spirit level

[peteftw]

i was using a mates spirit level in work, it was a really good one because it was shaped live an inverted capital 'T' so when you set it on the wall it didnt move at all.

i asked him where he got it and he told me he stole it off a guy 8 years ago when he was working on the isle of man. other than stealing it off him does anyone know where i could get one shaped like that?

 

[wotan]

i was using a mates spirit level in work, it was a really good one because it was shaped live an inverted capital 'T' so when you set it on the wall it didnt move at all.

i asked him where he got it and he told me he stole it off a guy 8 years ago when he was working on the isle of man. other than stealing it off him does anyone know where i could get one shaped like that?

Enter the following into Google......
'T' shaped spirit level....


Wotan

 

[^woody^]

Why can't you just get a Stabila 'girder' level of a Stanley Fatmax XL which are something like solid 4mm aluminium section - if you want a solid level?

But even a lightweight box section wont 'move', so I can't see the benefit of a T section level

 

[peteftw]

thanks for your reply wotan i had already tried that, those spirit levels seem to be for fixing to to stands and things its not what i was looking for

i didnt see what was so special about it before i used it woody, somebody had said to me pauls' spirit level as great and i thought 'who cares? a spirit level is a spirit level'

but we where using it to strike a line with everything from the ground to about nipple height was going grey gloss with the top half and ceilings in white, when i was holding a cheap box level with one hand and drawing the line with the other it tended to move a bit as you got to the end so that section of line had to be redrawn. but with the T shaped one i didnt have this problem


i might give the fatmax one a blast if i dont find a t shaped one

 

[^woody^]

How did you hold a T shaped level flat against a wall?

Presumably the horizinontal bit of the 'T' would be need to be flat on the surface and the bubble is in the vertical bit - in which case it will measure the plumb of the wall but will not allow a vertical line to be drawn in the other axis - unlike a box level with can sit flush on a wall in both vertical axises

I have a Fat Max XL and it weighs a ton, but is solid

 

[peteftw]

it had a t shaped profile so it was the two corners the touched the wall it wasnt a flat edge. i think it was so steady because the frce of your hand pushing it against the wall was only going on the two edges rather than the entire surface area of a box. i think that would apply to the girder shaped one too

 

[^woody^]

That's what I thought, in which case the bubble is not normally calibrated for this type of use, as the bubble is normally set for the flat edge only.

Unless this level was designed for use like that?

I can see how it would be steadier to hold like that though

 

[peteftw]

im pretty sure thats how it was ment to be used it you used the bottom of the T you couldnt see the bubbles as they are on the vertical bit

like i said i didnt see what was so good about it until i used it myself, it wasnt just me anybody who used it commented on it. i dont know if it was a particularly expensive one but for that particular job of drawing lines it was great.

 

[^woody^]

A quick google throws up a Patent by Stabila for a level "triangular in cross section", but there is nothing on their website

 

[peteftw]

ive sent the good people at Stabila an email so ill see what they say. thanks for the replys woody, if you see one onyour travels you could give me a shout.

cheers