wow, these are really cool. Great job
 

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564 Posts
That kind of finesse really needs top quality vials. What kind did you use?

Eric in Cakgary
 

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194 Posts
Thanks Eric, the vials are made by Stanley as replacements for their levels. They seem to be of good quality, at least good enough for general carpentry levels, which is what these are intended to be.
When it came to shopping for vials, I learned there is a wide assortment, depending on the viscosity of the fluid and shapes of the vials, the bubbles can have different "speeds" and different degrees of accuracy. It gets quite complicated, but these bubbles seem very good for general purpose work. These are by no means anywhere near a machinist quality levels. :D
 

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564 Posts
I"m glad to hear that you investigated vial quality. There are so many low quality vials out there. Next batch, maybe scope out starrett repalcement vials.

Like this one…although a little on the short side…

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-STARRETT-REPLACEMENT-13268-LEVEL-VIAL-15-16-LONG-edp-71438-/251329012099?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a84606183.

I luv yer levels, but for me the proof of a bubblestick ain't in the wood used, it'sreally all totally and unequivocally all about the bubbles. Ever walked into a house where all the doors were hung with a cheapo level.
 
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