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Friday, March 7, 2014

Different Levels & Their Uses

By Carey Bourdier


In general, a level is a device that is used to establish a horizontal plane. This can be useful in many different endeavors from simple household tasks to building skyscrapers to surveying. There are several different kinds of levels, and each one has been designed for a specific purpose.

There are different categories of levels and one of the most commonly seen is the spirit level. Under the guise of spirit levels, there are many different types and each serves a specific purpose. The most common type of household level would be the torpedo level, and most of us have one of these long levels which have a liquid-filled vial in the center. Torpedo levels are used to hang a shelf or perhaps a picture, and carpenters use them for all types of construction. Stonemasons use a variant of the spirit level known as a mason's level to properly install bricks and masonry. When building a fence, one should use a post level to ensure that all of the posts are properly installed.

Precision frame spirit levels, which resemble a square with a level bubble along the bottom of the square, are another helpful type of level. These are used for adjusting and checking horizontal and vertical surfaces and shapes. Typically, these feature two prismatic sides and insulating handles.

While all spirit levels are so named because the liquid in the level vial contains spirits or rather ethanol, not all levels are cylindrical. The bull's eye spirit level is circular and resembles its namesake, a bull's eye. These are used in surveying equipment, such as a theodolite, as well as in compasses and sometimes on tripods. Carpenters also use bull's eye levels, as well. The advantage of this type of spirit level is that works in two dimensions unlike most spirit levels which work in one only.

The Abney level is a topographic tool that is used by surveyors. It includes a sighting tube and a movable spirit level, as well as a protractor. This tool is used to measure topographic elevation, the percent of grade of the landform being surveyed and to measure degrees. It is named for its inventor, Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney, who designed the level in the 1870s while working at an English military engineering school.

Yet another type of level is the laser level, which is often used by engineers when they design and build precise machinery for all types of equipment. Obviously, these levels must be perfectly precise as even tiny anomalies can cause massive problems in production of many products. Simpler forms of laser levels are used in construction, and you can even purchase them at the local hardware store for home use.




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