- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
- Location
- South of the North 40
A simple plumb bob and a board with a line scored down the middle and a space cut in for the plumb bob to hang was what was used prior to the spirit level. Simple, reliable and effective but not as easy to store or carry. Also not so good at finding level except in the vertical such as for walls and such.
I am a simple man; I like simple. While I am slow to adapt to new things I can recognize when new things work better than the old. I made this when we first started to build the business after the war. It took me only a short time and I quickly put it to use building the stone foundations.
If it works why not use it. But there is a beauty to these new levels. I like the way they look and the simplicity in form and function is beautiful.
I'm told that about 1840 or so the spirit level came about. It is more reliable and more sturdy than the plumb bob square or level that I was accustomed to. I bought the pair pictured above after we had built my business. But they saw much use in building both the local church and the little school built from an abandoned barn across the road.
I am a slow learner in these new things. I was slow to appreciate the rifle, slow to understand the metallic cartridge and slow to understand new and more efficient tools such as the spirit level. But I have come to fully appreciate them, though it took some time.
My first two levels were a JW Andrews made sometime in the 1840's and a DM Lyon made a few years later. I like brass and wood especially if that wood has a pleasant grain or a nice shine to it. These levels were well used when I purchased them on a trip to Saint Paul. The price was good and I thought I might be able to use them.
When I arrived to home I applied several coats of oil and saw the wood come to life. They are not only functional they are of an exceptionally smooth wood that is quite pleasant to the touch. My Mina is less impressed with them than I but she does appreciate the color I think. I caught her using the shorter of the two to prop open a window last summer.
There is something oddly calming to me about tools. I do not understand why but I can sit and work at my shave horse fashioning a stool or simple chair and when done I feel rather comfortable and content. I have built something; while I know my construction is rather amateurish and crude it is my own. There is a bit of pride in knowing that I have built something. As a soldier I helped build many a road and did work on stone walls and buildings. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much of that knowledge has stayed with me. How much I have been able to remember and use again has been useful to both myself and this growing village.
Oddly, if some more of these new spirit levels were to come my way I do not believe I would be likely to complain. They display well on the shelf behind the bar. Having tools that I might sell in the future is an investment of sorts that seems a wise decision.
A level is a priceless tool to those who wish a bit of precision and craftsmanship to be evident in their carpentry or construction. A level also happens to be a tool that can be rather pleasant to look upon. The levels above are all rather pleasant with beautiful wood and brass trim to remind the user that there is more to things than just pure function. There is no reason beauty cannot be present in even the simplest construction.
With the manufacturing revolution that brought the world the "American" system of manufacture tools of all sorts became not only readily available but affordable for amateurs such as myself. While I do not, and never will, claim to be a skilled craftsman I understand the need for a quality level. Without a level floor the marbles and dropped bottles roll to one side of the room causing all kinds of racket and sleeping on a sloping floor gets tiresome. So a level is a required tool.
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