Thread: Standard stabila/lufkin level

Alluminium..
But I seriously doubt it's worth wasting your time on..
Buying ready made is a much better option hear..

Good Luck..

with strom

For my money I would get a stabila over a lufkin. Dearer but worth it.

Or you could make your own.

I made my 1st level about 20 yrs ago because I needed a 2m straight edge and level to install door jambs.

I bought the bubbles for $5 and fitted them into a length of alu door stile.

This was before you could buy 2m levels but 3mths ago my son started using mine so I bought a 6m length of alu section for $54. The bubbles were harder to get so I ended up by buying the plastic line levels from bunnings and removing the bubbles. Abouy an hours work and you have the equal of a $250 level

As for accuracy I set up a straight edge in the shed with a plumb bob and set it with that.

I have had blokes on site who doubted its accuracy and placed it alongside their $250 levels and it was spot on

Sorry guys.

Think you misinterpreted me.


I wanted to know what the levels are made from, because Im having a tool (one ive invented) fabricated from hopefully the same guage/size as a standard 600 level, for a prototype.

The body of it should be exactly the same as a 600 level (but the tool does a completely different application!), the alluminium itself, how expensive would it be per "rectangle" (i.e: no need for the level bubbles etc etc, just a rectangle peice of alluminium the same shape/size etc as a standard 600 level);


And the price drop you would estimate if I bought it in bulk, i.e 2000 units worth of aluminium etc.


Just need an idea of the fabrication process, as ideally, down the track would like to expand it to have rubber shock absorbers (on the ends) added for durability (like most levels), Also for those in the know, the alluminium would be preferably a bright colour, so as its not lost, like a flouro green/yellow/purple.

Would the aluminium itself be that colour, or like lufkin/stabila etc I suspect they somehow apply it on, although im sure its not paint.

Any answers from some experts would be great!

If its cost effective, you will see it on the shelves of Bunnings/Total Tools/Mitre 10 soon

The large aluminium companies (Alcoa etc) will extrude the exact profile you want, given their minimum quantities.

They may have changed but it used to be that the larger the volume you bought the lower the rate.

The colour on the levels is probably powder coating, you should find powder coaters in the phone book.

Have a look in Clark Rubber & their catalogues you might get ready made rubber ends.

Custom extrusions have two cost components: Die preparation, and the extrusion itself. This applies to any material, more or less. The cost of the die is distributed to the cost of extrusion, hence a lower unit price for higher quantities. By and large, a significant quantity for lower cost/price would be at least the amount that would fit in a standard shipping container or on a flatbed trailer. Depending on packaging, 2000 units might meet that criterion.

Bright, reflective colours are usually applied by anodizing, an electro-chemical process, and usually by the producer or within their production network. Powder coating could offer more options within your own production network.

If the product is NOT amenable to DIY construction, standard shapes and end caps might be more appropriate; if it is, custom extrusion could make sense, with or without standard ends.

Cheers,
Joe

50 x 25 x 3mm aluminium extrusion is easy enough to come by.
I have a selection of straight edges that are simply a length of the above cut into various lenghts as required.

A friend of mine has extrusion run on a regular basis...... the biggest expense is having the die made.....then the minimum run is worked out by the KG.......100kg seems t ring a bell......but a minimum run is not what you want to be doing...scales of economy and so forth.

you would be best off using a stock extrusion.

Go see a couple of the aluminium suppliers and see what they have.....alcan/ capral used to publish a book with all the stock aluminium products in it......but I think it is out of print.

cheers