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Sight level. here is a site which has a few different ones. http://www.nextag.com/sight-level/compare-html I have a few different ones but find this one the best allaround. http://www.nextag.com/Level-Hand-Sight-80-77438016/prices-html
There a bit more but Kuker-Ranken are the best I have used and last a long time.
Ok, maybe you found the answer, but we're here to share information. Somebody else might have the same question, or might never even have heard of the device before reading this thread. There was no good reason to edit that opportunity away. :beatsme And since Dwan (and now dozerboy) have already replied, we can continue... For everybody else, essentially, the question was, 'What's that little hand held thing that you look through to shoot grades?' I knew exactly what you were talking about, but was searching for sites to point you to. Dwan was quicker than me. They've been discussed a time or two here on HEF before, and different guys call them different things. I've always called it a "Lock Level", but didn't know before just now that it's more properly "Locke Level", named after its inventor, John Locke: http://www.surveyhistory.org/instrument_makers_john_locke1.htm In addition to the links Dwan posted, you can find some more by Googling "locke level".
Digger, Do you care to share with the class what your "edit" was? .... *** lol Pj
Sure. Originally I'd posted, "..but didn't know before just now that it's actually called a "Locke Level",... " (Bold added.) I decided somebody who might know it by a different name might think I was being critical in using the word "actually", so I modified it to "more properly", because that indicates that the misconception I was correcting really was my own. Why do you want to know? On edit: I might add, the reason that little tidbit is important is that you don't get many results if you Google "lock level"...
Where do babies come from? Oh and what is your password lol pj
Why don't we just delete the whole thread. without the question it makes our answers look out of place.
I have always heard it called a hand level. Learn something new everyday.
on a more serious note,.....I've always heard it called either a "Hand level" or an "Eye Level" Pj
Cause now we're teaching CM and Pj what a "Locke level" is... And as soon as he's mastered that, we're going to try to teach Pj the difference between the words "why" and "what"...
Well, it may be a regional thing, as I have heard it called an "eye level",because it levels to your eye. One of the first things I was taught when learning to grade check is to establish your personal "eye height", much like establishing the height of instrument when using a transit level. When you know your eye height, you can quickly estimate grades with enough accuracy to get it roughed in. I agree that a Kuker-Ranken, K-R in 2 power is the best one to carry. Long lasting, easy to calibrate, and good optics. If using in bright sunlight, try tying a piece of ribbon over the lens where the bubble is. It will block the glare, but still show the bubble. I tried many colors, but oddly enough, pink seemed to work the best. I am surprised there has never been a thread on this. Wow, while I was browsing and responding, 2 or 3 more posts got added. Does that mean I am slow?
Hand level in my neck of the woods, I think mine is Dietz, very handy for rough in grade checking with a tape measure. Agree with Jerry on knowing your eye level mine happens to be 6'0" which comes in handy. Also have used cab height, tape measure and hand level to check deeper cuts over 10'. A real grade checker could teach alot of tricks with one, I just shoot level with mine but the other 2 lines in the level can be used if you know how. I wondered what ... meant when I oped the thread. lol
Eye-level, sight level, pea shooter, pea gun but I've never heard it called a Locke level. You can use a sight level and shovel as a quick and dirty transit. We used to make a game out of that. You had to name something across the site that was at eye level.
or if there is any farm land irrigated nearby you could have that guy doing the irrigating tell u what the grade is!
For them that don't feel like reading the article I linked to, here's the illustration at the end. I did look at the picture to be sure a Locke Level was the same thing as everybody else is talking about. It hasn't changed all that much:
actually, this was an enjoyable thread. BTW, around here they are "hand levels"
Around here it we called it a pea shooter or a pocket level. my dad always had one in his pocket. I think he used one made by craftsman that was called "pocket level" on it. He had an old one made of metal, but when he finally broke the glass in it, he was heartbroken to find that they only make plastic ones now.
I have several as well,Leitz,K&N and others.I even have one with 5 X magnification.I have one that is flat on the bottom so that you can use it as a carpenters level. My favorite one is the K&N,the cheapest of the bunch.The magnifying one is useless unless you use it at 1 X power. I call them a site level which is generic I suppose for a hand level.They were known years ago as a Locke level because Locke invented them or marketed them first I guess.Diggers post explains it all.They are a handy tool as long as you know and respect their limitations.I have used them for years with a 6' folding rule.I set my target at 55" which is just right for me so I don't have to bend over.LOL.Ron G
Yeah. Pretty good for a thread that begins with "..."
I learned the hard way once to make sure you select something that does not move for your mark... I had a spot marked on the side of the dump truck that was the grade i wanted. Then dad came by to use the truck and when i jumped off the machine to check the grade... my mark had driven away. ointhead I made sure not to make that mistake again. I still get a good laugh thinking back to all the times we were doing homeowner work and someone would look at us like we were from mars as we tied ribbons on fence post or tree trunks as a referance mark. My favorite was when we would hold a tape measure right infront of us to see how high above the grade our exact eye height was. I knew what we were doing but it still was funny to watch. :drinkup
My apoligies for stirring the pot. After I posted the question about a "tubular device with a bubble level and a cross hair held on top of a shovel to set a rough grade" I found "hand levels" in a surveyor equipment website. I tried to delete the whole post but could only edit it. Sorry again. Rick
Don't be sorry Rick. Anything that gets the construction chatter going is good...in my opinion.
"That's funny right there"
Mostly called a "eye level" in these parts. Before we got GPS this is all the our foremans had to shoot grade with. I have seen foremans setting blue-tops using them, I have also seen them shooting grades off of the top of a D10 before too. A useful tool, they are.
I didn't carry mine a lot the guys I worked with always joked I had a laser eye. That is until the day I under cut our overX 2', but in my defense I was getting bombed. We were in a grove and that 2' came out fast and went back fast too before the inspector got back. Everyone got a good laugh about that especially when the inspector made me scarify the "bottom". IIRC the additional lines on a K-R where 2%, but its been 3+ years since I had mine out of the glove box.
around here they are called a peep sight, or a pea shooter. i prefer the laser
lock level must be a local thing. Thats all i'v ever known them as. How well does the magnifying models work. Need a new one and would like something worth keeping.
The x2 magnification ones are fine, but I have never seen one with more magnification that worked very well.
I've always heard them called hand levels here. Locke is probably the guy who invented it. There is another one that looks like a sextant, I forget what it's called, only saw one once. For really quick and dirty, a clinometer works too. You can get them in degrees or percent, or there are published tables to convert.