Has anyone used the Smart Tool digital level?
I often work in shaded or darkened areas [GC too cheap to install temp lights / me too hurried to drag around drop lights], so I,m looking for a level that will give me an audible tone at dead level , or plumb. Any suggestions?
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Replies
I have a Stabila electronic level, and it will chirp when it hits zero. 4' model was about $140. It's the greatest thing since sliced bread, we use it all the time when working around anything sloped.... roof pitch, skylight wells, trapezoidal or triangular windows, stairs, etc.
Once you get it level, reach for your nail gun with the night vision scope and nail it off.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004T7YC/qid=1150556892/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0810148-1111116?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=228013
I have the 2' Smart Level going on 6 years. Its a wonderful tool. Finding rise angles on stairs was the main reason I bought it and its paid for itself many times over.
It beeps at zero and 90º but I rarely turn the sound on. The bubbles are near perfect with glow in the dark vials, who needs sound?
May neighbors respect You, and troubles neglect You.
Gord
Oh man... why did you guys have to post this? I have a serious level fetish, including a Levolution system, a couple Stabilas and a fancy Irwin kit. Now I need this one...
Thanks
PaulB
Yes you do, buy it now and it will be delivered next week.
I hear and I obey...
must
buy
Smart tool
If you ever decide to sell one of your levolution kits let me know....
Will do, but I can't see it happening. I hate even carrying it in the truck, just so purdy. But you have dibs...
I have had my 2' for several years. Love it. IIRC it reads to .1 deg. You can calibrate it sort of like you check a standard level end for end. Great for figuring roof pitch and many other things. The hold feature is neat also. You can hold it up to whatever you are checking without seeing and push hold, then read the angle, feet per inch, or % slope.
Bob
j 've had the two footer also for around 12-13 yrs it's a composite plastic/aluminum triangle with the same shape module slides in the middle of the rail and locks in with twisted cam screws. the module would be able to retro-fitted with the two, four, six foot rail. they also had them instead of polycarbonate was substituted with either oak or mahogany . i love it , baby it,it has stood up to the test of time . would buy it again with out a second thought. mine has no sound affects or lights, but sound like pretty interesting options. the calibration is the one thing that has a learning curve, but very small one and can be done in a couple of minutes. mine is powered by a nine volt battery, and lasts a surpring long time.... get it , you wont be sorry..... cheers
..
I had one about 15 yrs ago and it got cooked in a fire.
Now ya gots me thinking again. I hang quite a bit of gutter, and my coworker has a 'graduated' 4' level so we can read 1/8'' per ft of slope..I have not looked REAL hard for one but they ain't at Lowes or Homers.
So, If I got one again, could...never mind I answered my own question...I think I see a 4' er in the future.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
I had not seem them in a long time and thought that they weren't made any more.But googling found them.Amazon has them.http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=pd_sl_aw_tops-1_blended_8766566_2/103-9744984-1823040?search-alias=aps&keywords=smart%20level
I see the $ ain't changed much since '90. They are still pretty steep. I had the Module and the 2' rail...damm I miss it now, but didn't for a long time.
Funny story about that level and a laser ( one of the first avail back then).
We stood up a Facade Pipe on an organ in BB's town of Mobile, in front of a 12' dia. Rose window. After getting the pipe as plumb as humanly possible ( they have to be dead on cuz being mostly lead, if not plumb, in time they will collapse on them selves from thier own weight), some one noticed that it was leaning...
No way says I..
Sure, sight it against that window verticle..says they
Check the window with THIS says I
One week later a VERY angry crew came out to rotate the window 4 deegrees to get plumb...man they HATED US Organ builders..window was trimmed , shimmed and stuccoed in place.
LOL.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
See? I can see it plain as day.
View Image
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
Wow.
that's quite an organ.
Must sound pretty good, too.
It does rock the room for sure.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
LOL Great story.
Can one find middle c on that thing?
It is at the same place on either manual. Now the pedal board would be tuff!
Actually that center front facade pipe is MiddleC in the Principal stop going front to back followed by C# and D and so on as the rows get wider to rear.
Them wood pipes against the wall are 20' tall and 12'' sq. Pedal LOW C is on the left and C# is on the right, D on the left, E on the right and so on in rising pitch. To the far rt is the "swell" shades, they open for FULL organ, like a wedding, an close for a softer sound like a funeral..the Chimes are on the other wall.
10 mos. of my life wrapped up in that bugger.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
"10 mos. of my life"
I hope you left your name somewhere in that organ.
A good thing about a job like that- it'll last longer than you.
Name and quite a bit of skin, blood and sweat...LOL
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
Plenty of DNA evidence
How many organ builds have you been involved with?
