I broke my Starrett, any advice?

[Stephen Cherry]

Great info here guys- Thanks for posting

[Joe Jensen]

Jeff
FYI Older Dave White transits have a long leveling vial. Some transit repair shops may have replacement. Good luck. Tom

That could work. For your use you aren't trying to measure, just trying to get the vial to read the same when rotated end for end. If not marked, just some fine painted lines would be fine to keep track of the bubble.

[Mark Bolton]

True I guess, but I have a hard time quantifying an 800 dollar level for anything other than extremely critical (read extremely well compensated) work and the reply was in the context of a table saw. In any case it's demise, while regretful, would simply be folded into the cost of said highly critical and hence well compensated work.

[Mark Bolton]

Joe,

Of course machine setup is critical. I guess it's just to the old question of how much is too much.

I consider the work we do on the high side of detail and accuracy though its not high art furniture. Given that I can't recall ever going to such extremes on any piece of woodworking equipment. I suppose we associate with similar animals, but I dont know that I've been in a shop that does either.

I understand that seeing these numbers can be very rewarding and also that often it's not wrapped up in the realm of business where at some point, whether satisfied or not, you simply have to draw the line.

A machine in its sweet spot is definitely, well, sweet. I guess it just comes down (to me) to a question of balance.

[phil harold]

I just used my 98-12 to level my tablesaw last night

did I need that much accuracy?
no
but it is sure nice to know it is!
I am setting my outfeed tables and my work benches with my rotary laser just because I will know they are the same...

[Myk Rian]

For crying out loud people. He got a great level for a super price.
What the H*** do you care what he uses it for?

Sometimes I wonder why I bother coming here.
Everybody knows better than everyone else.

[Jeff Monson]

For crying out loud people. He got a great level for a super price.
What the H*** do you care what he uses it for?

Sometimes I wonder why I bother coming here.
Everybody knows better than everyone else.

Yep, right on Myk, ask a simple question and it turns into an opinion poll on how unnecessary it is to own this tool. I dont remember asking for advice on what level I should use or buy, just on what my options are for repairing the one I already have. Thanks for your help, there were a few replies that were very helpful to me.

[Steve Milito]

I dont remember asking for advice on what level I should use or buy, just on what my options are for repairing the one I already have.

I'd be afraid to try to use such an accurate device in my shop. I'd probably give up in frustration because the bubble was always pegged to one side regardless of what adjustment I made.

[Chris Fournier]

I have one of these levels which I purchased on eBay for $75.00 in pristine condition. Lucky me except for the fact that I paid full pop for a 98-12 two months earlier. I would never consider using it to level a table saw, but rather to ensure that a lathes ways are free of twist. A wood lathe? Sure I guess. A metal lathe? Absolutely.

Not to beat poor Jeff up when he is down but how this level could ever be dropped and damaged I simply can't understand. When this level comes out in my metal shop it is the star attraction, the holy grail, the raison d'etre and any fall would be softened with my Starrett precision pillow.

[Ole Anderson]

I bet it would be great for levelling a pool table...

I see on the parts list they do list a vial, but I bet it is half the cost of a new level.

[Bill White]

I'm not EVEN gonna say that I have a set of machinist's gauge blocks, micrometers, vernier calipers, and squares. Overkill? Maybe, but they're mine.

Anything made by Starrett is top quality (as we all know), and a repair done by them is probably the best repair available.

Tough luck on the breaking of the vial, but a quality repair on and excellent instrument may be the best price/value option.

I've just never understood how anything can be level when the world is round.

Bill

[Myk Rian]

That comment about the string vial level does not make sense to me. Since Myk said he used to repair them, he has to know that a string level compares to that vial assembly mostly by the name. Maybe he meant that a vial like that would be good enough to repair a level that had been dropped and may not be straight anymore. If you have to flatten the bottom of that unit, it will not be the same as it was originally but it might be good enough for your uses.

I know there is no comparison between the level in question and a string level. The vial would work in a pinch.

When a level is bent, just flattening the base will not fix it.
I spent 1 week in Athol, Ma. at the Starrett plant. Wonderful people, and super great tools.

I got firsthand knowledge on building levels, as I sat with the fellow, and watched as he lapped the base. And then came the shocker.
Mind you this just so happened to be a 199.
After lapping it, he picked it up by one end, raised it up, and gave it a MIGHTY whack on the edge of his work bench, right in the middle of the level. This was to introduce a VERY slight bend in the base so it would sit equally on the ends. It bends the level by a few 10 millionths.

If a level gets bent, which would not be an easy task to do, sending it to the factory is the only sure way of fixing it. It would take more than a drop of a few feet to bend one of those. A corner might get slight damage, but that can be stoned out without changing the accuracy of the tool.

[Mark Bolton]

Not to beat poor Jeff up when he is down

I too didnt mean to beat up on someone when their down, my apologies. Accidents happen, I have had my fair share. I understand its no ones business what anyone chooses to do with their money, time, shop, pursuits, and so on. I just often find myself asking "why?" and wondering what newcomers or young people considering the trades think when the mere act of cutting a board in two, or even making phenomenally beautiful one of a kind furniture, becomes some monumental Pandora's Box of engineering. A machine shop, absolutely, completely different animal.

It often reminds me of astronomy/astrophotography. The never ending pursuit of less and less error in your equipment. I have so often seen it, and experienced it myself, to where an unwavering focus on the mechanics brings one to a point where they never look at the stars anymore.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

I bet it would be great for levelling a pool table...

I see on the parts list they do list a vial, but I bet it is half the cost of a new level.

Ole
$56.00 at McMaster-Carr for the 199Z vial.

[Jeff Monson]

Ole
$56.00 at McMaster-Carr for the 199Z vial.

Thomas, I looked on McMaster Carr after you recommended them, what part # are you coming up with? I found alot of different vial's but not 100% sure which one would be right. Thanks!!