I inherited (from a building contractor buddy) a small
tool/device. I can't post a photo here, but the visually
imaginative readers can picture what I mean from the
following description.

It is cylindrically shaped, about 1.5" diameter, 6" long, in
a metal case. Lens at each end. Acts as a low-power
telescope. The top of the device has a bubble level, with
optics such that when standing on one side of a room, and
looking across it, one can not only see the other side of
the room but also the bubble level and a horizontal marker.
One can raise and lower the angle of the device so as to get
the bubble in the center of the markings, and that allows
the user to see, on the far wall, what is exactly at eye
level.

I don't know what building or other application would call
for such information, but that appears to me to be what the
device is designed for.

My question is: What is this called in the trade? In what
trade would that be? Surveying? Plumbing?

Corrections to my understanding, and other comments welcome.


--
----------
CWLee
Former slayer of dragons; practice now limited to sacred
cows. Believing we should hire for quality, not quotas, and
promote for performance, not preferences.

"CWLee" wrote in message
m...

I inherited (from a building contractor buddy) a small tool/device. I
can't post a photo here, snip

Just post it to a binary and tell us where.

On Fri, 23 Apr 2010 23:57:07 -0700, "CWLee"
wrote:


I inherited (from a building contractor buddy) a small
tool/device. I can't post a photo here, but the visually
imaginative readers can picture what I mean from the
following description.

It is cylindrically shaped, about 1.5" diameter, 6" long, in
a metal case. Lens at each end. Acts as a low-power
telescope. The top of the device has a bubble level, with
optics such that when standing on one side of a room, and
looking across it, one can not only see the other side of
the room but also the bubble level and a horizontal marker.
One can raise and lower the angle of the device so as to get
the bubble in the center of the markings, and that allows
the user to see, on the far wall, what is exactly at eye
level.

I need one of those. For semi-surveying, especially height. The
underbrush has probably grown up already, but in the winter I want to
go to the street 250 feet behind my home, and look back to some mark
or a lamp in the window on my house to see which is higher, the bottom
of my house or the street I refer to. There is a stream in between
which floods, and I was told that the lump of dirt my house and my
townhouse neibhors' house sit on was made high enough that the stream
will flood the road before it reaches my house. I'd like to know for
sure.

I was going to to out with a level and sight along the top of the
level. I'd have to bring sandbags or a clamp to keep the level level,
when doing the sighting, but with your device I could see the levelity
(?), levelness, at the same time I had a magnified view of my house.
Sounds perfect. If you live near DC or Baltimore, maybe I could
borrow it.

The stream is normally 8 feet wide and 8 inches deep, and so far, the
most the water has risen has been to about 50 feet wide and 10 feet
deep, (plus the current is much faster then) which is about 3 inches
below the my lawn, about 20 feet from the house. Plus it would have to
rise another 4 inches to get to the house and another 6 inches to get
in the basment window. So the newly enlarged "river bed" gets a 20
feet wider on my side of the stream if not on the other side. So I'm
99% sure it will never get to the house, but I'd still like to do that
height measurement. Especially since every year one sees about
flooding somewhere. This year it was Rhode Island.

I don't know what building or other application would call
for such information, but that appears to me to be what the
device is designed for.

My question is: What is this called in the trade? In what
trade would that be? Surveying? Plumbing?

I'd like to know those things too. Surveying maybe. I called a
surveyor about 4 in the afternoon once, by accident, but he talked to
me for over 30 minutes. I think he was waiting for 5PM to go home.
So that might be a good time to visit.

Corrections to my understanding, and other comments welcome.

"CWLee" wrote in message
m...

I inherited (from a building contractor buddy) a small tool/device. I
can't post a photo here, but the visually imaginative readers can picture
what I mean from the following description.

It is cylindrically shaped, about 1.5" diameter, 6" long, in a metal case.
Lens at each end. Acts as a low-power telescope. The top of the device
has a bubble level, with optics such that when standing on one side of a
room, and looking across it, one can not only see the other side of the
room but also the bubble level and a horizontal marker. One can raise and
lower the angle of the device so as to get the bubble in the center of the
markings, and that allows the user to see, on the far wall, what is
exactly at eye level.

I don't know what building or other application would call for such
information, but that appears to me to be what the device is designed for.

My question is: What is this called in the trade? In what trade would
that be? Surveying? Plumbing?

Corrections to my understanding, and other comments welcome.

It might be a Dumpy level or some variation of one.

Charlie

On Apr 24, 1:57*am, "CWLee" wrote:
I inherited (from a building contractor buddy) a small
tool/device. *I can't post a photo here, but the visually
imaginative readers can picture what I mean from the
following description.

It is cylindrically shaped, about 1.5" diameter, 6" long, in
a metal case. *Lens at each end. *Acts as a low-power
telescope. *The top of the device has a bubble level, with
optics such that when standing on one side of a room, and
looking across it, one can not only see the other side of
the room but also the bubble level and a horizontal marker.
One can raise and lower the angle of the device so as to get
the bubble in the center of the markings, and that allows
the user to see, on the far wall, what is exactly at eye
level.

I don't know what building or other application would call
for such information, but that appears to me to be what the
device is designed for.

My question is: *What is this called in the trade? *In what
trade would that be? *Surveying? *Plumbing?

Corrections to my understanding, and other comments welcome.

--
----------
CWLee
Former slayer of dragons; practice now limited to sacred
cows. *Believing we should hire for quality, not quotas, and
promote for performance, not preferences.

Google is your friend "hand held optical level"
http://www.amazon.com/CST-Berger-17-...2112748&sr=1-9
bob

In article , "CWLee" wrote:

I inherited (from a building contractor buddy) a small
tool/device. I can't post a photo here, but the visually
imaginative readers can picture what I mean from the
following description.

