Empire True Blue 4 foot level

[algale]

I've been using an Empire model e74.48 "True Blue" aluminum 48" box level for about 6 months. http://www.empirelevel.com/levels/box-levels/index.php# and figured its time for a review.

A 48" box level is a pretty simply thing, but still this one has some features that I think are nice.

First, the edges are milled aluminum and are guaranteed flat to 0.0005 per inch. That's pretty good, I think.

Second, the bubble levels are easy to read.

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Third, the ends are rubber, so you don't have to be too gentle standing it up on end, which is how I store mine.

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Fourth, its got nice, padded hand grips. Very comfy.

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I find a long level extremely useful around the Shopsmith -- not so much for checking true level but for making sure things like the extension table are at the same height as the main table. I know there are those who like to use stop collars to get the tables all the same height. But if you are like me and change depth of cut a lot, I find a long level easier to use to get the main table and extension table to the same height quickly and accurately.

The other thing I find a long level useful for on my 520 is checking that the fence rails are all co-planar when using floating tables. While the 520 fences are supposed to align when you tighten up the internal extension tubes, every once and a while you can skew a table a bit. If you are doing a wide rip with the fence on a floating table, a little skew can add up to a pretty big error on the alignment of the rip fence and hence the rip. The way I guard against this is to put the bottom of this level against the face of the main table front fence rail and then against the face of the floating table rail and try to rock the level. If there's no wobble, the rails are co-planar and you can rip safely and accurately.

Once you have one of these, I'm sure you'll find a lot of different uses for it.

Oh, here's a photo of the whole level.

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Al

[charlese]

I'll bet that nice level doesn't get slammed around. And I'll also bet it is not a loaner tool.

[claimdude]

Al,

I have one of those levels and love it.

Jack