Thread: A Novel Idea For Those That Can't Afford A Sensitive Level

Yes Greg, very well explained.

Sometimes I have found that people with a lot of knowledge find it difficult or even impossible to visualise what it is like for someone without that knowledge.

Eskimo, you make a good point. That is why I asked about movement expected, so I can comprehend what is required to set up my lathe. I have no intention of precise levelling. I want to check the bed to ensure it is not warped and then check for parallel cutting. I don't have time to waste on achieving perfection. Life is too short already.

Dean

Can someone explain why he chose to use butane as the liquid in the vial? Seems like a weird choice... logic and a few seconds worth of research would have suggested some mineral spirit..

My conclusion is that the guy knows zilch about levels, at the very least he could have just googled the subject and come up with some better ideas. But to then go ahead and push his ideas on the rest of the world
via youtube is just crazy ( and arrogant )... how many people out there are now thinking that butane is a good choice for vial filling?


Ray

It is simple and would work for basic leveling, and I like it but i wouldn't trade my stabila or machine level for it.

It could be a bit hazardous for a bloke standing over it with fag hanging outta his gob, twidle twidle twidle
tink WHOMP, hehe.... no more eyebrows

Originally Posted by shedhappens

It could be a bit hazardous for a bloke standing over it with fag hanging outta his gob, twidle twidle twidle
tink WHOMP, hehe.... no more eyebrows

Yes good point, exactly how far can you bend a glass tube before it goes ( as you say ) ...tink.... and then the butane ignites.. whomp.

I suppose it's not really funny, when you think someone out there could be watching his video's thinking of copying the idea. Cheap haircut I guess...

Ray

Originally Posted by RayG

I suppose it's not really funny, when you think someone out there could be watching his video's thinking of copying the idea. Cheap haircut I guess...

My comment re safety glasses was more to do with flying glass shards than the fire ball.

If one was to over fill this thing on a cold day.....heats up until there is no bubble......
(no idea what sort of temp rise you would need)

Stuart

Originally Posted by th62

the armchair experts

Unfortunately I think you might have missed my comment about name calling, respect is a two way street.

Originally Posted by .RC.

from that science is our future and always has been and long established and proven knowledge should be respected....

And questioned, if we blindly accepted all proven science without question we would have stopped advancing a long time ago.

Originally Posted by RayG

I suppose it's not really funny, when you think someone out there could be watching his video's thinking of copying the idea.

I think the term for what happens to anyone who blindly emulates what they might see on the internet without considering the consequences is natural selection.
Cheers,
Greg.

Originally Posted by Stustoys

My comment re safety glasses was more to do with flying glass shards than the fire ball.

If one was to over fill this thing on a cold day.....heats up until there is no bubble......
(no idea what sort of temp rise you would need)

Stuart

Do you think the glass tube being already stressed by bending would lower the temperature rise needed?

Years ago, I was working in a chemistry lab, just before lunch I got a winchester ( 2 1/4L) full of acetone from the solvent store put it in the lab, went to lunch, when I came back the bottle was gone... then I noticed fragments of glass all over the floor... The solvent store was cool, and the lab was warm enough to explode the bottle. Lucky I was eating sandwiches in the cafeteria at the time...

Ray

Originally Posted by RayG

Can someone explain why he chose to use butane as the liquid in the vial?

would it be that the fluid is less viscuous or has a smaller miniscus....moves more easily.....etc etc?... or what ever the terminology is lol

Originally Posted by RayG

Can someone explain why he chose to use butane as the liquid in the vial? Seems like a weird choice... logic and a few seconds worth of research would have suggested some mineral spirit..
Ray

Ray, the more viscous the liquid in a vial, the more will it "stick" to the inside of the glass tube, which is not good for sensitivity. Think how oil, or Mercury, would behave in a vial. Now logic would say that the opposite is true too: the less viscous the liquid in the vial, the less will it be affected by imperfections in the inside of the glass tube and hence the more sensitive.

The Stabila level is probably filled with just some common alcohol. But sensitive precision levels appear to be filled with secret proprietary fluid mixtures. Anhydrous (= dried to 99.9%purity) Isopropanol and Ethyl Ether seem to be the key components of these mixtures. Our friend from the video may have thought that lighter fluid could be a substitute worth trying? Unlike the other stuff, it is easy to come by in small quantities.

The quantity used is probably one or two cubic centimeters. Less than the tank in a throw away BIC lighter. When I was still smoking, I never felt threatened by the flammable nature of lighter fluid stored in my pocket, so no reason to get excited if used in a level.

Originally Posted by eskimo

would it be that the fluid is less viscuous or has a smaller miniscus....moves more easily.....etc etc?... or what ever the terminology is lol

Why not use an alcohol then, thats what is in most levels isn't it?

Ew

Edit, Chris and i cross posted.
Ever seen what a welding spark can do to a lighter Chris? Or what happens when you put on in a microwave? The amount of gas in a bic lighter can do more than enough damage.

Originally Posted by RayG

Yes good point, exactly how far can you bend a glass tube before it goes ( as you say ) ...tink.... and then the butane ignites.. whomp............

Ray

A thin walled glass tube can definitely be bent sufficiently for the purposes of a level (precision or not). After all, the glass fibers in fiberglass matting or glass fibers in data cables flex exceedingly well? It is all a matter of the thickness and the materal used - there are many "glasses".

Originally Posted by Ueee

Why not use an alcohol then, thats what is in most levels isn't it?

Ew

Edit, Chris and i cross posted.
Ever seen what a welding spark can do to a lighter Chris? Or what happens when you put on in a microwave? The amount of gas in a bic lighter can do more than enough damage.

Ew, I do not know if or how much lighter fluid is any better than alcohol for a level. But its flammability is IMHO not an argument. Many precision level have their glass vial protected under a perspex cover, or the vial sits inside another glass tube. My precision level has a plastic cover on three sides, I always assumed it was to protect the vial from breakage... never thought of it as a fire safety issue.

Here you go for some basics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_level

Hi Chris,

This is the thing we are talking about... it almost looks like it was designed to break glass tubing, just crank down on the screws and ... tink... boom



I'd guess there's more butane than the average lighter in there. Perspex cover.. ? No.

Your comments are true for most commercial levels, but that wasn't under discussion..

Ray