Does anyone have any experience with the Enco master precision levels
(638-7780 and 638-7782)? Are they a reasonable substitute for the
Starrett (240-0352) at 5x the price for a home shop environment?

Thanks,

Pete C.

Pete,
I waited until I found one on eBay, you may wait awhile, but they are
available from time to time. I buy a lot of Chinese stuff, but not my
precision tools. A precision level is one of those MUST have tools. It will
pay for itself when you set up your first lathe.
Steve

"Pete C." wrote in message
...
Does anyone have any experience with the Enco master precision levels
(638-7780 and 638-7782)? Are they a reasonable substitute for the
Starrett (240-0352) at 5x the price for a home shop environment?

Thanks,

Pete C.

On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 19:31:52 +0100, "Steve Lusardi"
wrote:

I buy a lot of Chinese stuff, but not my precision tools.
A precision level is one of those MUST have tools.

I'll play devil's eggnog for a moment....

Chinese tools are usually well precise, they suffer from poor accuracy
and sometimes repeatability (any good reference will explain the
distinction)

So for a level, isn't precision alone adequate? Assuming that the base
is usably flat and that the vial is adjustable, then some in-workshop
calibration adjustment should make it as accurate as its precision is
capable of. So long as the level is sufficiently precise (meaning a
large enough vial with the right degree of barrelling) then that;s
enough to bring it to equal accuracy, with only workshop tools to
calibrate it. It's not as if a level needs a calibrated length standard
to be set against.

It will
pay for itself when you set up your first lathe.

IMHO it pays for itself some years after you set up your lathe, when you
first try to get any real accuracy out of it. The trouble with lathe
setup is that it's too easy to do it badly, and not at all obvious why
you need to make the effort.

It doesn't matter a bit if a lathe is level. It must not have bow or
twist. You can measure both with a very precise level by zeroing the
level in one location and moving to another. Adjust until the same. The
lathe could be on a five degree tilt, so long as all if it is exactly
the same.