There are numerous sites where you can post photos, free of charge. Try flickr
or photobucket -- or if you have a Facebook or Myspace page, you can post
there too.

It is cylindrically shaped, about 1.5" diameter, 6" long, in
a metal case. Lens at each end. Acts as a low-power
telescope. The top of the device has a bubble level, with
optics such that when standing on one side of a room, and
looking across it, one can not only see the other side of
the room but also the bubble level and a horizontal marker.
One can raise and lower the angle of the device so as to get
the bubble in the center of the markings, and that allows
the user to see, on the far wall, what is exactly at eye
level.

Sounds like you're describing a surveyor's level of some sort. You might find
this interesting:
http://www.surveyhistory.org/the_sur...asic_tools.htm

I don't know what building or other application would call
for such information, but that appears to me to be what the
device is designed for.

My question is: What is this called in the trade? In what
trade would that be? Surveying? Plumbing?

Surveying, clearly.

"CWLee" wrote in message
m...

I inherited (from a building contractor buddy) a small tool/device. I
can't post a photo here, but the visually imaginative readers can picture
what I mean from the following description.

It is cylindrically shaped, about 1.5" diameter, 6" long, in a metal case.
Lens at each end. Acts as a low-power telescope. The top of the device
has a bubble level, with optics such that when standing on one side of a
room, and looking across it, one can not only see the other side of the
room but also the bubble level and a horizontal marker. One can raise and
lower the angle of the device so as to get the bubble in the center of the
markings, and that allows the user to see, on the far wall, what is
exactly at eye level.

I don't know what building or other application would call for such
information, but that appears to me to be what the device is designed for.

My question is: What is this called in the trade? In what trade would
that be? Surveying? Plumbing?

Corrections to my understanding, and other comments welcome.


--
----------
CWLee
Former slayer of dragons; practice now limited to sacred
cows. Believing we should hire for quality, not quotas, and
promote for performance, not preferences.



Search Google images for builders transit.

This link should work with Firefox:
http://images.google.com/images?q=bu...1&sa=2&start=0

It might be a Dumpy level or some variation of one.

That's the term I was looking for when I first saw the post.

Don't they usually have a means of mounting them on a tripod?

On Apr 24, 9:53*am, "John Gilmer" wrote:
It might be a Dumpy level or some variation of one.

That's the term I was looking for when I first saw the post.

Don't they usually have a means of mounting them on a tripod?

I'm guessing these guys don't see my post!

CWLee wrote the following:

I inherited (from a building contractor buddy) a small tool/device. I
can't post a photo here, but the visually imaginative readers can
picture what I mean from the following description.

It is cylindrically shaped, about 1.5" diameter, 6" long, in a metal
case. Lens at each end. Acts as a low-power telescope. The top of
the device has a bubble level, with optics such that when standing on
one side of a room, and looking across it, one can not only see the
other side of the room but also the bubble level and a horizontal
marker. One can raise and lower the angle of the device so as to get
the bubble in the center of the markings, and that allows the user to
see, on the far wall, what is exactly at eye level.

I don't know what building or other application would call for such
information, but that appears to me to be what the device is designed
for.

My question is: What is this called in the trade? In what trade
would that be? Surveying? Plumbing?

Corrections to my understanding, and other comments welcome.



Maybe it's just an early surveyors scope without the cradle.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

"CWLee" wrote in message
m...

I inherited (from a building contractor buddy) a small tool/device. I
can't post a photo here, but the visually imaginative readers can picture
what I mean from the following description.

It is cylindrically shaped, about 1.5" diameter, 6" long, in a metal case.
Lens at each end. Acts as a low-power telescope. The top of the device
has a bubble level, with optics such that when standing on one side of a
room, and looking across it, one can not only see the other side of the
room but also the bubble level and a horizontal marker. One can raise and
lower the angle of the device so as to get the bubble in the center of the
markings, and that allows the user to see, on the far wall, what is
exactly at eye level.

I don't know what building or other application would call for such
information, but that appears to me to be what the device is designed for.

My question is: What is this called in the trade? In what trade would
that be? Surveying? Plumbing?

Corrections to my understanding, and other comments welcome.


--
----------
CWLee
Former slayer of dragons; practice now limited to sacred
cows. Believing we should hire for quality, not quotas, and
promote for performance, not preferences.

It's a "Hand Level". A device much used by surveyors and contractors doing
earthwork construction. It's very convenient for short distance sighting
but does not have the accuracy of a tripod mounted "Dumpy" level. It works
like a tripod mounted level except that you are the tripod (bipod?).

SJF

On 4/24/2010 12:46 PM, CWLee wrote:

As the OP, it appears to me that "Bob Villa" had the best answer. His
link to a "6-Inch Hand Held Optical Level" brought up a photo of a
device pretty much the same as what I have. That link was to Amazon, and
the particular brand shown there is priced at about $40. Another link
took me to a similar version by Stanley at about half the price.

Now I know what it is called. Any other information about common
applications and uses would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

The application would be to find a rough estimation of the elevation
of two objects relative to your line of sight, or to set a rough
elevation (say along a wall) relative to your line of sight. The
device works similar to a surveyor's elevation transit, without
the bells and whistles, and is as accurate as the talent of the
user.

Generally the instrument requires two people. One to look through
the device and one to hold a measuring stick of some sort. If
used for gauging elevations you only need yourself if there is
not a need for measuring an actual elevation i.e. look at something
with the bubble at level and note its position (above/below) the
horizontal line in the scope, then look at something else, without
moving your position, with the bubble at level and note the difference
in elevation from the first item you looked at.