6 that I can recall. Ala, Pa, NJ, Ill. , Pa, Pa, and US V.I. ok 7..ooops Ga. 8.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
I love the pipe organ but I became a believer about a year ago in the new digital. Thy installed a new digital, very huge high end into the sanctuary where I sing. I have a pretty good ear my friend, and i'll tell ya I couldn't tell the diff. It was an Allen Organ made right here in Pa.
Thy switched modes and went into High Baroque, then French (very reedy), then English pipe. It was like being in St John the Divine in NYC.
The great thing is, is if I hand the organist a piece of music and tell him what key I want it in...boom there it is. He just plays what's written. Not like the old days where you had to adjust the voice to what was written. I have a piano that does that.
Hehehehee...Allen. My Dad was Sr. Production Engineer at Allen since about 1949 till about 2000. Randall R. Kriebel.
He was the guy that in about 63 made the first "portable' keyboard on our kitchen table, some how he went solid state instead of Hammonds old Tone generaters...yup, that guy. My Dad.
When he knew I was building "new'' TRUE pipe organs, I thoght he'd be proud...nope. I became the competition in his eyes.
He said when Allen sold a church a new digital organ the installers were told to DESTROY the old pipe organ so no one could restore it and resell it...go figgure.
I have a Korg M-1 thats all I need.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
I have the Casio 300. It's got a good machine in it.
They dismantled this old puffer (actually it still had life in it), and I have two of the wood pipes A & B flat over mid C. They hangin' on the wall of my study.
What a shame the old man sees you as the competition. What a skill. That is too cool though, the memories of the kitchen table and one of the first electric sounds.
Kriebel. Hey, I'll just bet you're Pa Dutch.
Chust a little now once.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.
>>"One week later a VERY angry crew came out to rotate the window 4 deegrees to get plumb...man they HATED US Organ builders..window was trimmed , shimmed and stuccoed in place.
I'm still futzing around with the surveying tools I recently bought. That window would have been a perfect application for plumbing optically (once you get a new hammer, everything looks like a nail). ;-)
Yesterday, business partner and I set benchmarks for a basement slab. It will be LEVEL, no excuses or apologies. ;-)
"Let's get crack-a-lackin" --- Adam Carolla
They also have one with a lazer on it.I don't think that amazon has that one, but I might have missed it.http://www.mdteam.com/products.php?category=1338Not cheap.http://www.celebrity-ltd.com/B0000225A1/M-D_Building_Products_92437_Smartlaser_Laser_Rail.htmBTW, that Stabila uses the same module.
Edited 6/17/2006 7:20 pm by BillHartmann
I bought one of their early models, no vials, just a readout. Case too. There were two buttons located right in the middle. Every time I picked it up, I'd hit one of those buttons which would knock out the calibration. I'd have to set it on a surface, push a button and hold it, then turn the level end for end and press the button again. Dang, the next time I picked it up, I hit that stupid button again. I hope they have changed those so they aren't so easy to grab. It wasn't very accurate either, you could be out a good 1/8" in 2', either way, before the readout would change. It only read on one side so you need that facing you every time. I don't know how it died, cold, rain, drops, curses, RIP.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Thanks for the info guys. I've always been very traditional in my tools and methods and the thought of a computerized tool rubs the wrong way. Since you seemed to have had positive results I guess I'll drag my adze into the 20th century and try one. Old dog / new tricks? we'll see.
I bought one at Home Depot many years ago - just as a flyer. I have both a 2 foot and 4 foot body for the electronics. It was the best level investment I even made. You can calibrate the level in just a couple of minutes (try that with your mono-vial) and it will read every angle from level to plumb in several modes. It's great for setting DWV as it will read out slope per foot (as in 1/8" + per foot). It will also read out in angle (degrees) and slope percentage. A couple of years ago I tried to find out if the manufacturer had a web site but I couldn't find any traces of the original manufacturer.
Try this. Macklanburg-Duncan in Oklahoma.
http://www.mdteam.com/products.php?category=1343
Bob
Sorry to hijack this thread back to it's original topic. I have a Smart Level module, but no rail. Have not been able to find any listings of the rails with no module for sale. The module by itself can be useful, however. Being pretty deaf, I have no idea if it sings, howls, or beeps.
For working in a dark place, I like the head mounted lights on an elastic strap around the head, particularly the LED ones. Very good for working on your car in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night... Much better than holding a mini-flashlight between your teeth. I think my LED model ran about $40, but they seem to be getting cheaper all the time. There is a review of some lights at (I haven't really read it, however):
http://www.webbikeworld.com/Reviewed-motorcycle-products/flashlight/head/
Edit: Mine has the batteries in a separate container at the back of the head which gives better balance than the ones that have the batteries packaged with the light itself.
Edited 6/19/2006 11:39 pm ET by CaseyR