Levels: Different Varieties & How They Are Used

By Carey Bourdier


Most people have some type of a basic level in their homes, and these instruments are useful for hanging pictures, shelves and ensuring that what you are mounting on the wall is on a level horizontal plane. Aside from these levels, there are many other kinds which are utilized from everything from construction to surveying.

A spirit level is one category of level, but there are many different kinds of spirit levels, and each one was created for specific uses. For example, there is a mason's level which is used by stonemasons. The torpedo level is the one used by carpenters that we typically have in our own homes. There are post levels that ensure that rails and posts for fencing are aligned properly.

Precision frame spirit levels, which resemble a square with a level bubble along the bottom of the square, are another helpful type of level. These are used for adjusting and checking horizontal and vertical surfaces and shapes. Typically, these feature two prismatic sides and insulating handles.

While all spirit levels are so named because the liquid in the level vial contains spirits or rather ethanol, not all levels are cylindrical. The bull's eye spirit level is circular and resembles its namesake, a bull's eye. These are used in surveying equipment, such as a theodolite, as well as in compasses and sometimes on tripods. Carpenters also use bull's eye levels, as well. The advantage of this type of spirit level is that works in two dimensions unlike most spirit levels which work in one only.

Surveyors for hundreds of years have needed to use levels to gather information about topography. In the 1870s, astronomer and inventor William Abney created the Abney level to aid in the measurement of elevation and landform grade. This topographic level includes a protractor and sighting tube, as well as a precise spirit level that is movable.

Yet another type of level is the laser level, which is often used by engineers when they design and build precise machinery for all types of equipment. Obviously, these levels must be perfectly precise as even tiny anomalies can cause massive problems in production of many products. Simpler forms of laser levels are used in construction, and you can even purchase them at the local hardware store for home use.




About the Author: